Fostering Allowance and Benefits

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One of the most common questions we get asked is “how much do you get paid for fostering?”. As a foster carer you will have a life-changing impact on the lives of children and young people. As a foster carer with Diverse Fostering you will demonstrate love and warmth and you will help them to improve their self-esteem, self-care skills, make better choices and help them to go on to have a safer and happier future.

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We recognise that looking after a child or young person has financial implications which is why as a foster carer with Diverse Fostering you are paid a weekly fostering allowance which is made up of a professional fee for yourself and also a day to day living allowance for the child.

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- Payments are hassle-free: they’re paid electronically, directly into your bank account

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- We provide new placement start up payments per child

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- Long term placement bonuses

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- Annual training bonus for experienced carers

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- Birthday allowance in addition to your normal fostering allowance

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- Religious festival allowance in addition to your normal fostering allowance

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- Fostering can be a challenging, full time role, so we continually look at different ways of supporting foster carers,         including ensuring you are able to take short breaks.

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- On top of fees paid for looking after a child, you'll also have opportunities to earn more through becoming a Carer     Recruitment Ambassador and through referring prospective foster carers which will attract a referral bonus if

  approved.

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- Should you have the room, you are more likely to have the opportunity to look after multiple children or young             people simultaneously with Diverse Fostering.

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- If you foster, you’ll be eligible for National Insurance credits, which counts towards your State Pension.

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- We have a very clear carer finances handbook and are transparent with what we provide and when.

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- We provide free advice from a local qualified accountancy firm who you can contact at any time to discuss your             personal situation with. They will also be able to provide you with a self assessment.

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Fostering Allowance

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As a fostering agency, Diverse Fostering provide an average fostering payment of £370 for every child per week living in your home. This includes both the professional fee paid to you as a foster carer and the child’s living allowance. This is the money to be spent on caring for children placed with you. On average our carers support between one and two children every week and therefore the actual average carer weekly fostering allowance is higher than this.

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The day to day living allowance of a child looked after in your home will vary depending on the age and need of the child. It will generally cover the cost of food, clothing, toiletries, pocket money and all other expenses incurred including pocket money and savings. Government guidelines suggest £150 per week to cover the day to day costs as a minimum. For more information, please call us on 01782 376555.

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Paying Tax

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The good news is foster carers have an additional tax exemption.

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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. It means that you don’t have to pay tax on the first £10,000 income you make from fostering. On top of the £10,000 you will also get tax relief for every week (or part week) that a child is in your care; which means you don’t have to pay tax on some of your earnings over £10,000. For a child under 11 years this is £200 per week and for a child over it’s £250 per week. Find out more about this on the Fostering Network or with HRMC.

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The below foster carer allowance examples will give you an idea of how the tax allowances work. All examples are for illustrative purposes only and are based on a 52 week placement. The actual amount you will receive may vary from the example (either higher or lower).

 

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Tax Relief Examples

 

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