Finding people to foster children
Fostering Children
Fostering Allowances
Allowances paid by Local Authorities
All payments that a foster carer receives are taken into account when determining whether they need to declare earnings to the tax office.
The total payments received in a year (or pro-rata) are compared to the exemptions allowed and any difference above this limit should be declared to the tax office, and tax paid through ‘self-assessment.
The national minimum allowance rates for 2009/10:
Weekly rates
Babies Pre-primary Primary Secondary Secondary (16-17)
Base £106 £108 £119 £137 £159
South East £117 £120 £134 £152 £179
London £122 £125 £140 £158 £186
The national minimum allowance rates for 2010/11:
Weekly rates
Babies Pre-primary Primary Secondary Secondary (16-17)
Base £109 £111 £122 £140 £164
South East £120 £123 £137 £156 £184
London £126 £129 £144 £163 £191
Independent Fostering agencies
All foster carers receive an allowance to cover the cost of caring for a child in their home.
For foster carers working on behalf of an Independent Fostering agency this is set by the individual agency.
The fee can be dependent on age however is about £420 a week per child placed.
There are National guidelines which recommend basic levels of allowances for foster carers which Local Authorities tend to use.
