Feel the benefit of childcare vouchers
03 Mar 2011
Sign up by 10 March to avoid effect of tax changes
University staff with children under the age of 16 are being urged to sign up to the Government’s childcare voucher scheme, before tax changes come into force on 6 April 2011.
After this date, anyone in the higher or additional rate tax brackets will only be able to claim £124 per month, or £97 per month respectively - instead of the £243 per month which is currently on offer to all tax payers.
This means that if you don’t sign up before 6 April you could see your potential savings drop from £1,196 per year, to just over £600. To see the financial benefits of joining the scheme before 6 April, see these tables:
So it’s worth your while signing up with the University’s current voucher provider Computershare.
And while the changes don’t come into effect until 6 April, you should try to register before 10 March if you want to start claiming vouchers from the March payroll onwards.
If you’re already signed up with Computershare then you don’t need to do anything and you’ll still be able to claim up to £243 per month as usual.
Even if you have a baby or child who is not currently in childcare, but you’re thinking of using a form of registered childcare in the future, you should still sign up now. You don’t need to start claiming vouchers straight away, so long as you are registered you can begin claiming at a point in the future.
The childcare voucher scheme is a Government initiative to help working parents with the cost of childcare. It works as a salary sacrifice scheme whereby the value of the vouchers you claim is taken from your salary at source, so you don’t pay in tax or National Insurance contributions on it.
Childcare vouchers can be used to pay for all kinds of registered childcare including day nurseries, nannies, au pairs, crèches, childminders, out of school clubs, holiday schemes, activity clubs and qualifying childcare offered by schools.
To sign up for childcare vouchers with Computershare:
- Visit Computershare Voucher Services: Childcare vouchers
or - Call freephone: 0845 002 1111
You can find the employee reference numbers at: