Working for Families Tax Credits is a collective term for a number of tax credits paid to families with dependent children. Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC) are payments designed to help make it easier for people to work and raise a family.
The data for these statistics is available for download from the links at the bottom of the page.
Graph showing the number of families claiming WfFTC from 2001 to 2019
This graph has one line showing the number of families that have received Working for Families tax credits from 2001 to 2019.
The number of families claiming Working for Families tax credits increased from 380,300 in March 2006 to 421,200 in March 2011.
Graph showing the value of the average WfFTC entitlement from 2001 to 2019
This graph has two lines, showing the value of average entitlement for Total and for FTC, from 2001 to 2019 for years ending March 31st.
Since 2008, average entitlements (for both total and FTC) have remained relatively stable.
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 two years after the end of the income year are not included.
Family tax credit (FTC)
Family tax credit (FTC) is a payment for each dependent child. The amount of family tax credit depends on:
- annual family income
- the number of dependent children in their care, and
- the age of these children.
In-work Tax Credit (IWTC)
This is a payment for families who are in paid work. To receive the credit, a two-parent family must normally work 30 hours or more a week between them, and a single parent must normally work 20 hours or more a week. The recipient families must satisfy an "in full-time work" test based on their number of hours per week in paid employment.
An amount of $72.50 per week paid to families of up to three children, and $15 per child per week for additional children. It's not available to families receiving an income-tested benefit or student allowance. The amount of in-work tax credit depends on:
- the annual family income before tax
- the number of dependent children in their care.
Parental tax credit (PTC)
Parental tax credit applied from 1 October 1999 to 30 June 2018. The entitlement was intended to help parents with the cost of a new-born if the family did not receive paid parental leave or a Work and Income benefit. When the credit commenced, the entitlement was up to $150 a week for the first 8 weeks. This was increased from April 2015 to $220 per week for the first 10 weeks.
Parental tax credit was replaced by Best Start from 1 July 2018.
Minimum family tax credit
MFTC tops up after-tax family income to a guaranteed minimum amount. This is paid to families who satisfy the "full-time work" test, and who are not self-employed. To receive this payment, at least one parent must be working for a salary or wage. A two-parent family must work at least 30 hours a week between them, and a single parent must work at least 20 hours a week. The Minimum family tax credit tops up a family's annual income (net income after tax deduction) to $23,816 a year ($458 per week) for the tax year ending 31 March 2018.
