Factsheet - Family Tax Benefit and Maintenance Reconciliation

How does child support (maintenance) affect my Family Tax Benefit payments?

Any child support (maintenance) payments you or your partner get for your children do not count as part of family income but may affect how much Family Tax Benefit Part A you can be paid, if you are entitled to more than the base rate.

If you or your partner get child support payments during the financial year, the Family Assistance Office will assess these payments to work out your correct rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A.

Your Family Tax Benefit Part A will reduce by 50 cents in every dollar of child support you get, over the maintenance income free areas, until the base rate is reached.

Maintenance income free areas (per year)
Status	Maintenance received (per year)
Single parent, or one of a couple receiving maintenance	$1 259.25
Couple, each receiving maintenance	$2 518.50
For each additional child	$419.75

If you have a blended family and receive child support for some but not all of the children in your family, the Maintenance Income Free Area will apply only to those children in your family for whom you receive child support.

If you receive child support for a child from a previous relationship and you also have care of a child from a different relationship or your current relationship, the child support you receive will only affect the maximum amount of FTB Part A for the child from your previous relationship

What is maintenance reconciliation?

After the end of the financial year, we will check that you have been paid the correct amount of Family Tax Benefit Part A based on your actual income and the amount of child support you received.

Family Tax Benefit Part B and Child Care Benefit are not affected by the child support payments you or your partner get.

How does a child support agreement affect my Family Tax Benefit?

If you enter into a child support agreement on or after 1 July 2008, the maintenance income test for FTB Part A will use a notional amount of child support rather than the actual amount that you receive.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) will work out a notional assessment, which is the annual rate of child support that would otherwise be payable under the child support legislation if there was no agreement. The amount of child support that would be received under a CSA notional assessment is the amount that will be used in the maintenance income test for FTB Part A

For child support agreements entered into before 1 July 2008 that the CSA has reviewed and accepted to continue, FTB Part A will continue to be worked out using the amount of child support received under your agreement.

How will I know the outcome and what will happen after reconciliation?

We will advise you of the result. If you were paid too much Family Tax Benefit, you will have to repay any amount you shouldn't have been paid. If you were underpaid during the year, you will get a top up payment.

When does reconciliation take place?

The reconciliation process for Family Tax Benefit takes place after 1 July once your and your partner's income has been assessed by the Australian Taxation Office.

Taking action to receive child support

To maximise the amount of Family Tax Benefit Part A you can be paid, you must take reasonable steps to arrange child support payments.

If you become eligible to claim child support before 1 January 2007, you have 28 days to take reasonable steps to obtain a child support assessment in order to continue to receive more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A. If you become eligible on or after 1 January 2007, you will have 13 weeks to take reasonable steps to obtain a child support assessment. The date you become eligible to claim for child support is the later of the:

date of birth of your child;
date you separated from your child's other parent;
date the child enters your care;
date your percentage of care increases to 35% or above; or
date you become entitled to a rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A greater than the base rate and you have not previously taken maintenance action.

'Reasonable steps' includes asking the Child Support Agency to collect your child support. If you would like to discuss your situation, or require more information, you can contact us.

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