Thread: Work/childcare/help!

I don't think this is quite the right forum but nevermind.
Can anyone help me work this out? I usually consider myself reasonably intelligent and I love doing all the money and accounts in my house but tax credits/etc. make me feel like my brain is made of spaghetti. I genuinely don't understand.

I work 2 days a week right now. Grandparents have always done childcare so never had any costs, when I return to work A will be in nursery paid for my dad until she gets her free place and D will be with grandparents. So still no costs to me (hooray).

I'd like to try and earn a bit more and work one more day a week, however would have to pay child care for that. So both A & in nursery, cost of about £43 a day. My salary for the 2 days a week is £6501 a year. When I try and work it out I can't figure out if it'd actually pay to work an extra day or not?? I'm not convinced it would. Right now we as a family only qualify for about £20 a week tax credits, which I don't receive anyway as apparently I have an overpayment to pay back until next year.

I like my job but not enough to work a day for free! But if I can make some extra pennies I really need them. Don't think childcare vouchers would help me as I don't earn enough part time to pay tax anyway?

My head is scrambled. Anyone? @Rambo you're clever with this stuff, can you make sense of it?

My answer was going to be to tag Rambo but you've already done that! When I was returning to work in the UK, I ended up ringing the local tax credits office and running through the numbers with them and they were very helpful with telling me what I was entitled to and whether taking the job was financially worth it so I'd give them a call.

Thanks Lu - I definitely will as a last resort, but the phoneline costs so much to call! I've also lost a little trust in them as last week they informed me I resigned from my job in November 2010. Erm, no!

can you input the details on entitledto.com? It should help. xxx

Personally I think they make it deliberately obtuse and outputting, to be honest, to stop most people from being able to question it...

The simple answer is, you can claim childcare costs as part of tax credits... But, you do have to pay a set percentage yourself, and so basically it all depends on whether or not the extra income offsets that. Also, of course, it's all income assessed and as you're not on full tax credits (meaning.it's already reduced by your income), any extra you earn will be taken off of your standard tax credits. The worst part if that, as you only qualify for 20 as it is, is that if your entitlement reduced to zero, you wouldn't qualify for childcare costs tax credits either... As you have to have some entitlement no matter how small to apply for it. Completely daft of course.

Tbh my gut instinct is, for one extra day a week, you won't be much better off if at all and possibly even worse off once you consider things like transport to and from work (and to and from childcare) which, of course, isn't factored into your claim at all.

Oh no! It was actually a local office rather than the national tax credit line. I've been looking for it there but can't seem to find it, think it was Ask Wiltshire but now the phone number is the normal tax credits line, probably another budget cut, sorry

That's ok @Lu thanks for looking. I did have a direct number from that 'say no to 0870' site but apparently they won't talk to you now if you call it!

Thanks @Rambo I honestly think your gut feeling is right, it's mine too. Just so frustrating I can't make work pay, it's not as if I earn minimum wage (ok it's not HUGE but it's not that basic either). Or maybe I'd be better off if I did!
If I didn't have the help from the grandparents I wouldn't be able to work at all I don't think.

I could probably earn a bit extra by going back full time which'd force it to balance out but I don't want to do that. Balls. I might have to apply for the senior position just for the extra cash then, better dust off my interview technique. Not that they'll probably want to promote someone who keeps on going on maternity leave.