Overpayments
- How do you get an overpayment?
- How to reduce your risk of being overpaid?
- How to reduce your overpayment?
- How to find out the balance of your overpayment?
How do you get an overpayment?
You are at risk of being overpaid if you get fortnightly payments of Family Tax Benefit or receive your Child Care Benefit as reduced fees and your family has:
- An income between $40 000 and $72 000
- An income of $94 000 or more
- More than one income earner
- A primary earner income of $140 000 or more
- Income changes because of irregular shift work, overtime or bonuses
- An income that is hard to estimate because you are a casual worker, you work on commission or contract, or have received a bonus or redundancy payment
- Income from business or self employment
Other common changes that may cause you to have an overpayment are:
- Varying shared care arrangements
- You or your partner returning to paid work
- You have a Family Tax Benefit child who earns above the income limit
- Not lodging tax returns on time
- Not advising that you are not required to lodge a return
- Not notifying us that you have re-partnered; and
- Not updating your income when your income changes.
Overpayments can also occur if your family circumstances change and you do not tell the Family Assistance Office. If you have a change in family circumstances or an increase in family income, you need to contact us as soon as possible.
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.
How to reduce your risk of being overpaid?
If you get your Family Tax Benefit payment fortnightly and/or Child Care Benefit as reduced child care fees there are a number of things you can do to reduce your risk of being overpaid.
Update your income estimate
If you choose to get your payments fortnightly or as reduced child care fees, the amount you are paid will be based on your estimate of your annual family income.
At the start of each financial year you will be asked to update your income estimate. If you do not provide an updated income estimate, the Family Assistance Office will calculate one for you.
It is important to make sure your estimate of your annual income is as accurate as possible as after the end of the financial year. Your payments will be balanced against your actual annual family income.
For every $1000 your family’s actual taxable income is higher than your estimate, you may have an overpayment of up to $500 which you will have to pay back after the end of the financial year. This is why it is important to estimate your income as accurately as possible.
Your income estimate should include all income and you can update your income estimate as often as you like.
You can also update your income estimate online.
Think about changes that may affect your payments
If there are any other changes that may affect your payment you should contact us.
Change the way you get paid
There are different ways you can be paid that will help you reduce your risk of being overpaid
Annual payments of Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Benefit greatly reduce the risk of being overpaid. You can also receive the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A and the remainder at the end of the year which also reduces the risk of being overpaid.
If you choose to receive your Family Tax Benefit Part A as an annual lump sum, you may not be eligible for the lower Medicare Safety Net threshold until the start of the next calendar year. If you receive Family Tax Benefit Part A fortnightly, you may be eligible for the lower Medicare Safety Net threshold from the day you receive your first Family Tax Benefit Part A payment in the calendar year.
To find out more information about what payment options are available, you can go to the payment options page or contact us.
How to reduce your overpayment?
If you have a family assistance debt over $2,000 you may receive advice about reducing the size of your existing debts and reducing your risk of future overpayments.
The Family Assistance Office may also recover any of your outstanding debts through the following:
- Part of your Family Tax Benefit payments may be withheld to repay your existing family assistance debts. If your debt is less than $750 we may withhold $30 from your Family Tax Benefit payments. If your debt is more than $750 we may withhold $60 from your Family Tax Benefit payments. Withholdings may continue until the entire debt is repaid.
- Some or all available Family Tax Benefit top-ups (including supplements) and income tax returns may be used to pay off outstanding family assistance debts. Any remaining balance after debts have been offset will be paid back to you.
Contact us to discuss the options available to you.
How to find out the balance of your overpayment?
To find out the balance of your overpayment you can use online services or contact us.
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