Working for Families Rates 2026-27: FTC, IWTC & Best Start (from 1 April 2026)

Working for Families (WfF) is New Zealand’s main package of in-work tax credits for families with dependent children. The 2026-27 year (from 1 April 2026) brings the biggest set of changes in years: a temporary In-Work Tax Credit boost announced 24 March 2026 (eight weeks before Budget 2026), a CPI uplift to the Family Tax Credit and Best Start, a higher abatement threshold, and first-year income-testing of Best Start for new babies. This guide lays out every 2026-27 rate, all verified against Inland Revenue’s published figures.

The 2026-27 rates at a glance

Source: Rates confirmed against Inland Revenue’s Working for Families weekly payments — 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (IR271) and the IRD Best Start page. Weekly figures in IR271’s table are rounded to the nearest dollar; the cents-precise weekly amounts above match IRD’s published guides.

1. Family Tax Credit (FTC)

The Family Tax Credit is the core payment, available to families with dependent children whether or not the parents are in paid work.

A family with two children receives a full FTC of $14,375/year ($276.45/week) before any abatement.

Abatement (2026-27): FTC starts reducing once family income passes $44,900, at 27.5 cents per dollar above that threshold. For every $1,000 over $44,900, the combined FTC + IWTC entitlement falls by $275.

Worked example — couple, 2 children, $60,000 income:

• Full FTC = $7,921 + $6,454 = $14,375
• Income over threshold = $60,000 − $44,900 = $15,100
• Abatement = $15,100 × 27.5% = $4,153
• FTC after abatement (before IWTC) ≈ $10,222/year

2. In-Work Tax Credit (IWTC) — temporarily boosted

The IWTC is for families normally in paid work. A temporary $50/week boost — announced 24 March 2026 and enacted 30 March 2026, eight weeks before Budget 2026 — took the base rate from $97.50 to $147.50/week for 1–3 children — an annual base of $7,670. Each child above three adds $15/week.

This boost is temporary. It applies to the 2026-27 year only and reverts to $97.50/week on 1 April 2027 — or earlier if IRD’s petrol trigger applies (IRD says it may reduce back if the 91-octane petrol price drops below $3 a litre for four weeks). Treat the extra ~$50/week as a 12-month uplift, not a permanent rate change. For the full mechanics, family-income examples and the petrol-price trigger, see the IWTC $50/week boost guide.

Eligibility (unchanged in 2026-27): at least one dependent child; in paid work (no minimum-hours test since 1 July 2020 — the 20/30-hour tests now apply only to the minimum family tax credit); not receiving a main benefit or student allowance; NZ tax resident.

IWTC abates at the same rate and threshold as FTC — 27.5 cents per dollar above $44,900.

3. Best Start Tax Credit (BSTC)

Best Start helps with the cost of a child’s early years.

• Rate from 1 April 2026: $77.71/week ($4,041/year) per eligible child — up from $73.81/week ($3,838/year) in 2025-26.
• Year 1 (birth to 1): From 1 April 2026, income-tested at $79,000 / 21% for babies born on or after 1 April 2026. Babies born before that date keep the universal year-1 entitlement until they turn one.
• Years 2 and 3 (ages 1–3): Income-tested at $79,000 / 21%. Best Start is not paid while paid parental leave is being paid; it starts after PPL ends.

At the $79,000 / 21% income test, Best Start phases out completely at roughly $98,242 of family income.

4. Minimum Family Tax Credit (MFTC)

The MFTC tops up the after-tax income of families working but earning very little. For 2026-27 it guarantees at least $36,604 net per year (about $703/week after tax) — up from $35,316 in 2025-26, uplifted via the Income Tax (Tax Credit) Order 2025 (effective 1 April 2026, not a Budget 2026 line item).

The MFTC applies only to families whose net income falls below that floor and who work the minimum hours; use IRD’s estimate tool to see how it combines with your other Working for Families payments.

Putting it together — a worked WfF entitlement

Couple, 2 children, $65,000 combined income, both working (IWTC-eligible), 2026-27:

Run your own family’s numbers — including Best Start, MFTC comparison and the right number of children — in the Working for Families calculator, and check your year-end position with the WfF Square-Up calculator.

What changed from 2025-26

• IWTC — temporary +$50/week boost to $147.50/week (reverts 1 April 2027 or on the petrol-price trigger).
• FTC — CPI uplift: eldest $144.69 → $152.33/week; subsequent $117.88 → $124.12/week.
• Best Start — $73.81 → $77.71/week; year 1 now income-tested at $79,000 / 21% for babies born on or after 1 April 2026.
• Abatement — threshold $42,700 → $44,900; rate 27c → 27.5c per dollar (FTC + IWTC).
• MFTC — net floor $35,316 → $36,604/year ($703/week net).

Bottom line

For 2026-27, a typical eligible working family is meaningfully better off — driven mostly by the temporary IWTC boost worth around $2,600/year, on top of the CPI uplift to FTC and Best Start and the higher abatement threshold. But the IWTC boost is temporary and conditional, so plan your family budget assuming it survives the full year while keeping an eye on the 1 April 2027 reversion.

Model your entitlement in the Working for Families calculator, read the deeper Working for Families tax credits guide, and see how a minimum wage rise to $23.95 interacts with WfF abatement. For every rate back to 2024-25 in one set of tables, sourced to each year’s IR271, see Working for Families Rates & Tables.