At PaperRocket, we pride ourselves on offering a jargon free, no nonsense service to our clients. PaperRocket was founded by, and is run by, working mums who know how hard it is juggling work and home life, and so we are firmly on the side of the ‘Mumtrepreneurs’ who, whether it be through choice, or, thanks to the pandemic. necessity, are going it alone and becoming their own boss.
In this week’s blog, and second in our ‘Working Mums’ instalment, we look at what options there are available for working mums (and dads!) over those long 6 weeks of summer holidays. Many of us may have experienced working from home with the kids around during lockdown, but that doesn’t mean we necessarily want to do it again over the summer!
The route to help with childcare costs depends on when you set it up. Prior to October 2018, there were two options to limited company directors, either the voucher scheme or a direct agreement.
Voucher scheme/Direct Agreement
With the voucher scheme, vouchers are paid to employees which would then be used to pay for childcare. Your childcare provider will claim back their fees and there will be an admin fee from the company who issues the vouchers.
With a direct agreement, the employer will pay a provider for childcare costs on behalf of the employee. The amount paid will be set out in an agreement between the employer and employee (up to £243/month).
With both of these options, whilst they are no longer open to new claimants, if you were already claiming either via your limited company before October 2018, then you are fine to continue claiming.
If, however, you did not sign up to either of these schemes before October 2018, then you can instead use the Tax Free Childcare Scheme.
Tax Free Childcare Scheme
With this scheme, you are able to receive up to £500 every three months (up to £2000/year) per child (under 11) to help with the costs of childcare.
For every £8 that you pay into your childcare account, the government will pay in £2, and this account can be used to pay for approved childcare providers, which will include nurseries, childminders, after school clubs etc.
To qualify, there is a number of criteria, so it is best to check your personal circumstances here before claiming. If you are working through a limited company, you will need to ensure that you are earning at least the minimum wage (for 16 hours work per week) over the next 3 months, so you will need to have a salary set up. if you are self employed (and have been for more than 12 months), you will also need to expect to earn the equivalent amount over the next 3 months.
Let’s face it, in the nicest possible way, most of us have had more than our share of working from home with the kids around. So, if you haven’t already, why not look into childcare options for Summer now!
PaperRocket Accounting provide accounting and tax services to professional contractors, freelancers, and small businesses working in the UK.
We offer our clients a flexible choice of fixed fee monthly packages which cover all of their accounting and tax needs (so no hidden costs or surprise bills!). All of our accounting packages include a monthly subscription for a cloud accounting software subscription provided by the awarding winning FreeAgent.
Each of our clients is given their own dedicated qualified accountant with unlimited access in person, telephone, or by email.
We pride ourselves on our client satisfaction and customer service and were awarded ‘Best Contractor Accountancy’ firm 2020 in The Contracting Awards and ‘Welwyn Hatfield Business of the Year 2019’ in the SME Hertfordshire awards.
To find out how we can help you please get in touch now.
