Commentary on Sections Part 7: Income charged under this Act: rent-a-room and foster-care relief Overview
2987.The sections in this Chapter are based on section 176 of and Schedule 36 to FA 2003. These provisions are entitled “Foster carers” in the source legislation.
2988.They give relief in one of two forms for individuals who provide foster care. One form is complete tax exemption for their foster-care income provided their gross receipts do not exceed a certain level - the “full” form of relief. If gross receipts do exceed that level the income is taxable. But taxpayers can choose to have it calculated by deducting a fixed amount as expenses, rather than their actual expenses, if that is advantageous - the “alternative method of calculation” form of the relief.
2989.Foster-care relief shares certain features with rent-a-room relief (see Chapter 1 of this Part) on which the source legislation was modelled.