How do housing benefit deal with childcare vouchers?

A question about : How do housing benefit deal with childcare vouchers?

Hello,

Currently we receive Ј6 tax credits and some housing benefit, we both work full time.

However, after April we will no longer be entitled to tax credits, but should still be entitled to some housing benefit.

According to a calculator we would be about Ј966 better of per year if we used childcare vouchers. However, in terms of housing benefit would this effect it? currently I think they discount our income by the amount of childcare we pay. Will this remain the same if we are using childcare vouchers?

I suppose what I am trying to say is will anything be different if we are paying out of our wages for childcare, or if we are paying by way of childcare vouchers. If they were to disregard the childcare we pay (by deducting the amount of childcare voucher value) then we would be better off because of not paying NI and tax.

Thanks

Best answers:

• Only the childcare you physically have to pay out of your own pocket is taken into account - so childcare Ј100 - childcare voucher Ј25 - childcare used in calculation of disregard Ј75.00.
• Sorry I am a bit confused, if say our net pay between both of us is Ј2500, but we both opt to have Ј50 per week in childcare vouchers, and so our net pay is deducted to Ј2100, would housing benefit be calculated using a figure of Ј2100, or would they still use a figure of Ј2500 and not disregard the childcare voucher reduction?
  Thanks
• They will use the Ј2100 figure as income.
  But if you then use childcare vouchers towards child care for benefit purposes it isn't counted as childcare expenditure as per my earlier post.
• So in easy terms it is going to be better for us to not have childcare vouchers, otherwise we are going to have less salary because of childcare vouchers and HB will not disregard this?