Fostering Allowance and Rewards
You make a difference, and we make sure you have the financial support to match. Receive on average £25,340 per year of tax-free allowances for each child in your care.
How much do foster parents get paid?
Providing a safe, secure family home is the most valuable gift you can give a child. That’s why fostering is one of the most rewarding vocations. Not only will you be helping to turn a child’s life around and make a real difference, but you’ll also receive competitive fostering allowances and rewards.
There is no single set fostering fee, but on average, our foster parents receive £487 per week per child, which is typically tax-free due to qualifying care relief. The amount of foster parent allowance you receive depends on multiple factors, including:
- The number of children you foster.
- The ages of the children you foster
- The fostering type you choose.
- The region you live in.
Foster care pay examples
Maria
Fosters a 4-year old. She receives £435.19 per week, tax-free.
Alex and Chris
Foster a 7-year old. They receive £445.20 per week, tax-free.
Claudia
Fosters a 15-year-old. She receives £469.21 per week, tax-free
Ali and Simone
Foster two children, aged 5 and 8. They receive £890.40 per week, tax-free.
Discover how fostering will affect your finances
Don’t let finances be the barrier to starting your fostering journey, discover our essential guide to allowances, tax, National Insurance and claiming benefits whilst fostering.
How does foster care pay work?
When will I receive the fostering allowance?
You'll receive bi-weekly fostering allowance payments once a child or young person begins living with you.
What does the fostering allowance cover?
Our foster carer allowances has two parts:
- Expenses – this covers the costs of caring for a child and includes things like groceries, clothing, entertainment and opportunities for their personal development.
- Professional fee – this rewards you for your hard work and dedication to your role as a foster parent.
Money matters, which is why we offer generous fostering allowances to help you meet the needs of children in your care while also recognising your professionalism and expertise.
We regularly review payments to ensure our foster families don't struggle to make ends meet due to the rising cost of living and inflation.
Check out our fostering allowance calculator below to see how much you could receive.
Our Benefits:
At FCA, we acknowledge and value your work as foster parents. You go above and beyond for children and young people, so we do the same for you. Once you've been an approved FCA foster parent for over six months, you'll receive two bonus payments each year - £250 in summer and £250 in winter.
When you foster with us, you can also benefit from our exclusive referral scheme. If you refer a friend and they become an approved foster parent, you'll receive £1,500. Once they've been fostering with us for a year, you'll receive another £1,500.
Additional rewards
We don’t do things by halves. When you foster with FCA, you’ll also be part of our STARS scheme, one of the most generous reward and loyalty schemes. This scheme recognises and rewards foster parents for changing the lives of children and young people in their care.
Our Stars scheme includes:
- Shine - our monthly Time to Shine Awards celebrate the incredible contribution our foster parents make within our community, offering prizes and recognition as a sincere thank you for their dedication and hard work.
- Together - to celebrate your time as part of the FCA family, you’ll receive a personalised gift or experience for each fostering milestone you reach.
- Appreciation - We organise yearly local events across the UK to thank our foster parents; this can include lunch or afternoon tea - and there is always lots of cake! We also recognise the birth children of foster parents who play an essential role within the fostering family.
- Reward - In addition to the summer and winter bonuses, we also offer an annual appreciation bonus from £150 up to £1,000 depending on your length of service.
- Savings – We provide all of our foster parents with access to our rewards platform where you can take advantage of fantastic discounts across hundreds of high street names, online stores and supermarkets. From theatre tickets and theme park adventures to National Trust properties and local cinemas, our discount scheme also helps make family days out more affordable.
Fostering tax allowance
Key facts at a glance:
- Foster parents must complete an annual self-assessment tax return as they classify as self-employed.
- There may be a requirement to pay some tax, and every person’s situation is unique.
However…
- HMRC offers a special tax relief called qualifying care relief, so most foster parents don't have to pay tax on their fostering payments.
As a foster parent, you’ll receive an £18,140 tax exemption, plus additional tax relief for each child in placement, which generally makes your income from fostering completely tax-free.
National Insurance, benefits and pensions
Most foster parents won't need to pay National Insurance, as their fostering income is below the threshold.
However, you can choose to make voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions to secure your entitlement to state benefits, such as the State Retirement Pension, Employment and Support Allowance, and Maternity Allowance, in case you need to claim them in the future.
Income from fostering shouldn't affect means-tested benefits either, as the fostering allowance isn’t counted towards income when determining eligibility for benefits such as Housing Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credit and more.
Can I continue to work whilst fostering?
Fostering allows you to leave behind the constraints of the typical nine-to-five job. It offers a flexible and rewarding work-life balance that enables you to be based at home where you can care for your own children alongside any foster children – all while earning a generous fee.
In addition to making a lasting and positive impact on those who need it most, fostering opens a new career path that offers competitive pay, career progression, and ongoing training.
Although we have many foster parents who continue to work alongside fostering, it all depends on individual circumstances and whether you can meet the needs of a child in your care.
Having another job is feasible, but you need to be available to provide a high level of care. The child's welfare, safety and needs should always be front and centre.
Private fostering agency vs local authority allowance
Independent fostering agencies generally offer higher fostering allowances than local authorities, and each local authority sets its own foster care allowance.
Local authorities have Minimum Allowances guidelines for foster parents, which range from £132 to £231 per week, depending on your location and the age of the child.
At FCA, we pay between £435 and £469, with additional benefits and bonuses on top. We also provide an ongoing training programme and 24/7 support every step of the way.
Can’t find what you’re looking for?
By Phone
Call a member of our friendly fostering team and they'll be able to answer all your questions