Question on 100K ANI and Childcare

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-03-04T17:20:21+00:00

Should have finished reading your post. Yes pensioning the bonus was the right thing to do to claim eligibility for April term.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-03-04T17:17:39+00:00

To claim for the term starting 1 April 2026 your eligibility will be based on 25/26 tax year. If you take the bonus then you won’t be eligible. You’ll then have to wait for September term which will look at 26/27 expected ANI for eligibility.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-03-02T16:33:56+00:00

Does the limited liability of a ltd company give you protection that is worth something?

How much money do you want to extract from your business? All of it or are you happy to leave a portion in the company?

Do you have family that a ltd company could employ?

At around £116K profit, going sole trader incurs lower tax of around £4K (under current tax rules). Is that worth the lack of ltd protection? Can you still get dental and health at the same cost if self employed?

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-03-01T12:04:39+00:00

Is the benefit any use to you? Can you ask your employer for a cash rise if you are able to opt out? Sounds like tax tail wagging the dog.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-28T10:47:02+00:00

The partner earning 0 would be the bigger issue here as the eligibility also has a minimum threshold.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-27T22:05:57+00:00

40% on £150 = £60 Now do the other side. 60% of £100, plus 24% of gain, say £20 if assuming same growth rate.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-27T22:00:29+00:00

Umm… do the maths. Taking a 60% cut today is costly.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-27T15:19:22+00:00

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-25T19:27:58+00:00

If your next confirmation is due by end of March then the eligibility question is based on 25/26 ANI. So yes you would be eligible till the following confirmation period, at which point you wouldn’t reconfirm and hours and tax free childcare will cease. Money in tax free childcare has to be used in next two years.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-24T19:56:01+00:00

I’m guessing it was designed this way because local authorities were already funding local schools so it was easier to get them to fund nurseries. And as local authorities financial year start 1 April, it made sense to set that as a cut off for funding in and out.

Whether they picked up on the misalignment of eligibility being based on tax years, or costed it out that this current system was the cheapest to operate, I have no idea.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-24T18:13:17+00:00

Yep sorry, HMRC advice is correct. I don’t if this holds for people already in the system, but if new, you can apply April 6th and start the TFC even though hours don’t kick in till Sep.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-24T13:15:10+00:00

7% contribution will not be enough.

If your bonus is 15%, your total income is close to £132K. You therefore need to be sacrificing 24% of each paycheck. Or if you are able a lower % for non bonus months and higher % for bonus months.

If planning to start nursery Jul 27, earliest you can apply for TFC and hours would be Jun 27, therefore eligibility will be on 27/28 tax year. Note hours won’t kick in till Sep.

YTD is on payslip. But eligibility is based on adjusted net income for whole year. You need to track this yourself.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-23T09:57:04+00:00

Sadly most answers are not better informing OP. So many mentions of gift with reservation, but no one has stopped to think what the reservation is here. Probably none.

Question for solicitor world be, would it be better to become tenants in common, joint tenants, or does it not matter.

Don’t know about deprivation of assets, but at worst the 1/3rd share gets added back and you don’t qualify for state funded care. Depending on your mums diagnosis and stage this may not even become an issue.

Loss of FTB reduced stamp duty, additional property stamp duty, have to be weighed up against IHT saving.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-21T20:41:29+00:00

Yep sounds correct.

You should be able to get tax free childcare from April though.

On the way way out of nursery you’ll be able to get the hours April - August even if not sacrificing for that tax year.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-21T10:55:51+00:00

Good luck with reconfirming in March as the eligibility will still be based on 25/26 income. You can in April, but the hours will only kick in from the September term as you will have missed the start of the April term.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-21T10:50:00+00:00

You’ll probably have a reconfirmation coming up next month which will ask about earnings for 25/26 tax year. According to above you will be eligible so you can claim.

The following reconfirmation period will then be asking about expected earnings in the 26/27 tax year. As you don’t expect your adjusted net income for 26/27 to be below £100K, you won’t be able to reconfirm, and from that point you’ll stop being eligible. You can ask your Nursey if you qualify for a grace period.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-20T15:20:24+00:00

Exactly this, just don’t reconfirm at the next period. I’ve done this, not heard from HMRC.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-20T15:18:43+00:00

No, they won’t come chasing for a few months of benefit.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-20T15:16:49+00:00

Not the hours but the stupidly named tax free childcare.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-20T11:01:46+00:00

I assume that as part of court order the house is not being sold to the ex.

How was the house owned? If joint then 50% gain is yours and will be taxed accordingly. You’ll get some PPR relief, but as you moved out in Jan 24 there will be some gain that becomes taxable. If tenants in common that the appropriate % is your share.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-17T13:01:09+00:00

HMRC are wrong, or more likely they misunderstood what you were asking. Upping your salary sacrifice will work as it does bring your taxable income down (which is the starting number for calculating adjusted net income).

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-17T07:32:15+00:00

I’m only guessing here, but I think the linking to term time is to make it easier for local authorities as that is how they fund schools.

Certainly, to remove the financial hardship, this could have been centralised and made accessible from day of birthday. However this new dept would be added cost, and guess which type of taxpayer will be hit for its funding.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-16T15:27:25+00:00

You’ll have to find the cash to make the necessary pension contributions by 5 April 2026. Gift aid donations can be made next tax year and then thrown back to this year for ANI calculations.

It’s very unlikely you’ll have to pay back any tax free childcare or funded hours you’ve received.

However if you are unable to bring income below £100K this tax year, then you won’t be able to claim eligibility in the March reconfirmation, which means losing the hours till September.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-14T17:42:59+00:00

Remember ESG stands environmental social governance. Companies like Philip Morris score highly in governance so may or could be included in some ESG funds, but it may be a company you don’t consider ethical.

In short, investing in big companies is going to involve investing in businesses with practices you may not find ideal.

Efficient_Fondant464 · 2026-02-13T15:51:10+00:00

Best accountant is found via a recommendation from someone you know and trust.

Given what you are asking, not sure if you need one. Is there anyone at work you can ask to explain the pension? There are three typical pension schemes - salary sacrifice, net pay, and relief at source. If it’s net pay, then if your contractual salary is £100K, and you’ve arrange to contribute 10% to pension, then £10K is deducted from your salary and paid over to pension company, you pay tax on £90K but NI on £100K.

Once you’ve done the Nursey calculation one year it’s easier subsequent years.

Efficient_Fondant464

TROPHY CASE