FamilyBoost NZ 2026-27: Childcare Rebate Rules and Examples

You may qualify if you care for a child aged 5 or under, pay costs to a licensed ECE provider, have quarterly household income below $57,286, and are a New Zealand tax resident. The child is covered only until the day before turning six.

Only one caregiver registers for the same household. Caregivers living in separate households may each claim when each has regular day-to-day care, their own ECE costs and separate invoices.

For quarters ending after 1 July 2025, start with 40% of eligible fees. At quarterly household income below $35,000, that amount is capped at $1,560. Above the full-rate point, the cap reduces by $0.07 for every extra dollar of quarterly income.

Your payment is the lower of the fee calculation and the income-adjusted cap. Household income must be below $57,286; reaching that figure means no FamilyBoost for that quarter under the current rules.

Assume quarterly household income is $42,000 and eligible fees are $4,000. The fee calculation is 40% × $4,000 = $1,600.

Income is $7,000 above the full-rate point. The cap therefore falls by $490, from $1,560 to $1,070. The claim is the lower result: $1,070 for the quarter.

Claim only fees you were required to pay to the licensed ECE provider. IRD says childcare fees can include optional charges and services such as meals or nappies, but donations and subsidies do not count. Remove assistance such as the Work and Income Childcare Subsidy from the claimed cost.

Keep a clear invoice or quarterly statement showing the provider, child, relevant dates and charges. A quarterly statement is easier because it gathers the whole claim period into one document; you do not need to upload both a statement and the same invoices.

For income taxed before you receive it, such as salary and wages, IRD uses the income from the claim quarter. For self-employed or other income, it uses the latest filed income-tax return divided by four. If both methods apply, IRD uses the greater amount.

Household income includes the partner where the rules require it. File any required return before claiming; missing return information can delay the assessment. Do not copy an annual WFF figure into FamilyBoost without checking the different quarterly method.

FamilyBoost claim periods are 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December, 1 January to 31 March, and 1 April to 30 June. The last quarter crosses the usual 1 April start of the New Zealand tax year.

Treat each quarter as a separate claim. A high-income quarter can produce a different result from the quarter before it, even if your annual salary looks unchanged, because overtime, bonuses or work patterns can move quarterly household income.

Register in myIR with caregiver, child, partner, bank-account and provider details. For the claim, have each child’s name, date of birth and IRD number, the provider’s name, address and licence number, and clear invoices or a quarterly statement.

You cannot claim before the quarter ends. Inland Revenue allows up to 4 years to submit a claim and says most refunds are paid within 15 working days, although missing information or a return still being processed can take longer.

Do not claim a subsidy, donation or fee already removed from the amount you had to pay. Do not combine two households’ invoices into one claim, reuse the same invoice twice, or submit a blurry photo that hides the provider, child, dates or totals.

Check that the ECE provider is licensed before relying on the refund. If the claim has already been submitted and something is wrong, use IRD’s update process rather than putting the same cost into a later quarter.

First check the child, residency, licensed-provider and household-income tests. Then total only the eligible fees for the completed quarter and compare 40% of those fees with the income-adjusted maximum.

Submit the real claim in myIR. The KiwiTools Working for Families calculator can help with FTC, IWTC, MFTC and Best Start planning, but it does not calculate or submit FamilyBoost.