childcare and financial help

[Blade]

what are all the childcare options for daughter a year and a half . apparently it is harder if you have 1 child to get financial help. at moment we need full time until our house is sorted. I think assistante maternelle is the only option for me. any help appreciated.

[Teamedup]

It is the CAF that deal with some aspects of this and most of the details are on their web site. There will likely be means testing, there often is.

Also you should be able to put your child care costs on your tax return and there are usually good reductions. However, that declaration is made in the March time of the following year and the tax sorted out around the following summer. So if you started doing this  in Jan 06, then your declaration would be put in in 03/07 and you'd get your money back from the tax in summer 07.

I have no idea as to how much a registered nounou would cost these days. And a lot depends on where you live too. LOL my friend was asked to look after children at lunch time and was offered the grand sum of 3 euros an hour per child, plus food costs. And the maman was quite insulted that she was not interested in this, for  she considered it a generous offer.

 

[Blade]

thanks . will review CAF website. 3 euros sounds mean  by uk and french standards! tried to look at caf website but not working today at least. any info from anyone would be useful.

[KathyC]

Would you be eligible for any financial help with childcare if you are not employed?

[Mistral]

All three of my kids went to a creche familiale. They aren't very well known in france even if most towns have them. they are run and overseen by the mairie but the actual childcare is done by assistantes maternelles in their own homes. the fees are claculated by the Mairie and are income related.

I don't know about financial help from the CAF (possibly because our fees were based on our wages) but you can claim back 25% of what you pay (up to a certain limit) directly from your taxes if you use a creche or a nourrice agrée.

You might find some useful info here

[Danny]

I imagine you would not be eligible for financial help - benefits are generally only given for two or more children, unless there are unemployment/single parent issues, and then I guess you would have to be in the French tax system and declare any income or lack of it. I would suggest that if you re in a position to bring in a nanny from the UK, or are even considering this, your financial situation would not be dire enough for the French authorities to help you out, even if you were in the French system! Why don't you check out your local Ecole Maternelle and get your daughter registered for the next intake in September - she will be over 2 then and they should take her if she is potty trained. My son started doing mornings only but had it been really necessary he could have stayed for the afternoons too.

Jane

[Blade]

with nanny / au pair if they are registered in uk you can get tax credits help which is up to 70 per cent payment towards cost!!!!! so you dont have to be too wealthy![quote user="Jane"]

I imagine you would not be eligible for financial help - benefits are generally only given for two or more children, unless there are unemployment/single parent issues, and then I guess you would have to be in the French tax system and declare any income or lack of it. I would suggest that if you re in a position to bring in a nanny from the UK, or are even considering this, your financial situation would not be dire enough for the French authorities to help you out, even if you were in the French system! Why don't you check out your local Ecole Maternelle and get your daughter registered for the next intake in September - she will be over 2 then and they should take her if she is potty trained. My son started doing mornings only but had it been really necessary he could have stayed for the afternoons too.

Jane

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[Suze01]

Hi,

I am a registered Assistante Maternelle so I can give you a few facts.

The current tarif set by the Relais Assistant Maternelles (for the Dordogne - this may vary by region) is a minimum hourly rate of 2,26€ brut (2.25 x SMIC/8 [SMIC = 8,03€ brut] ) and a maximum hourly rate of 5,02€ brut (5 x SMIC/8). Yes, these are the correct rates, compared to the UK they're a bargain for the employer.  Having given you the tarifs above, in fact the 'tarifs des Assistantes Maternelles sont libres' that is to say it is up to the employer and the employee to agree on an hourly rate and there are no limits for this, you could pay your NouNou €25 per hour if you wanted to.  The tarif limits mentioned above should be adhered to if the employee is to claim back their childcare expenses through URSSAF/CAF.

As you have one child you are not entitled to child benefit. But, until her third birthday you are entiteld to receive PAJ (paiement a jeune enfant).  My employers have my wages refunded each trimestre instead of receiving this monthly payment.

You need to contact URSSAF and CAF.

You can find more info on URSSAF's website http://www.pajemploi.urssaf.fr/pajeweb/amat.jsp

[Teamedup]

Isn't PAJ means tested though Suze?

[Suze01]

[quote user="Teamedup"]Isn't PAJ means tested though Suze?[/quote]

As far as I can see from the website you either need to be living on your own or as a couple with an income of at least 4243.08€

You can check the requirements/limits on this website:

http://www.caf.fr  (look under 'Toutes les Prestations' then 'Allocations Jeune Enfants' and also  'Les Limits, Les Montants' )

[Debra]

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[KathyC]

I don't see why you would expect anyone to give you financial help with childcare  for your daughter (whether from England or France)whilst you stay at home renovating your house. I'm sorry if that wasn't what you meant but it sounded like it.