Working for Families is a collective term for a number of tax credits paid to families with dependent children. Working for Families payments are designed to help make it easier for people to work and raise a family.
Types of Working for Families payments
The data for these statistics is available for download from the link at the bottom of the page.
Notes
The data is based on March year entitlements assessed on tax returns and supplemented with the payments data from Work and Income recorded on their PAYE returns.
Claims filed more than 2 years after the end of the income year are not included.
This line graph shows the total number of families claiming Working for Families between 2001 and 2020.
The number of families claiming Working for Families increased from 300,100 in 2001 to 421,200 in 2011. The number decreased steadily to 322,900 in 2018 and has since been rising steadiily again to 347,700 in 2020.
The table below outlines the number of families claiming the following payment types from 2001 onwards:
- Family tax credit (FTC)
- Child tax credit (CTC)
- Minimum family tax credit (MFTC)
- In-work tax credit (IWTC)
- Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC).
| Tax year | FTC | CTC | MFTC | PTC | IWTC | BSTC1 | Total2 | DIfference from last tax year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 277.4 | 119.8 | 3.7 | 20.1 | - | - | 300.1 | - |
| 2002 | 271.5 | 121.5 | 3.0 | 20.9 | - | - | 295.7 | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 264.5 | 122.7 | 2.4 | 17.9 | - | - | 288.5 | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 259.9 | 117.5 | 1.5 | 14.2 | - | - | 279.1 | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 245.4 | 116.7 | 1.0 | 12.1 | - | - | 268.4 | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 268.9 | 150.1 | 1.0 | 13.8 | - | - | 290.1 | 8.1% |
| 2007 | 345.7 | 26.3 | 3.0 | 16.6 | 209.6 | - | 380.3 | 31.1% |
| 2008 | 352.9 | 13.9 | 2.5 | 17.5 | 238.4 | - | 389.5 | 2.4% |
| 2009 | 365.8 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 18.2 | 251.9 | - | 402.8 | 3.4% |
| 2010 | 376.3 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 16.6 | 252.9 | - | 415.1 | 3.1% |
| 2011 | 391.9 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 18.1 | 246.5 | - | 421.2 | 1.5% |
| 2012 | 356.8 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 15.7 | 238.6 | - | 398.7 | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 338.3 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 14.7 | 226.5 | - | 379.0 | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 323.0 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 17.1 | 221.7 | - | 364.0 | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 310.7 | 1.0 | 5.2 | 14.7 | 217.8 | - | 349.8 | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 300.3 | 0.5 | 4.1 | 13.7 | 214.0 | - | 338.7 | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 284.4 | 0.2 | 3.3 | 12.8 | 207.6 | - | 326.1 | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 279.1 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 12.4 | 202.5 | 0.0 | 322.9 | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 292.2 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 206.5 | 27.4 | 336.2 | 4.1% |
| 2020 | 282.0 | 0.0 | 3.9 | 0.0 | 191.1 | 75.1 | 347.7 | 3.4% |
1 BSTC data includes only families administered by, or who received a Working for Families square-up from, us. In situations where BSTC was administered by Ministry of Social Development, and the family did not receive a square-up from us, their combined receipt of FTC and BSTC has been reported as FTC in this table. This is because we cannot isolate the BSTC component. ↩
2 The 'Total' column is the total number of families that received Working for Families. This total is lower than all other columns combined as some families receive multiple payment types. ↩
This line graph plots a line for the average Family tax credit and a line for the combined total of all Working for Families Tax Credits between 2001 and 2020.
The average Family Tax Credit entitlement has increased significantly from $3,074.6 in 2001 to $7,599.7 in 2020. The average total combined Working for Families Tax Credits entitlement has increased significantly from $3,455.8 in 2001 to $8,272.9 in 2020.
The table below outlines the average entitlement each family received from 2001 onwards for the following payment types:
- Family tax credit (FTC)
- Child tax credit (CTC)
- Minimum family tax credit (MFTC)
- In-work tax credit (IWTC)
- Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC).
| Tax year | FTC | CTC | MFTC | PTC | IWTC | BSTC1 | Total | Difference from last tax year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | $3,074.6 | $1,295.5 | $2,459.5 | $990.0 | - | - | $3,455.8 | - |
| 2002 | $3,080.7 | $1,226.3 | $2,366.7 | $961.7 | - | - | $3,424.4 | -0.9% |
| 2003 | $3,107.4 | $1,245.3 | $2,208.3 | $966.5 | - | - | $3,456.8 | 0.9% |
| 2004 | $3,135.4 | $1,234.9 | $2,933.3 | $985.9 | - | - | $3,505.6 | 1.4% |
| 2005 | $3,161.8 | $1,219.4 | $2,400.0 | $958.7 | - | - | $3,473.2 | -0.9% |
| 2006 | $4,574.9 | $1,227.2 | $1,800.0 | $978.3 | - | - | $4,928.3 | 41.9% |
| 2007 | $4,661.0 | $1,171.1 | $2,900.0 | $1,096.4 | $2,556.8 | - | $5,797.8 | 17.6% |
| 2008 | $5,337.2 | $1,302.2 | $2,600.0 | $1,091.4 | $2,560.8 | - | $6,515.3 | 12.4% |
| 2009 | $5,422.4 | $1,261.9 | $2,913.0 | $1,049.5 | $2,558.2 | - | $6,614.7 | 1.5% |
| 2010 | $5,511.0 | $1,222.2 | $2,892.9 | $1,006.0 | $2,555.2 | - | $6,628.3 | 0.2% |
| 2011 | $5,257.7 | $1,230.8 | $3,233.3 | $1,027.6 | $2,551.3 | - | $6,463.7 | -2.5% |
| 2012 | $5,574.3 | $1,320.0 | $3,486.5 | $1,051.0 | $2,493.3 | - | $6,562.6 | 1.5% |
| 2013 | $5,792.8 | $1,210.5 | $4,108.1 | $986.4 | $2,470.2 | - | $6,731.4 | 2.6% |
| 2014 | $5,785.4 | $1,153.8 | $3,704.5 | $1,064.3 | $2,451.5 | - | $6,725.8 | -0.1% |
| 2015 | $5,798.5 | $1,000.0 | $3,653.8 | $1,034.0 | $2,485.3 | - | $6,798.5 | 1.1% |
| 2016 | $5,754.2 | $800.0 | $3,682.9 | $1,766.4 | $2,455.1 | - | $6,770.3 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | $5,731.7 | $1,000.0 | $3,636.4 | $1,812.5 | $2,908.5 | - | $6,958.9 | 2.8% |
| 2018 | $5,807.0 | - | $3,349.2 | $1,871.9 | $2,884.7 | - | $6,931.0 | -0.4% |
| 2019 | $6,861.1 | - | $4,200.1 | $1,740.0 | $2,976.0 | $855.5 | $7,923.1 | 14.3% |
| 2020 | $7,599.7 | - | $3,594.2 | - | $3,079.4 | $1,751.6 | $8,272.9 | 4.41% |
1 BSTC data includes only families administered by, or who received a Working for Families square-up from, us. In situations where BSTC was administered by Ministry of Social Development, and the family did not receive a square-up from us, their combined receipt of FTC and BSTC has been reported as FTC in this table. This is because we cannot isolate the BSTC component. ↩
This line graph shows the aggregate Working for Families entitlement between 2001 and 2020.
The aggregate entitlement has increased steadily from $1.03 billion in 2001 to $2.87 billion in 2020.
The table below outlines the aggregate entitlement from 2001 onwards for the following payment types:
- Family tax credit (FTC)
- Child tax credit (CTC)
- Minimum family tax credit (MFTC)
- In-work tax credit (IWTC)
- Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC).
| Tax year | FTC | CTC | MFTC | PTC | IWTC | BSTC1 | Total | Difference from last tax year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | $852.90 | $155.20 | $9.10 | $19.9 | - | - | $1,037.10 | |
| 2002 | $836.40 | $149.00 | $7.10 | $20.1 | - | - | $1,012.60 | -2.4% |
| 2003 | $821.90 | $152.80 | $5.30 | $17.3 | - | - | $997.30 | -1.5% |
| 2004 | $814.90 | $145.10 | $4.40 | $14.0 | - | - | $978.40 | -1.9% |
| 2005 | $775.90 | $142.30 | $2.40 | $11.6 | - | - | $932.20 | -4.7% |
| 2006 | $1,230.20 | $184.20 | $1.80 | $13.5 | - | - | $1,429.70 | 53.4% |
| 2007 | $1,611.30 | $30.80 | $8.70 | $18.2 | $535.90 | - | $2,204.90 | 54.2% |
| 2008 | $1,883.50 | $18.10 | $6.50 | $19.1 | $610.50 | - | $2,537.70 | 15.1% |
| 2009 | $1,983.50 | $10.60 | $6.70 | $19.1 | $644.40 | - | $2,664.40 | 5.0% |
| 2010 | $2,073.80 | $6.60 | $8.10 | $16.7 | $646.20 | - | $2,751.40 | 3.3% |
| 2011 | $2,060.50 | $4.80 | $9.70 | $18.6 | $628.90 | - | $2,722.50 | -1.1% |
| 2012 | $1,988.90 | $3.30 | $12.90 | $16.5 | $594.90 | - | $2,616.50 | -3.9% |
| 2013 | $1,959.70 | $2.30 | $15.20 | $14.5 | $559.50 | - | $2,551.20 | -2.5% |
| 2014 | $1,868.70 | $1.50 | $16.30 | $18.2 | $543.50 | - | $2,448.20 | -4.0% |
| 2015 | $1,801.60 | $1.00 | $19.00 | $15.2 | $541.30 | - | $2,378.10 | -2.9% |
| 2016 | $1,728.00 | $0.40 | $15.10 | $24.2 | $525.40 | - | $2,293.10 | -3.6% |
| 2017 | $1,630.10 | $0.20 | $12.00 | $23.2 | $603.80 | - | $2,269.30 | -1.0% |
| 2018 | $1,620.68 | $0.00 | $10.37 | $23.3 | $584.21 | - | $2,237.94 | -1.4% |
| 2019 | $2,004.70 | $0.00 | $13.30 | $7.6 | $614.50 | $23.50 | $2,663.50 | 19.0% |
| 2020 | $2,142.90 | - | $14.00 | $0.0 | $588.60 | $131.50 | $2,876.80 | 8.0% |
1 BSTC data includes only families administered by, or who received a Working for Families square-up from, us. In situations where BSTC was administered by Ministry of Social Development, and the family did not receive a square-up from us, their combined receipt of FTC and BSTC has been reported as FTC in this table. This is because we cannot isolate the BSTC component. ↩
