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 living with you. It is important to consider that you will not be paid any fees or allowances for any period where you are not providing care for a child.
Here at TACT, we like to be transparent with our fees and allowances – and not provide unrealistic or unobtainable examples of our fees.
We have therefore provided average amounts below, to give you an idea of what you could expect to receive.
Average Weekly Allowance Examples
*Final allowance figures will be based on age of child(ren), complexities of need, along with other factors. Therefore, allowances are average amounts and could be greater or lower than the figures shown.
What does my fostering allowance include?
In addition to the maintenance allowance and your foster carer fee mentioned above, your fostering allowance will also include payments for:
- An allowance to help celebrate a child’s birthday*
- An allowance towards an annual religious festival (e.g. Eid, Christmas etc)*
- A holiday allowance for each child in your care*
- Short break allowance*
- A council tax contribution.
*The child(ren) must be in your care over these periods.
In order to demonstrate how much you could receive each week, the elements above have been prorated into the weekly allowance examples
About Our Council Tax contribution scheme
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.
This contribution will be based on 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.
In order to demonstrate how much you could receive each week, the Council Tax contribution has been prorated into the weekly allowance examples
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
