My wife is starting as a childminder and has been asked if she could drop off and pick up from a school in a nearby village. As we are new to this we think that there would be the hourly rate for child care and then a travel cost on top.

Google mapped the route and the back lane way is 5.6 miles each way twice a day = 100+ miles a week = 4800 miles approx a yr. We just went for £.40 a mile as a guess to cover fuel and running costs. This adds another £40 a week onto price.

What I’m asking for really is A) how would you work out the cost per mile? B) do any of you pay for child care in this type of scenario and would you expect to pay extra for travel to and from school?

Muchos gratis

40p sounds about right. There’s guidelines on government tax site I think

I believe that 45p is current HMRC rate…(went up fairly recently).

Yes it went from 40p to 45p this year as a minimum charge

dribbling +1 45p per mile for the first 10’000 miles then 15p per mile thereafter

If you’ve not already done so check with your insurers (or at least read the small print) as to whether using your car for work like this is covered

If you’ve not already done so check with your insurers (or at least read the small print) as to whether using your car for work like this is covered

45p per mile of business use can be offset against tax for the first 10,000 PLUS 5p for each passenger.

I think there is a limit to the number of passengers though.

Thanks all, very helpful, I think insurance has been checked but will make sure. Do any of you pay for a childminder? If so would charging more to drop kids off and pick up from school be the norm?

As an aside,

It might feel excessive charging 40-45p a mile. You’re not just charging for fuel though; I worked out a while back that to run my car costs me 10p/mile in tyre wear.

youll ned buissness travel insurance for the car or other vehicle,and will need to possibly contact the local transport licencing office of the council as youre providing a taxi service for a fee.

There are two issues here. What you charge the client and what you claim for on the tax return. Is your wife a sole trader? If so she shouldn’t claim the 45p rate as that doesn’t apply to sole traders. Lots of people do and get away with it, and even some accountants advise it, though. You should only really claim the actual costs. As for what you charge the client that is entirely up to you. I’d be tempted to just add her standard hourly rate. Makes it a bit more like child minding and less like a taxi service.

Most childminders provide school pick ups as part of the price per hr in my area