"We opened a hair salon, Cult Hairdressing, last December, says Brett, who grew up in Australia and met his wife in Russia before they both moved to the UK. We have a service charge [related to the salon] that was 50% higher than we expected, Brett says, adding that business rates are costly, as well as VAT. I am taking a minimum salary to keep the business numbers adding up and keep our promise to investors."
"Brett earns 12,000 a year, and Maria takes home 70,000 but can earn up to 50,000 in bonuses as a sales director for a tech company. She recently got a 5,000 bonus, which led to an alert from HMRC that she might be nearing the 100,000 tax threshold, when the family would no longer qualify for free funded hours they now use for their oldest son's childcare. You start questioning whether working more actually means losing more, she says."
"To keep childcare costs manageable, Brett and Maria, who are parents to two sons aged three and one, carefully structure their week. They employ a nanny for their younger son three days a week from 9am to 3pm, keeping the hours intentionally short to save money. Their eldest attends a childcare provider in Epping Forest because, as Brett says: It's cheaper to take him there than the nurseries in South Woodford or Wanstead."
Brett and Maria MacDonald live in London with two young sons and no nearby extended family. They opened a hair salon and face unexpected service charges, high business rates, and VAT, prompting Brett to take a minimum salary to keep the business viable. Maria earns a base salary with potential large bonuses as a sales director, and a recent bonus triggered an HMRC alert about nearing the 100,000 threshold, risking loss of free childcare hours. The couple carefully arranges childcare using a part-time nanny and a lower-cost provider, and feel penalized by frozen tax bands when bonuses push income higher.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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