The family tax credit is the main payment for people who qualify for Working for Families.
Can you get Working for Families?
How much you get depends on:
- the amount of your family income
- the type of income you get
- how many dependent children you have
- any shared care arrangements.
Working out your family income
Government payments that affect your Working for Families
How much money can you expect?
Check out our calculator and chart for a quick estimate of your entitlement.
How the family tax credit works
We work out the family tax credit based on your income and the number of children you have.
If you have a shared care arrangement, or your family situation changes during the year, we’ll adjust your entitlement.
Changes to your family situation, income and working hours
If your family income is $42,700 or less
You’ll get the full amount of family tax credit. Your entitlement will increase with every child that joins your family.
| Dependent children | Full family tax credit (for the year) |
|---|---|
| Oldest child | $7,524 |
| Every other child | $6,130 |
If your family income is over $42,700
You’ll no longer get the full amount of family tax credit. Instead, your entitlement (as shown in the table above) will reduce by an amount called the abatement. That means you’ll get less money as your income increases.
We work out the abatement by starting with your family income, subtracting $42,700, then multiplying the difference by 27%.
Your entitlement for the year will be your full family tax credit less the abatement.
Please note
If your abatement is equal to or larger than your full family tax credit, you will not qualify for an entitlement to this credit.
If your abatement is larger than your full family tax credit, the remaining abatement will come off any in-work tax credit you may be entitled to.
Weekly or fortnightly payments
If you chose to get your Working for Families throughout the year, we’ll pay your entitlement by instalments. Your instalments will be equal to your full-year entitlement divided by:
- 26 for fortnightly payments
- 52 for weekly payments.
We round your instalments down to the nearest dollar.
Examples
The following examples show how we work out the family tax credit.
Sarah is a single mum with 2 dependent children: Emily (4) and Oliver (7 months). Her family income for the year is $37,800, and she gets her Working for Families payments weekly.
Because Sarah’s family income is below $42,700, she gets the full family tax credit. In her case, it totals $13,654. Here’s how we worked it out:
| Dependent children | Full family tax credit (for the year) |
|---|---|
| Emily (the oldest child) | $7,524 |
| Oliver | $6,130 |
| Total | $13,654 |
Weekly family tax credit
Sarah gets paid a family tax credit of $262 every week.
Here’s how we worked it out:
Eva Rahui and her partner Henare have 3 dependent children: Eruera (13), Thomas (9), and Anahera (7). Both partners work and the family income for the year is $100,000. Their Working for Families payments are paid weekly.
Because the Rahui family earns over $42,700, they will not get the full family tax credit. Instead, an abatement will apply.
The family’s full family tax credit is $19,784. Here’s how we worked it out:
| Dependent children | Full family tax credit (for the year) |
|---|---|
| Eruera (the oldest child) | $7,524 |
| Thomas | $6,130 |
| Anahera | $6,130 |
| Total | $19,784 |
Abatement
Full-year family tax credit
Now, we reduce the full family tax credit by the abatement.
Weekly family tax credit
Every week, the family gets paid $82.
Here’s how we worked it out:
Claire and Laura are parents of Daniel (9) and Stephanie (6). Both partners work and the family income for the year is $100,000.
Because the family income is over $42,700, Claire and Laura will not get the full family tax credit. Instead, an abatement will apply.
The family’s full family tax credit is $13,654. Here’s how we worked it out:
| Dependent children | Full family tax credit (for the year) |
|---|---|
| Daniel (the oldest child) | $7,524 |
| Stephanie | $6,130 |
| Total | $13,654 |
Abatement
Next, we work out the abatement.
Deducting the abatement
Now, we reduce the full family tax credit by the abatement.
No entitlement
Because the abatement is larger than the full family tax credit, Claire and Laura will not get a family tax credit.
And the remaining abatement of $1,817 will come off their in-work tax credit.
To see how that works, we have an example on the in-work tax credit page.
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