Examples to help you balance your family assistance payments

What you need to do to balance your family assistance depends on your circumstances.

Family assistance payments include Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Not everyone has to do the same thing for us to balance your FTB and CCS. What you need to do depends on your circumstances. We’ve put together the 9 most common examples to help you understand what you need to do.

These examples don't cover every situation. To get information based on your circumstances answer some easy questions.

Example 1 Child Care Subsidy only Example 2 Single - getting income support Example 3 Single - don’t need to lodge a tax return Example 4 Single - need to lodge tax return Example 5 Couple - neither need to lodge tax return Example 6 Couple - both need to lodge tax return Example 7 Couple - partner needs to lodge tax return but you don’t Example 8 Couple - you need to lodge a tax return but your partner doesn’t Example 9 You want to claim Family Tax Benefit

Example 1. You only get Child Care Subsidy

You need to confirm your income before we can balance your CCS. This means you have until 30 June 2020 to either:

  • lodge a tax return
  • tell us you don’t need to lodge and confirm your income.

If you have a partner, they’ll need to do this too.

If you don’t need to lodge you can let us know and confirm your income for the year online. Do this using either your:

We also need your partner’s income details. You may also be able to give us these details using your Centrelink online account through myGov.

We’ll start balancing your CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Examples if you were single

Please read the example that best describes your situation.

If you separated during the 2018-19 financial year, your ex-partner’s income may also impact your payments.

For FTB we’ll use the income estimate provided for your ex-partner if they haven’t lodged a tax return yet.

We can’t balance your CCS until your ex-partner lodges a tax return, or you tell us they don’t need to. If they won’t be able to confirm their income by 30 June 2020, you should call the Families line. It’s important you do this before 1 July 2020. We may be able to balance your CCS based on your estimate of your ex-partner’s income.

Example 2. You were single and getting an income support payment

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

We’ll balance your FTB, you don’t need to do anything if both of the following applied for the whole financial year:

  • you were single
  • you got an income support payment without a gap in payments.

A gap in payment could be when your payment was cancelled or reduced to zero due to employment income. If this happened at any time during the year, you need to take action. This is different to previous years. You’ll now need to lodge a tax return, or let us know you don’t need to and confirm your income.

If you got CCS as well as FTB, you still need to take action. You need to lodge a tax return, or let us know you don’t need to lodge and confirm your income. We’ll then be able to balance your CCS.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

The date we balance your payments depends on when you get your final FTB payment for the financial year. Find out when your payments will be balanced.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Example 3. You were single and don’t need to lodge a tax return

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

Tell us you don’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm your income for the 2018-19 financial year.

You can do this from 1 July 2019 using either your:

You only need to tell us once for both FTB and CCS. You don’t need to include FTB or CCS as income.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

You’ll get your final FTB payment for 2018-19 between 3 and 16 July 2019. We’ll balance your FTB once both of the following occur:

  • you get this final FTB payment
  • you tell us you don’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm your income.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome. 

Example 4. You were single and need to lodge a tax return

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

You need to lodge a tax return before we balance your FTB and CCS.

You can lodge your tax return online using myTax. To do this, you need to link your ATO online account to myGov. Read about how to lodge online on the ATO website.

Once you’ve lodged your tax return you don’t need to do anything else.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

Once you’ve lodged your tax return, the ATO will send us your income information. This can take up to 28 days from when you get your Notice of Assessment. Once we have this information, we’ll balance your FTB.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider. We also need your actual income details from the ATO.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Examples if you had a partner

Please read the example below that relates to your situation.

Example 5. Neither you nor your partner need to lodge a tax return

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

Tell us you don’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm your income for the 2018-19 financial year.

You can do this from 1 July 2019 using either your:

You only need to tell us once for both FTB and CCS. You don’t need to include FTB or CCS as income.

We also need your partner’s income details. You may be able to give us these details using your Centrelink online account through myGov. If you can’t, your partner will need to do this.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

You’ll get your final FTB payment for 2018-19 between 3 and 16 July 2019. We’ll balance your FTB once both of the following occur:

  • you get this final FTB payment
  • you and your partner tell us you don’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm your incomes.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Example 6. You and your partner both need to lodge a tax return

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

You and your partner need to lodge your tax returns before we balance your FTB and CCS.

You can both lodge your tax returns online using myTax. To do this, you need to link your ATO online account to myGov. Read about how to lodge online on the ATO website.

Once you’ve lodged your tax return you don’t need to do anything else.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

Once you and your partner have lodged your tax returns, the ATO will send us your income information. This can take up to 28 days from when you and your partner get your Notice of Assessments. Once we have this information, we’ll balance your FTB.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider. We also need your and your partner’s actual income details from the ATO.

Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Example 7. Your partner needs to lodge a tax return, but you don’t

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

Tell us you don’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm your income for the 2018-19 financial year.

You can do this from 1 July 2019 using either your:

You only need to tell us once for both FTB and CCS. You don’t need to include FTB or CCS as income.

We also need your partner’s income details. Your partner can lodge their tax return online using myTax. To do this, they need to link their ATO online account to myGov. Read about how to lodge online at the ATO website.

Once they’ve lodged their tax return, they don’t need to do anything else.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

Once your partner has lodged their tax return, the ATO will send us their income information. This can take up to 28 days from when they get their Notice of Assessment. Once we have this information, and you’ve confirmed your income we’ll balance your FTB.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider. We also need your partner’s actual income details from the ATO. Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Example 8. You need to lodge a tax return, but your partner doesn’t

What you need to do so we can balance your payments

You need to lodge a tax return before we balance your FTB and CCS.

You can lodge your tax return online using myTax. To do this, you need to link your ATO online account to myGov. Read about how to lodge online at the ATO website.

We also need your partner’s details. Tell us if your partner doesn’t need to lodge a tax return and confirm their income. You can do this online using either:

If you can’t do this, your partner will need to give us their details.

When we'll balance your FTB payments

Once you’ve lodged your tax return, the ATO will send us your income information. This can take up to 28 days from when you receive your Notice of Assessment. We’ll balance your FTB once both of the following happens:

  • we have this information
  • you’ve told us your partner doesn’t need to lodge a tax return and confirmed their income.

When we balance your FTB, we’ll also check if you can get any supplements for the 2018-19 financial year. If you’re eligible, you may get:

You can only get FTB Part A supplement if your income was $80,000 or less.

If we need more information, we’ll ask you through your online account. In these circumstances, it will take us longer to balance your payments.

When we'll balance your Child Care Subsidy

We balance CCS separately to FTB. We’ll start balancing CCS from 29 July 2019. This is to make sure we have all attendance information from your child care provider. We also need your actual income details from the ATO. Once we confirm your family’s income, we’ll balance your payment. We’ll then send you a letter explaining the outcome.

Example 9. You want to claim Family Tax Benefit for 2018-19

What you need to do

You need to submit a lump sum claim for FTB and confirm your income. This is so we can check if you were eligible for FTB in 2018-19. The quickest and best way to submit a lump sum claim is by using your Centrelink online account through myGov.

You need to confirm your income before we can finalise your claim. You have until 30 June 2020 to lodge a lump sum FTB claim and do one of the following:

  • lodge a tax return
  • tell us you don’t need to lodge and confirm your income.

If you have a partner, they’ll need to do this too.

If you don’t need to lodge you can let us know and confirm your income as part of your claim.

If you need to lodge, you can do this online using myTax. You’ll need to link your ATO online account to myGov. Read about how to lodge online at the ATO website.

We’ll send you a letter once we have assessed your entitlement.

You can’t claim CCS as a lump sum.

Page last updated: 2 October 2019