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Format eg 12-345-678 or 12345678
If your spouse or partner doesn't remember their IRD number, they can find it at the top of any Inland Revenue return or correspondence, or they can call us on 0800 277 774.
If your spouse or partner doesn't have an IRD number, they need to complete an IRD number application - individual (IR595). They can get this from "Forms and guides" or by calling INFOexpress on 0800 257 773.
This date is the date that you and your ex-partner started living together. This can't be a date in the future.
This date is the date that you and your ex-partner stopped living together. This can't be a date in the future.
Please complete the details of all sources of income you and/or your spouse or partner receive to make sure you receive the right amount of working for families tax credits.
Salary and wages include:
If you're unsure of your annual income (income before tax has been deducted) you can estimate it. All you need to know is your weekly, fortnightly or monthly gross pay, then use our PAYE calculator to work out your annual income, or call us on 0800 227 773.
Includes all income from self-employment, business, partnership, overseas, or shareholder-employee salary.
If you're unsure of your rate for NZ Super, check with Work and Income. Pensions and annuities received from New Zealand-registered superannuation funds, for example, Government Superannuation, are not included as income for working for families tax credits purposes. If you're in any doubt whether your pension or annuity is exempt, contact your fund's office.
You need to estimate how much student allowance you'll receive from StudyLink. You can access the StudyLink website from our "Related websites" section.
Enter the amount you and/or your spouse or partner have or will get from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), private insurer or employer.
Child support is money paid by parents who aren't living with their children to help financially support them. Inland Revenue Child Support administers the child support scheme.
You'll find details of your child support entitlements on your child support Notice of Entitlement, or you can call us on 0800 221 221.
You'll find details of your child support payments on your child support Notice of Assessment, or you can call us on 0800 221 221.
Child maintenance is money paid by parents who aren't living with their children to help financially support them. This is a private arrangement where both parties agree to the amount to be paid – it isn't administered by Inland Revenue.
This is a payment for families who normally work the following minimum number of hours a week:
You're not entitled to in-work tax credit if you receive an income-tested benefit, student allowance or parent's allowance (only in relation to war pensions and war allowances). If you receive NZ Super you must work the required hours to be entitled to in-work tax credit.
Learn more about in-work tax credit under the section "Working for families tax credits - Learn about working for families tax credits" on our site.
This is an extra payment to ensure that a family's annual income (net income after tax has been deducted) doesn't fall below $18,044 (approximately $22,119 before tax).
To claim this payment, at least one parent must be working for salary or wages and work the following hours:
Learn more about in-work tax credit and minimum family tax credit under the section "Working for families tax credits - learn about working for families tax credits" on our site.
You can receive working for families tax credits for children who are:
You can't claim working for families tax credits for children if you receive a war pension or a war allowance that includes a parent's allowance.
If any of your children don't have an IRD number, you must fill in an IRD number application - children (IR594). You can get this from "Forms and guides" or by calling INFOexpress on 0800 257 773.
We pay working for families tax credits for eight weeks without your child's IRD number, to give you time to get the necessary information (birth certificate or other information). If we haven't received an IRD number for the child after eight weeks, the working for families tax credits for that child will stop.
This is the date that the child was born. It can't be a date in the future.
This is the date that the child started living with you, or will start living with you.
This is the date that the child stopped living with you or will stop living with you.
In order to meet the residency criteria for working for families tax credits, you must meet one of the following criteria:
"Resident" refers to a person who is lawfully resident and not simply under a visitor or study permit or a temporary work permit.
If the principal caregiver was unable to meet the first point in the residency criteria but the child was born in New Zealand, then that child will be eligible for working for families tax credits.
This is because under the citizenship law, a child born in New Zealand was a New Zealand resident irrespective of the residency status of its parents.
A child born in New Zealand (or in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau) on or after 1/1/06 will only be a New Zealand citizen if at least one of their parents:
A child born in New Zealand will be a New Zealand citizen provided they are not a resident of another country. We will need evidence from Internal Affairs/Immigration if you advise us that the child is a New Zealand citizen on the basis of them otherwise being stateless.
This means that parents who are not "resident" will no longer be able to claim working for families tax credits for children who are born in New Zealand on or after 1/1/06.
Parents who are not "resident" will continue to be able to claim working for families tax credits for children born in New Zealand on or before 31/12/05.
Contact the Department of Internal Affairs about citizenship applications under "Related websites" if you want to know more about this.
Expectant mothers and adoptive parents can receive paid parental leave payments when they take parental leave from their job to care for a new child, if they meet certain criteria.
Parental tax credit is for principal child carers who are not receiving an income-tested benefit, student allowance or ACC.
You can't receive both paid parental leave and parental tax credit for the same child. If you meet the criteria for both payments you should choose which payment would be more beneficial for your family. Once you've chosen which payment you'd like to receive, you can't change your mind. If you need information on how to decide which payment to apply for, call us on 0800 377 777.
For more information about paid parental leave, visit the Employment Relations Service (ERS) website at the Department of Labour under "Related websites", or call them on 0800 20 90 20.
For more information see the "Parental tax credit" section of our site.
Shared care is when you share the care of any child with someone else, for example an ex-spouse. You can claim working for families tax credits for that child only if the time spent caring for your child totals, on average, at least one-third of the year (122 days a year).
For example, if you have custody of your child for all school holidays (usually 12 weeks a year) and every second weekend, you will qualify for working for families tax credits (12 weeks [84 days] plus every second weekend [40 days] = 124 days a year).
Format eg 12-1234-1234567-12
(where Bank = 12, Branch = 1234, Account = 1234567, Suffix = 12)
Note: It's important that you fill in all the boxes, so if your branch or account number isn't long enough, put zeroes in at the start of the number.
eg Branch 234 would be entered as Branch 0234.
We must pay working for families tax credits to the principal child carer, so the bank account must be in your name. If the payment is going to a joint account, you must be an account holder.
To get your working for families tax credits direct-credited to a credit union account: