Transferring Carers Fees & Allowances
What Allowances can I expect to receive?
As with any new foster carer applicants, we are keen to hear from those who want to make a positive impact on children’s lives. However, as you already know, fostering is a highly skilled role – and our fees and allowances reflect that.
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
l 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
Fostering and tax
As you will already know, foster carers are classed as self-employed and are subject to special tax arrangements – which in most cases mean you are unlikely to pay any tax on your income from fostering. As a reminder, there are two aspects to this Qualifying Care Relief (QCR):
| 1. Fixed Tax Exemption | 2. Weekly Tax Relief Allowance |
|---|---|
| A fixed tax exemption amount of £18,140 for each household for a full year | A weekly tax relief allowance for each child in your care: £375 per week for each child aged under 11 £450 per week for each child aged 11 or over |
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
