Fostering Allowance
What is a fostering allowance?
As soon as you’re an approved foster carer with TACT and begin caring for a young person, you will immediately receive a fostering allowance.
For almost all foster carers, this allowance will be tax free and will not affect benefits you’re currently receiving.
We understand what a big decision it is to choose to become a foster carer. We also understand that talking about ‘fees’ and ‘money’ in relation to foster care can be a sensitive subject for some. Whilst the main motivation will always be make a difference to young people’s lives, it is important now more than ever to highlight the fostering allowance you will receive.
A fostering allowance is a payment made to foster carers when they provide care for children in their homes, and is made up of 2 elements:
A maintenance allowance for each child
The maintenance allowance covers the costs of everything that you need to care for a child such as food, clothing, transport, personal items and household expenses.
A foster carer fee
The fee part of the payment is effectively your salary for the time and skill dedicated to foster care.
TACT pay a generous fostering allowance to help make sure fostering is a viable choice for you and your family. It is also to reflect that foster carers are highly trained and skilled individuals.
If you want to find out more about our fostering pay, please do not hesitate to contact our enquiry team.
How much do foster parents get paid?
We’re often asked ‘How much do foster parents get paid?’ The total fostering allowance that you receive will vary based on a number of factors, including the type of foster care you are providing, the number or children that you care for and their age, as well as the complexity of their needs.
As a foster carer, you are paid on a fortnightly basis, while you have a child in placement. It is important to consider that you will not be paid any fees or allowances for any period that you do not have a child in placement.
Here are some examples of foster carer pay, based on four fostering scenarios. The fee examples include both the weekly allowance and additional payments you will receive:
Weekly Allowance Examples
Are there other foster carer payments?
In addition to the weekly fees, TACT foster carers receive extra payments to help cover the cost of significant events that occur while children are in placement.
We know that special occasions such as religious festivals (e.g. Eid, Diwali, Christmas etc.), the child’s birthday and school holidays can be expensive. As such, if you have children in placement over these periods you will receive additional payments to help cover the costs.
- You will receive £150 per child, to help celebrate their birthday(s).
- Likewise, another payment of £150 per child will be made to celebrate an annual religious festival.
- You will also receive £91 per week (for 13 weeks each year) holiday allowance for each child in your care.
- We also pay long service awards and a Refer a Friend fee (if you recommend someone who then goes on to be an approved foster carer with us).
Do foster carers pay council tax?
In our ongoing commitment to support our carers financially, TACT will be contributing towards the cost of council tax for all of our approved foster carers. So whilst foster carers are still required to pay council tax, TACT’s contribution will ensure that the amount they pay each year is reduced.
From 1st April 2024, this contribution will be paid in two instalments annually, and will be linked to the length of your service as a foster carer:
- Carers with up to two years of experience will receive £300.
- Those with between two and five years of experience will receive £600.
- Carers with over five years of experience will receive £1,000.
If you are transferring to us, your previous experience (in years) will count towards the amount you will receive.
Supporting Our Foster Carers Through the Cost of Living Crisis
In light of the current cost-of-living crisis, TACT have put in place a number of additional financial benefits to help their foster carers during this period.
Start Your Fostering Journey
