Fees and Allowances

At TACT we pay our foster carers competitive professional fees and allowances, in recognition of the skilled and demanding work that they carry out.

The payment you receive from TACT will be made up of two elements:

• The Maintenance allowance for the child
• The foster carer fee

The allowance covers the costs of everything that you need to care for a child such as food, clothing, transport, personal items and household expenses. The fee part of the payment is effectively your salary for the time and skill dedicated to foster caring.

The amount that you receive for each of these components will vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of placement, the age of each child and the complexity of their needs. TACT’s fees and allowances are calculated on a daily rate and is paid fortnightly.

In addition to the fees and allowances, you will also be entitled to a range of extra payments covering everything from a birthday allowance and festival allowance to buy gifts for your foster child to holiday allowances and some additional travel costs.

Self-employment and tax relief

As a foster carer, you are classed as self-employed and 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 placement.

As part of the application and assessment process we will discuss your financial circumstances and how you will cope during periods without a placement.

As a foster carer your earnings will be subject to special tax arrangements which in most cases mean that you will pay very low, if any tax on your income from fostering. There’s a fixed tax exemption of up to £10,000 per year which is shared equally among any foster carers in the same household. This means you don’t have to pay tax on the first £10,000 income (after expenses) you make from fostering.

On top of the £10,000 exemption, you also get tax relief of up to £250 per week for each child in your care. This means if you have a child over the age of 11 in your care for a whole year you wouldn’t pay tax on your earnings up to £23,000.

If you currently receive benefits, these may still be paid alongside your fostering payments. Click here for further information about working out your taxable income and eligibility for claiming working tax credit. Please note the minimum fostering allowance rates are quoted by the gov.uk on the link above – TACT pays foster carers a more competitive fee than what is stated on the gov.uk website.