Does anyone know what childcare benefit tops out at?

[*Ali*]

I just had a look on the website and it says for 2 children the income limit is $136, 375
If you go to the online services there is actualley a calculator for child care benefit- it will give you a percentage of CCB.

Then basically the percentage you get- say for eg is 35%, it means they will pay 35% of the scheduled $3.60 per hour.

So if for eg. your fees are $60 per day would would pay 65% of 3.60 per hour for 12 hours (usually what a full day is set down for) so $2.34 x 12 = $28.80
Plus you would also pay the difference between the $43.20 (govt schedule fee of $3.60 per hour for 12 hours) and the $60 the daycare charges for a full day- which is $16.80.
Therefor your total per child per day would be $28.80 + 16.80= $45.60

I hope thats not too confusing, and helps a little.

[Matryoshka]

Thanks for that, i've really been struggling to understand the system.

So Ali... for me to put 2 kids in a daycare it would be about $90 out of my pocket on the day?

Is $3.60 the average rate? and if you get CCB you get a percentage back? not on the day but at tax time??

[Trillian]

With the percentage amount that is immediate. I have a % of 34.08 and the other day I paid $30 and x cents on the day, but the 50% for the rebate is only claimable each quarter, so you have to wear that cost for 3 months. I think it is quarterly isn't it?

[Matryoshka]

is what you are saying, that you pay full child care fees upfront, but later on, get back a percentage of what you paid?

What i'm actually applying for is in-home child care, which is a little different, and a short term scheme for people with a disability or hardship. But i have to go through the application for CCB even though i won't be ever using an out of the home child care centre..... if that makes sense?

[Trillian]

You still need your CCB% and the rebate amount for any type of care you choose. So yes, you pay for it all upfront, minus your CCB% (which will vary from person to person) and then you claim back the childcare rebate later, which is where you get up to 50% back on those costs.

[Amity]

I think Fionas uses something like this... not sure though...

[*Ali*]

I am not 100% sure exactly what your cost would be- I was only giving an example!

For us we have a combined income of about $80, 000, I think my CCB 72%- my daycare fees are $57 a d ay and I pay $26 per child per day out of pocket.

The childcare rebate- of which you get 50% of your out of pocket expenses back, I am pretty sure only applies if both parents are working.

CCB (Child Care Benefit) is a percentage which gets applied to the childcare fees and discounts the cost that you pay weekly.

CCR (Child care rebate) is a rebate of 50% of out of pocket which is payed either quaterly or at the end of the financial year- depending on your choice up to $7700 per child per year however there are work/ study/ training conditions for this, I just copied this off the family assistance site

If you wish to claim between 24 and 50 hours of Child Care Benefit per child per week, you have to show that you and your partner have work related commitments for:

at least 15 hours a week; or
30 hours a fortnight; or
have an exemption