Monday, February 09, 2009
Childcare Vouchers Schemes make tax and national insurance savings available to all companies. There are certain rules to make sure that the savings are used correctly and these are listed below. Since this is a government-supported scheme that we administer on behalf of companies, our vouchers are acceptable by any of the types of registered or approved childcarers shown below. There are therefore no restrictions such as “you can only use XYZ Vouchers at XYZ nurseries”. There is also a bit of a myth that you can only use vouchers for the under-5s. Actually, you can use them for children aged up to 15 or 16 (up to 1st September following their 15th birthday, or 16th birthday if they are disabled).
OfSTED, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Parents can use our childcare vouchers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You often hear the term “OfSTED registered”. OfSTED is the childcare registration body for England, though often people use “OfSTED registered” as shorthand for any registered or approved childcare whether in England or not.
Registered or approved childcare includes:
• Registered childminders, nurseries and play schemes
• Out-of-hours clubs on school premises run by a school or local authority
• Childcare schemes run by school governing bodies under the ‘extended schools’ scheme
• Childcare schemes run by approved providers, for example, an out-of-school hours scheme or a provider approved under a Ministry of Defence accreditation scheme
• Approved foster carers (the care must be for a child who is not the foster carer’s foster child)
In England only
Registered or approved childcare includes:
• childcare given in the child’s own home by a person approved to care for a child or children
• childcare given in the child’s own home by a domiciliary worker or nurse from a registered agency who cares for the child or children
In Scotland only
Registered or approved childcare includes:
• childcare given in the child’s own home by (or introduced through) childcare agencies, including sitter services and nanny agencies, which must be registered
Meaning of “a registered childminder, nursery or childcare scheme”
• A registered childminder, nursery or childcare scheme is one that is registered
• in England, by OfSTED or the National Care Standards Commission
• in Wales, by the National Assembly for Wales (through the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales)
• n Scotland, by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation for Care, and
• in Northern Ireland, by a Health and Social Services Trust
Other childcare
Certain out of school schemes or schemes run by school governing bodies may be approved by local authorities or local education authorities
Childcare that does not satisfy the conditions
Childcare does not satisfy the conditions for the exemptions if it is:
• provided by the employee’s partner. (“Partner” means one of a married or unmarried couple and includes civil partners.)
• provided in the child’s own home by a relative of the child. (“Relative” means a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister (whether by blood, half-blood, marriage or affinity), and includes step-parents.)
• provided in the home of the person who has parental responsibility for the child by a relative of the child (“relative” as defined above)
For more information
See the HMRC website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM22030.htm You can find the full description at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/ir115.pdf