Your eligibility for FamilyBoost depends on the children you care for, your household income and the type of childcare you pay for.
Eligibility
You may be able to receive FamilyBoost if:
- you are the caregiver of a child or children aged 5 and under
- you have household income of less than $45,000 a quarter
- you have costs from a licensed early childhood education (ECE) provider
- you are a tax resident of New Zealand.
If you have a partner, only 1 of you can register for FamilyBoost.
You can claim FamilyBoost every 3 months (quarter). If your household income in a quarter is under $35,000, you can claim up to 25% of your ECE costs. You can claim up to $975 each quarter.
If your household income in a quarter is over $35,000 but under $45,000, your FamilyBoost payment will be the lesser of:
- 25% of the ECE fees you have claimed
- the maximum amount ($975) less 9.75 cents for each dollar you earn over $35,000.
Check if your ECE provider is licensed.
Early Learning Services | Education Counts
Calculating your household income
We assess FamilyBoost claims quarterly. If your household income changes from quarter to quarter, you may be eligible in 1 quarter but not another.
We use your income before tax as your household income.
There will be no change to your claim if your income is different at the end of the year.
Find out how we calculate household incomes for FamilyBoost.
Care arrangements
Separated caregivers or caregivers living in separate households can claim FamilyBoost if they:
- have some day-to-day care of the child or children
- have costs for ECE
- provide separate invoices.
Next steps
Find out how to register for and claim FamilyBoost in myIR.
Morgan and Nikau earn $175,000 a year together from their salaries. That means that for most quarters, their income from their salaries is $43,750.
Nikau usually also earns $60 extra income per month as a digital content creator, adding $180 to their quarterly income. That brings Morgan and Nikau’s total quarterly income to $43,930. For most quarters, they can claim FamilyBoost.
In 1 quarter, Nikau earns $600 a month extra income instead of $60 from their digital content creation. That pushes Morgan and Nikau’s quarterly income to $45,550.
Because their income for this quarter is higher than $45,000, Morgan and Nikau will not be eligible for FamilyBoost in this quarter, even though they still earn less than $180,000 a year.