Are family tax benefit payments assessed on before or after tax income? We didn't receive any payments last financial year as I estimated above the cut off amount but now I am wondering how the payments are assessed as we would have been under if assessed on after tax, this wasn't explained to me when I called so I thought I'd ask here before calling them Monday :)

4 Replies
It's before tax earnings, I'm fairly sure.
Sorry, me again. A6fter consulting the Centrelink website, I gather it's TAXABLE income (which is basically the same thing). That normally encompasses salary and other earnings.
It's gross income. So before tax. Basically, when my hubby was earning 20k less a year, we were only $50 less a week worse off. He now earns way more, but is taxed so heavily, that we actually get very little extra spendable cash a week because our ftb was cut to nearly nothing. So he's killing himself in a managerial role for an extra 2.5k a year. Even though his "gross" earnings are 20k more. The Australian tax system makes it so you're sometimes better off earning less. Or you have to be over 120k. Crazy.
calculated on you gross income - before tax.