Help to repay a debt

If you have a Working for Families debt, but you’re having trouble paying, please do not worry. We can help you.

You have options for repaying Working for Families overpayments.

Applying for an instalment arrangement

Instalment arrangements can make things easier by splitting up what you owe over weekly or fortnightly repayments.

There are 3 ways to set up this type of payment plan:

1. Applying in myIR
2. Sending us a message in myIR
3. Calling us

Apply for an instalment arrangement

How to send a message in myIR

Debt and refunds - contact us

There are a number of payment methods, including using future Working for Families payments.

Ways of paying

Using future Working for Families payments

You may like to pay your debt out of your future Working for Families payments.

When applying for an instalment arrangement, you'll be able to choose:

• 'WfFTC entitlements' - when selecting a payment option
• the amount you want taken off your Working for Families payments
• the start date for the instalment arrangement.

Applying for financial relief

If you’re unable to pay, we might be able to write off all or some of your debt. We'll ask you about your financial situation before making a decision.

Apply for financial relief - individuals in New Zealand

Avoiding going into debt

You’ll end up with a debt if you're overpaid your Working for Families during the year.

An overpayment happens when you received more money than you were entitled to because either:

• your family income was higher than the estimate
• we did not have correct family details.

Common situations you need to tell us about 

Please let us know when things change. We can help you get the right amount of Working for Families in the future.

Changes to your family situation, income and working hours