returning to work/tax credits minefield

[Kafri]

i'm just starting to consider what to do for the best when it's time for me to go back to work.

1. Go back to my current role and pay nursery for however many days I go back. (which means i'd barely earn anything as i'd pay out majority of my wage on fees)

1. Find a job around DH hours, so 3/4 evenings a week

How do people seriously manage this? it seems to me that I literally cannot afford to go back to my current role.

I have never claimed any sort of tax credit/benefit so have no idea how it all works and from looking at the website, they don't appear to make it easy to work out...

Regarding tax credits: how much is DH's salary? How much is your (current) salary? Do either of your companies offer childcare vouchers?

If you went for option 2, how much do you think you would earn?

Personally I didn't go back to work as my salary would have been eaten up by childcare and commuting costs. If I had wanted to keep my career going, we would have simply had to take that financial hit however for me I wasn't bothered, I'd prefer to stay at home for the next few years. Is your career a factor in the decision, or are you not too concerned about it?

I love my job but I always said that once kids were to come along then they would com first and I'd do whatever it took to take care of them so I'd be happy to leave for his sake.

DH is on about 15k and my ft is about 12k. I don't want to go back ft as I want to be there for DS.

It just strikes me that, like you, whatever I earn will be swallowed by childcare if I continue working in the day so doesn't seem feasible. I know I need to earn something-we can't live of DH alone and because I need to earn something I can't then afford to pay it all out in childcare.

We could get childcare vouchers but it did strike me that they wouldn't make that much difference tbh???

Option 2 would prob be not much more than min wage but at least what I earned I would keep to feed us all

The tax credits website goes on about one partner working 24 hours. Is that correct? And how much are you likely to get in credits??

Go on www.entitledto.co.uk its loads easier to use than the government one. If you didn't work, then you would get working tax credits as your DH is on a low wage and also child tax credits. Yes, one of you must be working 24 hours a week to qualify, will that be a problem?

Sorry - www.entitledto.co.uk