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Family-related government benefits and subsidies — Child Care Subsidy and Family Tax Benefit, both means-tested and free to estimate here.
Working out FTB Part A or Part B? Head straight to the Family Tax Benefit Calculator. For help with child care fees, try the Child Care Subsidy Calculator.
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a means-tested government payment that reduces approved child care fees. The percentage you get depends on family income, each parent's activity level (work, study or looking for work) and the type of care.
Family Tax Benefit has two parts. Part A is paid per child based on family income and the child's age; Part B adds extra help for single parents and single-income families. Both are means-tested and can be paid fortnightly or as a lump sum after the year ends.
No. Both are non-taxable government payments from Services Australia and are not included in your assessable income.
Yes. They are separate payments with their own eligibility rules, so most eligible families receive both if they meet each payment's income test.
Because income is only one of three inputs. The subsidy percentage starts from family income, but the hours it applies to come from the activity test — the lower-activity parent's hours of work, study, volunteering or looking for work sets the fortnightly cap for both. The third input is the hourly rate cap, which differs between centre-based day care, outside school hours care, family day care and in-home care, so two families paying the same fee can be subsidised against different ceilings.
Family Tax Benefit is paid on an estimate of your income for the year and reconciled after you lodge your tax return. A standard portion of each fortnightly payment is withheld so that a family whose income turns out higher than estimated is less likely to owe money back. If your estimate was accurate or high, the withheld amount is paid out at reconciliation.
Both payments are assessed on the full financial year, not on what you earn in a given fortnight, so a pay rise, a redundancy or a return from parental leave changes the whole year's entitlement rather than just the weeks after it happens. Updating your estimate with Services Australia when it changes is what keeps the reconciliation from producing a debt.
Neither payment is assessable income, so neither is entered as income on your return. They can still interact with it indirectly: Family Tax Benefit is reconciled against the adjusted taxable income your return establishes, which is why lodging late — or not lodging at all — can hold up or cancel the payment.