Household worked through · rates of 20 September 2026
Two incomes, two children in day care
Sarah earns $110,000 and Tom $65,000. Their children, aged 1 and 4, go to day care three days a week at $160 a day.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
A couple earning $110,000 and $65,000, with children aged 1 and 4 in day care three days a week at $160 a day, receives no Family Tax Benefit at all in 2026-27, but about $1,359 a fortnight of Child Care Subsidy, paid to the centre. Their combined income of $175,000 is above the point where Part A runs out for two young children, about $136,218, and Tom's $65,000 is far above the lower earner limit for Part B. Child Care Subsidy reaches much higher incomes: the elder child is subsidised at the standard rate of 72% and the younger at the higher rate of 85%, because a second child aged 5 or under gets a separate, more generous income test. With both parents working full time, they qualify for 100 subsidised hours a fortnight per child. Their gap fee after the subsidy and the 5% withholding is about $561 a fortnight.
More details: ages, assets, child care fees
What this household gets, per fortnight
$1,359
$35,343 a year
- Child Care Subsidy (paid to the service)$1,359
72% and 85% for younger children, 100 hours a fortnight, after 5% withholding
| Family Tax Benefit Part A | Income above the cut-off |
| Family Tax Benefit Part B | The secondary earner income test reduces Part B to nil |
Child care: fees $1,920, subsidy $1,359, your gap $561 a fortnight.
Family income for FTB and CCS: $175,000 a year. How this is worked out.
Why Family Tax Benefit is nil
Both parts are income tested, and this family is above both limits. Part A looks at the combined $175,000: above $123,078, even the base rate tapers at 30 cents per dollar, and for two children it is gone by about $136,218. Part B looks at the lower earner: Tom's $65,000 is many times the $7,154 free area, so the 20 cent taper removes it entirely. The calculator shows both lines at nil, with the reason.
Two children, two percentages
The standard Child Care Subsidy percentage at $175,000 is 72%: $86,480 above the $88,520 threshold, one point for each $5,000 or part of it. The four-year-old, as the elder child aged 5 or under, gets that rate. The one-year-old gets the higher rate, 85%, from the separate test that starts at 95% and loses one point for each $3,000 above $146,437 (Family Assistance Guide 3.5.1). At $160 for a 10-hour day, the hourly fee of $16.00 is above the cap of $15.19, so both percentages apply to the cap and the family pays the excess in full.
A fourth day, and what activity changes
With four days a week each, the booked hours rise to 80 a fortnight per child, still within the 100 subsidised hours that both parents' full-time work gives them, and the subsidy rises to about $1,812 a fortnight. If one parent worked only part time, $30 hours a fortnight, the family would be on 72 hours per child: the fourth day would be only partly subsidised, and the subsidy would be about $1,631. The 3-day guarantee protects the first 72 hours whatever the activity.