Tax Credit Support for Working Parents

There is a package provided by Work and Income and the Inland Revenue Department available to working parents, which comes under the banner of “Working for Families.” Working for Families is a package designed to help make it easier to work while raising a family. The Working for Families package is available for almost all families with children with income less than $70,000 a year, and some larger families earning above $70,000 may also be eligible. There are 4 tax credits as part of Working for families and they are: • Family tax credit – this is a payment for each of your dependents who are 18 years old or younger. • In-work tax credit – This payment is available if you are working 20 or more hours as a solo parent, or 30 or more combined as a couple. • Minimum family tax credit – this payment is to ensure that you have a minimum amount of income coming into the family (currently $434 per week, or $22,568 per year) • Parental tax credit – this payment is for the first eight weeks after the birth of your new baby. You cannot claim this if you are receiving paid parental leave. Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be entitled to one or more of these tax credits. The types of credit, and the payment you are entitled to, depends on a number of factors, which are: • how many dependent children you care for, • your total family income, • where your family income comes from, • the age of the children in your care, • and any children that you share care for. Apart from these tax credits, under the framework of Working for Families there are also other financial support options available including: • Accommodation supplement, to help with housing costs • Childcare assistance, to help with the cost of childcare and after school programmes (OSCAR) • 20 hours early childhood education (ECE), a subsidy for 3-5 year olds to attend ECE for up to 20 hours a week at little or no charge. So, as a working parent, the financial support that is available to you comes as a package called “Working for Families”, and includes tax credits, accommodation supplements, childcare/OSCAR assistance, and the 20 hours ECE.