Childcare vouchers

[user1465146157]

Our 3 yr old will be at nursery for another year - until Sept 2021.

Me and my partner get vouchers from our salary each month on the tax free salary sacrifice scheme so were trying to work out when to cancel these - then wondered if these vouchers can be passed on to another child?

We will have another child going into nursery in a few years - not sure if these can be saved and names changed or are they only valid for the named child?

thanks!

You can build up a balance within your childcare voucher account as they can be used for children aged up to 15 or 16 I believe. However the childcare voucher scheme has now closed to new entrants so if you or your partner change jobs you won’t be able to rejoin.

Another possible solution would be to overpay the nursery and then ask for the balance to be moved to your other child when they start
The nursery I work in would do this no problem

You can ask what the minimum amount is for the particular scheme and reduce to that amount. This means that you won't leave the scheme in the meantime.

They are valid for you child / children only but the vouchers don't specify a named child, you can use them for any of your children if that makes sense?

As someone else has said, the scheme is now closed to new registrations so I wouldn't cancel them, but lower the amount you claim to keep in the scheme as it is by far the easiest one to use. I'm not sure they expire as such so you could build a reserve for when your next child goes. My husband scheme has expiry date on them, but also a note underneath saying contact them if they expire and they will reinstate.

If you have a child starting school you may still find you use them for wraparound care and holiday clubs so worth considering this.

We have kept our vouchers going as despite the funding, we are charged £13 per day per child to cover food/crafts/etc. So the vouchers are still needed. I wouldn't cancel!