Toby, in answer to your questions - YES, parenting payment is taxable - but it's not automatically taxed by centrelink - you have to request it. as a result, you may end up with a tax liability to ATO once you have submitted your details as you'll be in a higher income bracket
in regards to the supplements - yes, even though you get your payments each fortnight, you are entitled to the supplements ($667 per child FTBA, and $324 per family ftbb) - if you qulify for payment, you qualify for supplements. your payment DOES still get reconciled - but there will be nothing to reconcile against. basically reconcilliation looks at what FTB you've received, compared to what you're entitled to (looks at things like actual income - unless you're single, on income support payment for most of the year - and maintenance - which i know you're not getting - but i'm doing a generic answer!) - and then makes sure you're paid appropriately for the FULL financial year
now, as a generic explanation of FTB and the supplements:
your FTB is calculated based on a number of factors (inome estimate, maintenance entitlement, current status as an income support customer) - and is worked out to a daily rate. in most cases, this is paid fortnightly. the supplements are part of that daily entitlement that is held back until the end of the financial year, and, when your daily entitlement is confirmed.
FTB is effectively a tax refund that you get for having dependent children - but how many people would benefit from it once their tax is done at the end of the financial year? do they benefit from a lump sum, and having nothing to live on fortnight to fortnight? most families NEED that money each fortnight, not at tax time - so the government pay it out in installments, based on your BEST GUESS of your income for the current financial year - and at tax time, they got and check your best guess against your actual circumstances for the year. this is the process known as reconcilliation
the reason??? how many people struggle to know exactly what their income will be? how many know that they will or won't get a pay rise? how many know exactly what dividends they'll get? how much of a loss their investment property will generate each year??
in all honesty, i've not ONCE seen someone estimate their income accurately to the dollar for the full financial year. and the government are aware of that. what they did, rather intelligently for the government , was to say (in a very simplified way)
ok, for each child in this age group, the tax reduction should be X number of dollars - but instead of giving them X dollars divided into 26 fortnights, we'll give them Y dollars divided up over the fortnights, and hold onto Z amount (supplements) until the end of the financial year. that way, if they underestimate their income, when we work out their actual income, there is something of a safety net in place, and not as many people will end up with small debts.
it means if you overestimate, you get money back, if you underestimate, you're less likely to get a debt. and realistically, KNOWING that there is money you're entitled to waiting for you - it's a HUGE incentive for people to get their financial issues for that year finalised through ATO - so it works in more ways than one!!!
this is the way i explain things when i'm at work - it's simplistic, but realistically - people don't need to know the in's and out's of the way it works - they just need to know how it applies to THEM - and this is the easiest way i can explain it!
BG, I swear I must have gotten you on the phone yesterday! the lady I got was very cleart in her explaination and I finished the call actully knowing something new! She told me that FAO had the details from the ATO and were getting ready to show the ATO a figure, so it should be back soon! Unfortunately she couldnt estimate how much we would get back because of my overestimation before my phone cut out!
So how much do you get back if you overestimate? do you get a percentage of the amout you estimated, or the full amount you overestimated by? I overestimated our joint income by about $4000, so would I get a percentage of that or the full $4000?
it would only be a percentage of that $4k - and would depend on the bracket your incomes fall into for last financial year. would also depend on whether you over estimated both your incomes, or whether you overestimated one and not the other.
Okay so I also have to phone the ATO in order to get my supplement? I should have just lodged a nil return online but I couldn't figure out how to do that. I might just wait until I get back to Oz after the 1st. Confusing stuff
no, you don't have to contact ATO - the ATO contact FAO and FAO produce your supplements. if you've already notified FAO that you won't be be lodging a tax return and what your income is, you just need to wait until your DP's information is transferred to FAO from ATO. it will happen automatically - it's just a waiting game
do u only get the payment if u have had ur child fo rthe whole finacial yr or would they give u a certain % of the 600 fo rthe amount of the yr they have been born? if that makes sense
the payment is a daily amount, so you get it for the number of days that child has been in your care in the financial year, so in your case, it would be about six or seven weeks worth of entitlement
Sorry if this has already been asked, but if I have already gotten my FTBA & FTBb supplements, do I still need to lodge a tax return, or notify that I don't need to lodge one, since I was only on centrelink benefits for the whole year (FTBa & FTBb + parenting payment single) and taxable income was less than $18,252? I tried to notify of non lodgement through the centrelink website but it wouldn't let me
I just got off the phone with the FAO and they said that they have not received my DP's income amount from the ATO which to the guy said it sounds like his taxes were not filed yet. Sounds like a call to his accountant I think. Nearly 4 weeks is a bit slack IMO....
LMS.........Dhs were done almoast 4 weeks ago aswell. FAO havent received his either I was talking to ATO yesterday and those lodged between the 1st and 16th there is a backlog....I know is frustrating I am waiting impatiently for mine aswell.
Hi
To be entitled to the FTB A and B Suplements you need to have to be entitled to receive part a and/or b through out the year even if it was $1.00 per f/n (weather it was claimed as f/n pyt's or as a lump sum at the end of the f/y ) The part a sup is $667.95 and the B is $325 A is per child and B is per family.
For reconciliation to take place you either need to lodge a tax return or adv centrelink (phone or online) that you are a non lodger. If you are lodging an tax rtn it takes around 28 days for it to be processed but usually they are done quick enough that we send the money to the ATO and they add it in to your tax refund (so around 14 days). Now if you do not lodge until FEB next year you will not get the sup pyts until then.
Alsop if you receive less then the figures above it means that you had earnt more then you had estimated you would earn and have had a debt raised and we have taken the debt from the sup pyt. If you have gpt more then you must have over est your income and get the top up pyt as well as the sup pyt.
Last edited by ellakayte; August 4th, 2008 at 08:31 PM.
ellakayte - hate to have to correct you - but i'm going to seeing all this info has been covered before - you DO NOT HAVE TO RECEIVE FTB during the year to qualify for the supplement. MANY people choose to not have their FTB entitlement paid during the year but are still eligible for their FTB and supplements at the end of the financial year.
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, was to say (in a very simplified way)
I get it now I FINALLY GET IT!!!!
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