Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Explained: What Australian Parents Can Claim

Short answer

Family Tax Benefit (FTB) is a regular Centrelink payment that helps Australian families with the cost of raising children. There are two parts — Part A (paid per child) and Part B (extra support for single parents or families with one main earner). How much you get depends on your family income, how many kids you have, and their ages.

What is Family Tax Benefit?

Family Tax Benefit is one of the biggest financial supports the government gives to Australian families. It's not a one-off bonus — it's a regular fortnightly payment designed to help with everyday costs like food, clothes, school supplies, and activities.

There are two separate payments, and many families qualify for both:

Part	Who it's for	How it's calculated
FTB Part A	Paid per child	Based on combined family income and number of children
FTB Part B	Single parents or families with one main earner	Based on the lower earner's income

Think of Part A as the main payment — it's about how many kids you have and how much you earn as a household. Part B is an extra top-up for families where one parent stays home, works part-time, or earns significantly less.

FTB Part A: the main payment

FTB Part A is paid for each dependent child — that means a child under 16, or a full-time student aged 16–19 who hasn't finished Year 12.

The maximum fortnightly amounts for the 2025–26 financial year are:

Child's age	Max FTB Part A per fortnight
0–12 years	$197.96
13–15 years	$197.96
16–19 years (full-time student)	$197.96

The amount you actually get tapers down once your family's adjusted taxable income goes above a certain point. For the 2025–26 year, the income test works like this:

If your family income is under $62,634 per year, you generally get the maximum rate.
Above that, your payment reduces by 20 cents for every dollar of income over the threshold, until it reaches the base rate.
The base rate is $67.56 per fortnight per child — and it cuts out completely once your income passes roughly $115,000 (depending on how many kids you have).

What counts as income?

Centrelink uses your adjusted taxable income, which includes:

Your taxable income from your job
Reportable fringe benefits (like salary packaging)
Net investment losses (like from a negatively geared property)
Foreign income

It does not include your super contributions or the tax-free part of a redundancy payment.

FTB Part B: extra help for families with one main earner

FTB Part B is designed for families where one parent takes on more of the care role. You can get it if you're:

A single parent, or
Part of a couple where one parent earns most of the income and the other earns under a certain threshold

The maximum rates for 2025–26:

Youngest child's age	Max FTB Part B per fortnight
Under 5 years	$168.28
5–18 years	$117.18

The key rule for couples: the lower-earning parent must have an income below $29,204 per year to get the maximum rate. After that, it tapers down by 20 cents per dollar, cutting out completely once the lower earner makes more than about $108,000.

A real example: the Chen family

Let's look at how it works for a typical family.

Sarah and Michael Chen have two kids, aged 4 and 7. Michael works full-time earning $95,000. Sarah works part-time earning $22,000. Their combined income is $117,000.

Here's what they could get per fortnight:

Payment	Calculation	Fortnightly amount
FTB Part A (2 kids)	Income above $62,634 → reduced rate	~$180
FTB Part B (youngest under 5)	Sarah earns $22,000 → near-max rate	~$155
Total per fortnight		~$335

That's roughly $8,700 a year — not life-changing, but enough to cover swimming lessons, a family camping trip, and some savings for school camp.

How to claim

You apply through myGov, linked to Centrelink. Here's the step-by-step:

Log into myGov and go to Centrelink.
Select "Make a claim" then "Families".
Choose Family Tax Benefit.
Fill in your family details, income estimates, and your children's information.
Submit and wait — processing usually takes a few weeks.

The best time to apply is as soon as your child is born or comes into your care. You can also choose to receive FTB as a fortnightly payment, or as a lump sum after the end of the financial year (which can be a nice forced savings tool).

A note on reconciliation

At the end of each financial year, Centrelink compares what they paid you with what you were actually entitled to — based on your real income from your tax return. If you earned more than expected, you might have to pay some back. If you earned less, you'll get a top-up.

This is why it's important to update your income estimate during the year — especially if you get a raise, change jobs, or your partner starts or stops working.

Tools like AusTax AI can help you keep your tax documents organised through the year, which makes reconciliation smoother when tax time comes around.

Common questions (FAQ)

What's the difference between Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B?

Part A is paid per child and helps with the general cost of raising kids. Part B gives extra support to single parents and families where one parent stays home or earns less. Most families get both.

How much Family Tax Benefit can I get?

FTB Part A can be up to $197.96 per fortnight per child under 13 (2025–26 rates). FTB Part B can be up to $168.28 per fortnight if your youngest is under 5. The exact amount depends on your family income — it tapers down as you earn more.

Do I need to lodge a tax return to get Family Tax Benefit?

Yes. You and your partner (if you have one) must both lodge a tax return or tell Centrelink you don't need to. Centrelink uses your actual income from your tax return to check you got the right amount — this is called reconciliation.