Family Tax Benefit · guide
Family Tax Benefit Part B: the second-earner payment
Part B is paid once per family and is built for households where one parent earns little or nothing.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Family Tax Benefit Part B is a single payment per family, worth $5,223.15 a year while the youngest child is under 5 and $3,646.35 from age 5, which Centrelink pays as $200.34 and $139.86 a fortnight in 2026-27. It looks at each parent separately rather than at the family total. The higher earner must have an adjusted taxable income of $124,327 or less, otherwise nothing is paid; below that limit, the lower earner can earn $7,154 before each extra dollar removes 20 cents. A single parent under the limit receives the full rate. Couples lose Part B on the day the youngest child turns 13, single parents keep it until the end of the year the youngest turns 18 if still at school, and a supplement of up to $478.15 follows the tax return.
Family Tax Benefit Part B for your family
Part B per fortnight
$163
| Per year, paid fortnightly | $4,254 |
| Supplement after tax time | $478 |
| Result | Eligible |
A test on each parent, not on the household
Part A adds both partners' incomes together. Part B does something different: it first checks the higher earner, then looks only at the lower earner. A household where one parent earns $124,327 and the other nothing can receive the full rate, while a household where each parent earns $60,000, a lower combined income, gets nothing at all, because the lower earner is far above the cut-off. The payment is meant to support a family that has chosen to keep one parent mostly at home, and the test is written to reward exactly that.
Which parent is the "lower earner" depends only on income, not on who looks after the children. The Family Assistance Guide gives the example of a self-employed father earning less than his part-time wife: his income is the one tested (section 3.1.9.20).
| Youngest child | Per year | Per fortnight | Lower earner cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 | $5,223.15 | $200.34 | $35,661 |
| 5 to 12 (couples) | $3,646.35 | $139.86 | $27,777 |
| 5 to 18 at school (single parents) | $3,646.35 | $139.86 | not tested |
How the lower earner's income works through
Take a couple whose youngest child is 3. The higher earner makes $88,000, under the limit, so the family passes the first step. The lower earner makes $21,000: that is $13,846 above the free area, and 20 cents of each of those dollars comes off the annual rate. Part B falls to $2,454 a year, about $94 a fortnight, plus a reduced supplement of $478. When that same child starts school at 5, the standard rate drops and the same income leaves $34 a fortnight.
The cliff is at the top, not the bottom. One dollar of income above the primary earner limit removes the whole payment, which is why a bonus or a salary-packaging change for the main earner deserves a look before the end of the financial year.
Single parents, grandparents and the age 13 rule
For a couple, Part B ends when the youngest child turns 13, whatever the incomes. A single parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent carer keeps it beyond 13: until the youngest is 16, then through the calendar year the child turns 18 provided they are in full-time secondary school. A child aged 16 or over who has left school is simply ignored for Part B, and if that child is the only one, Part B stops.
A single parent is tested on one income only, against the same primary earner limit of $124,327. Under it, the full rate is paid with no taper at all. A single parent receiving Parenting Payment or JobSeeker is not tested even against that limit, because income support payments switch the Part B income test off.
Shared care
When care of a child is shared between separated parents, each parent with at least 35% care gets a share of the standard rate equal to their care percentage. With several children, the rate is the higher of the shared amount for any shared-care child and the full rate for the youngest child who lives with you all the time (section 3.1.9.10). This site assumes full-time care, so check a shared-care case with Services Australia.
Part B is paid with Part A, fortnightly or as a lump sum after the year, and reconciled against the actual incomes once the tax returns are in. To see both parts for your family, use the Family Tax Benefit calculator.