Working for Families Rates & Tables

Family Tax Credit (FTC) by year

Paid regardless of income source. Each row takes effect 1 April of the year shown. Annual figures are IRD's own published entitlement; weekly figures are the round-to-the-cent instalment derived from it.

In-Work Tax Credit (IWTC) by year

For families normally in paid work, not receiving a main benefit. Base rate covers 1-3 children; each child beyond the third adds a flat per-child amount. No minimum-hours test since it was repealed in 2020.

2026-27's $147.50/week base is a temporary boost from $97.50/week, announced 24 March 2026 and enacted 30 March 2026 — eight weeks before Budget 2026, though its cost was charged against that Budget's operating allowance. It reverts to $97.50/week from 1 April 2027, or earlier if 91-octane petrol stays below $3.00/L for four consecutive weeks.

2024-25 is itself a split year: IWTC was $72.00/week from 1 April 2024, rising to the $97.50/week shown above from 31 July 2024 under that year's Budget package. The row above reflects the 31-July-onward rate, in force for 8 of the year's 12 months — this table has one row per tax year and cannot show both halves. FTC and Best Start did not change mid-year.

Best Start by year

Paid per eligible child for their first three years. Years two and three are always income-tested; whether year one is income-tested depends on the child's date of birth, not the tax year in which it is paid.

Minimum Family Tax Credit (MFTC) by year

A floor, not a rate: MFTC tops up a working family's after-tax income to the guaranteed amount below. Only applies if nobody in the family receives a main benefit and the work-hours test is met.

The 2024-25 guaranteed net income moved from $35,204/year to the $35,316/year shown above on 31 July 2024, alongside the IWTC change noted above — MFTC and IWTC are mutually exclusive, and IRD pays whichever is higher.

Family income abatement — FTC + IWTC

Once family income passes the threshold, combined FTC and IWTC entitlement reduces by the rate shown for every dollar above it. Best Start abates separately, at its own threshold and rate shown in the Best Start table.

What is IR271?

IR271, "Working for Families weekly payments," is Inland Revenue's own reference booklet, reissued for each tax year. It charts weekly FTC and IWTC amounts against family income and number of children, plus separate Best Start and Minimum Family Tax Credit tables — the same primary source every figure on this page is checked against. When a rate changes mid-year, as IWTC did in 2024-25 and again in 2026-27, IRD publishes both periods inside one IR271 edition rather than issuing a second booklet.

What changed for 2026-27

Family Tax Credit rose from $144.69 to $152.33/week (eldest) and $117.88 to $124.12/week (subsequent). The In-Work Tax Credit base jumped from $97.50 to $147.50/week — a temporary boost, not a permanent rate change. Best Start rose from $73.81 to $77.71/week, and its first year became income-tested for babies born on or after 1 April 2026. The abatement threshold moved from $42,700 to $44,900, and the rate from 27c to 27.5c per dollar. See the Working for Families Calculator for what that means for your own family income and number of children, or read the full 2026-27 rates guide for worked examples and the Budget context behind these changes.