Why estimate income?
If your income is irregular and you choose to be paid all of your family assistance throughout the year, you are at risk of being overpaid. You can reduce your risk by choosing to receive some of your family assistance after the end of the financial year.
If you choose to get your Family Tax Benefit as fortnightly payments and/or your Child Care Benefit as reduced fees, you will need to provide us with an estimate of your family's income for the financial year.
The amount of family assistance you are entitled to is based on your and your partner's actual income. Your actual income is worked out when you lodge your tax return. However, you can choose to be paid your family assistance before you lodge your tax return by providing us with an estimate of what your actual income will be. After the end of the financial year, we will check that you have been paid the correct amount.
It is important that you get your estimate right. If you underestimate your family's income, you could be overpaid and have to repay the amount you should not have received at the end of the financial year.
Please Note: You and your partner must either lodge a tax return or tell the Family Assistance Office that you are not required to lodge a tax return (the Australian Taxation Office can tell you whether you are required to lodge a tax return). If you do not do either of these things, any Family Tax Benefit you have received will become a debt and will have to be repaid.
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