Working for Families (WFF) is a collective term for tax credits paid to families with dependent children. WFF is designed to help make it easier for people to work and raise a family.
About Working for Families data
We collect data by using individuals’ WFF tax returns to see total entitlements. We also use WFF data recorded on the PAYE returns of Work and Income clients. When a customer has not yet filed their return, we use WFF payments made by Inland Revenue.
Best Start Tax Credit tables
The Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC) started on 1 July 2018. This tax credit is available to all qualifying families with a baby in their 1st year, and to families with infants from 1 year of age until their 3rd birthday on an abated basis – meaning that if the infant is aged 1 or 2 the amount the family is entitled to depends on the family’s income. Additionally, a family is no longer eligible for BSTC once their child turns 3, but they will have a part year entitlement in that tax year.
Because BSTC is a relatively new credit, statistics for the first few years of the credit reflect its phase-in until the first cohort (group) of eligible children turn 3 and lose entitlement. From the 2023 tax year we expect that growth in the number of families entitled to BSTC tax credits will stabilise. After that the number of eligible families will generally increase or decrease in line with changes in New Zealand’s new-born to 2-year-old population, and/or will reflect the impact of income growth on reduced entitlements.
BSTC statistics includes families administered by Inland Revenue and clients of Work and Income. For Work and Income clients that received BSTC but did not receive a WFF end of year assessment from Inland Revenue, Inland Revenue has estimated their BSTC entitlement using administrative data held on file.
Data on numbers of supported children
The 2023 release includes a new table on the number of children for whom Working for Families tax credits are paid and a distribution of families by the number of children for whom Working for Families tax credits are paid. The number of children has been adjusted for shared care arrangements known by Inland Revenue. However, double counting may occur where shared care arrangements are not known.
Because family demographics can change during the year, the data on numbers of children is based on the maximum of the number of children in the family at the start of the year and the number of children at the end of the year.
Data on the number of supported children is available from 2020 to 2023. Data is not available prior to 2020 as Inland Revenue does not hold sufficient information to estimate the number of children in families receiving Working for Families support administered by Work and Income.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used for the tables and graphs:
Current Credits
- Family tax credit (FTC)
- In-work tax credit (IWTC)
- Minimum family tax credit (MFTC)
- Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC)
Credits no longer available
- Child tax credit (CTC)
- Parental tax credit (PTC)