We believe that fostering can be transformative to the lives of children and young people as well as incredibly rewarding for foster carers themselves. We know that people become foster carers for a variety of reasons and although money might not be your first concern, it is important that potential foster carers understand the fees and allowances available so that you can budget for your family’s outgoings. Read more and download our rate sheet below or speak to our expert team.
On average foster carers in Rotherham earn £442 per week. However, the actual amount you will earn depends on a few things like how many children you have on placement in your home, their ages and other factors that are based on the needs of the children in placement.
Financial Benefits at a Glance
On average our foster carers earn £1915 per month:
A new foster carer with one foster child, aged 3 can earn up to £1031 per month;
An experienced foster carer (level 4) with two foster children aged 5 and 8 can earn up to £2,878 per month;
Tax relief that can mean all or the majority of the fees paid to foster carers are tax exempt;
Foster carers can earn up to £1100 per year to pay for foster children’s birthday, religious and cultural holidays such as Christmas and family holiday costs;
Our foster carers can claim 14 days paid and supported leave every year;
Foster carers can claim an additional 40p per mile for journeys specific to your foster child on top of your weekly allowance.
How our fees are calculated
To make it easy to understand, Fostering Rotherham pay our foster carers an all inclusive weekly amount, this payment is made up of two parts:
The foster carer fee: This is sometimes referred to as a ‘skills payment’ but basically this is the fee we pay to foster carers for doing the amazing job they every day. Again, this fee can vary based on the qualifications and skills foster carers acquire over time.
A fostering allowance: This is a payment to cover the living costs associated with having a child such as food, clothing, pocket money and activities. The amount of allowance you receive varies depending on how old they are and how many children you care for.
Becky is a Level One skilled foster carer with one foster child aged 3. Becky receives:
Foster Carer Fee = £100 per week
Basic Allowance = £138 per week
Total £238 per week / £1,031 per month*
Adam and Chris are Level Two skilled foster carers with two foster children aged 5 and 8. Adam and Chris receive:
Foster Carer Fee = £250 per week
Basic Allowance = £304.24 per week
Total £554.24 per week / £2,401 per month*
Sally is a foster carer with one foster child, aged 11. She is a Level Three skilled carer. Sally receives:
Foster Carer Fee = £175 per week
Basic Allowance = £189 per week
Total £364 per week / £1,578 per month*
Sarah and John are foster carers with two foster children aged 11 and 16. They are Level Four skilled carers. Sarah and John receive:
Foster Carer Fee = £720 per week
Basic Allowance = £419.67 per week
Total £1139.67 per week / £4938 per month*
* Monthly calculations are for demonstration purposes only and are based on having the placement scenarios in the examples above, in place full time for a period of 365 days per year. The amounts paid to you will be based on actual placement durations, your fostering skills levels and the age of the children placed with you.
There are also some additional payments a foster carer will receive once a year at different times to cover things like birthdays, religious and cultural holidays such as Christmas, and family holidays. In total these payments can range between £552 to £1,121 per child, per year depending on the age of the foster children. As a foster carer, you will also receive generous local and national discounts at a number of places for family activities.
Sadly, not all children are fully equipped with clothing and equipment. Foster carers may be able to claim up to £200 for purchasing clothing and up to £500 for equipment costs when the child is first admitted into care. Foster carers may also be able to claim up to £70 for school uniform costs. These purchases need to be agreed with the supervising social worker in advance and receipts need to be obtained for all purchases.
Foster carers are classed as self-employed. The government has generous tax allowances in place for those who foster and this means that you will pay little or no tax, depending on how many children you care for.
If you are an existing foster carer, or work for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, you can earn up to £500 by successfully referring a foster carer.
Book a call with one of our team to find out how much you could earn fostering for Rotherham
Tax Benefits
HMRC has specific tax relief in place for foster carers. The tax relief scheme consists of three parts:
Your personal tax exempt allowance of £12,570 (2021/22);
An additional foster care tax exemption of £10,000 which is shared between foster carers living in the same household;
Additional tax relief for every week that a child is in your care:
£200 per week per child under the age of 11 years old
£250 per week per child aged 11 years old or over
Based on the tax relief schemes highlighted above Sally from example 3 above would have up to £35,570 of tax exemption per year assuming she had an 11 year old foster child placed with her for 52 weeks of the year.
Anyone who is self-employed must register to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions. If a foster carer has no taxable profit from their fostering, or if they have taxable profit (the amount over the threshold) by up to £6,365 (2019-2020) and £6,205 (2018-2019), they will automatically not have to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions.
It is important to remember that the tax exemptions above will depend on each individuals circumstances and should only be used as a guide. There are lots of factors that can affect your tax liability so we advise that you speak to HMRC. There is lots of additional information on the HMRC website including:
HMRC's help-sheet 236: A helpsheet explaining qualifying care relief, the tax scheme for foster carers
HMRC webinar for foster carers’ tax returns: A webinar explaining how to complete a tax return form
Want to know more about fostering?
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