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Working for Families calculator
Estimate your Family Tax Credit, In-Work Tax Credit and Best Start from your family income and how many children you have. Built on the current IRD rates.
Both parents' combined income, before tax.
Best Start (children under 3)
Leave at 0 if none. Every child under three gets up to $77/week. The birth date changes only the income test: a baby born before 1 April 2026 gets the first year whatever you earn, while a baby born on or after that date, and every child aged 1 to 3, reduces once income passes $79,000.
Uses the current 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 rates. The In-Work Tax Credit's $147/week is a temporary increase for the year to 31 March 2027 and can fall back to $97/week if petrol stays under $3 a litre for four weeks. An estimate for the common cases, not a payment quote.
Enter your family income and how many children you have to estimate your Working for Families payments.
How Working for Families works
Working for Families is Inland Revenue's help with the cost of raising kids. It's made up of a few tax credits that stack together, then reduce as your family income rises:
- Family Tax Credit: the core payment, paid whether you're working or not. Up to $152/week for your first child and $124/week for each additional child.
- In-Work Tax Credit: an extra for families earning income from paid work (and not on a main benefit or student allowance), temporarily up to $147/week for up to three children in the year to 31 March 2027 (plus $15/week per additional child). The $147 rate can fall back to the usual $97/week if petrol stays under $3 a litre for four weeks.
- Best Start: up to $77/week per child under three, at the same rate whatever the birth date. The birth date decides the income test, not the amount: babies born before 1 April 2026 get the first year regardless of what you earn, while babies born on or after that date are income tested from the start.
Once your family income passes $44,900 a year, the Family Tax Credit and In-Work Tax Credit reduce by 27.5 cents in every dollar above that, so higher-earning families get less or nothing. Because the rates change every 1 April, we keep this calculator on the current year's figures.
Working for Families questions, answered
- What is Working for Families?
- Working for Families is a set of tax credits from Inland Revenue that helps families with the cost of raising children. The main parts are the Family Tax Credit, the In-Work Tax Credit, and Best Start for young children. What you get depends on your family income, how many children you have, and their ages.
- Who can get Working for Families?
- You generally qualify if you're the main carer of one or more dependent children, you're a New Zealand tax resident, and your family income is under the cut-off (which rises with the number of children). The In-Work Tax Credit also requires you to be normally in paid work.
- What is the Family Tax Credit?
- The Family Tax Credit is the core payment, paid whether or not you're working. For the 2026/27 year it's up to $152 a week for your eldest child and $124 a week for each additional child, before it's reduced by income.
- What is the In-Work Tax Credit?
- The In-Work Tax Credit is an extra payment for families who earn income from paid work and aren't receiving a main benefit or student allowance (there's no minimum number of hours). For the year to 31 March 2027 it's temporarily increased to up to $147 a week for up to three children, plus $15 a week for each additional child. That $147 can fall back to the usual $97 a week if petrol stays under $3 a litre for four weeks.
- What is Best Start?
- Best Start is a payment for children under three, worth up to $77 a week per child. For a baby born before 1 April 2026, the first year is paid at the full $77 a week regardless of your income. For a baby born on or after 1 April 2026, the first year is up to $77 a week and reduces once your family income is over $79,000. In the second and third year it reduces over $79,000 whatever the birth date.
- How does my income affect the payments?
- Above a family income of $44,900 a year, your Family Tax Credit and In-Work Tax Credit reduce by 27.5 cents for every dollar you earn over that threshold. The Family Tax Credit reduces first, then the In-Work Tax Credit. Best Start has its own separate income test at $79,000, which applies to every Best Start payment except the first year of a baby born before 1 April 2026.
- Is this calculator exact?
- It's a close estimate for the common situations, using the current 2026/27 rates. It doesn't cover the Minimum Family Tax Credit, shared care, foster or orphan payments, or very high incomes. For your precise entitlement, use IRD's official calculator at ird.govt.nz/working-for-families, and remember payments are squared up at the end of the tax year.
Budget around what actually lands.
KeaBudget is the free budget app for Kiwi bank accounts, so your Working for Families payments and your spending sit in one place. It's live now, and free.
Start using KeaBudget →More free tools
NZ Take-home Pay Calculator →KiwiSaver Max-Out Calculator →Related reading: Working for Families explained. Or see all our free NZ money calculators.