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Well i've had an interesting couple of days exploring this further and am so confused now. Originally i thought i would definately be better off with ppl but now am not so sure. Once i factored in that out CC will go down by $10 -$15 per week, plus the 100 a fortnight i'll lose from ftb a plus the 200 i'll save in medicare not going up to the next threshold it's about equal.
Can you still get BB in a lump sum?
Plus i'm also trying to work out tax wise what will be better. If i don't take ppl then we won't exceed 80k but if i do we will and i think this puts us into the next tax bracket?? I also rang CL and they said that you get taxed at your currant rate so does that mean i may end up owing tax if it's not enough? I also found last time that i got a great tax return when i only worked for half the year and get taxed for a full year so thats something else to concider. Do i have to include BB in my income estimates?
I have done and redone the calculators that many times over the last few days, you all gave me alot to think about and am now leaning towards BB. There are so many things the calculators don't factor in.
Sorry for questions being all over the place, if anyone can help that would be great.
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the BB doesn't come into any estimate at all. it's not taxable, doesn't impact CC, FTB or taxable income
if you normally earn less than that 10k (or whatever the number) over the 18 weeks, then you will get taxed at your CURRENT percentage, and potentially be owing tax at the end of the year.
the estimator doesn't take into account child care at all - if you've had half the year based on a lower income (not including PPL) and you increase your estimate to include the PPL, not only will you get your reduction for the balance of the year, but you may have also been overpaid PPL every week from the start of the year until the day you change your estimate. the CL system is set up to encourage you to reduce your weekly CC percentage to reduce that debt by the end of the year, you may find you 10-15 change might become 20-25 or you may get a debt at the end of the year
unfortunately you almost need an accounting degree to understand ALL the implications of the payment and how it may impact you. i've not had the full PPL training due to being on mat leave when it was introduced, so all the training i've had was what i gave myself in my own time (so reading all the dry boring stuff) - but even when it first went public in the budget, my spidey senses were tingling - i really don't think it's been well thought out, and people are honestly going to assume they are better off cos the government says 85% of families will be. but the government, in it's calculations, as far as i can see, may not have included medicare levy, medicare safety net threshold (if you're close to cut off, PPL will put you over and it will mean another $500+ in out of pocket medical expenses before you reach the threshold), child care costs changing. so much hype about it's introduction, but nothing comprehensive that i can find that says "as well as our estimator, please make sure you look into x y and z or consult your accountant for financial advice". the true implications may not be visible for people until well into the new financial year.
there is also the ftbb quarantine period. if you have your baby near the end of the financial year, from the start of the new financial year, provided you have no passive income, until you return to work, you get ftbb at the maximum rate. so 136 a fortnight.
if you have baby on june 30 and have no paid mat leave from your employer, you can get that max rate alongside baby bonus, and even if you return to work in six months, you won't get an overpayment of that ftbb, and when you DO return, only your employment income counts towards your estimate. if you get PPL for baby born same day, you won't get ftbb while getting PPL, and the quarantine will only apply from last date of ppl until you return to work - and when you do, both ppl and employment income count towards your estimate.
there is so much that hasn't been explained well for the public! i really hope i'm not confusing people with extra info - i just want to make sure everyone considers things properly before deciding one way or another which payment to choose
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I, for one, appreciate your explanations BG! :) My DH and I are slightly better off taking the Baby Bonus rather than the PPL. It IS all very confusing though. Plus, I'm just grateful to be getting anything at all really!!!
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Oh wow I confused lol. Is there a calculator or something online you can use?
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BG - I am so grateful for your replies! I feel like i need an accounting degree so you must nearly be one. The guy I spoke to yesterday did say that they have been told to refer people to the free financial advisors CL has as many people have been told the wrong figures. One more question please. Can you still get the BB in a lump sum or do you have to get it fortnightly? We would like to put it all in our mortgage and live off dh's wage and just pay bills etc as we need to having that extra buffer there. Thanks again for being so helpful, you have certainly given me so much to concider.
Also wanted to add that i had factored the ppl into our intitial estimate so have possibly been paying to much CC. Will this get paid back to me at tax time? Woops thats 2 questions :)
Ahurani - There are heaps of different calculators on the CL website but as i found with the ppl one there are so many factors that it doesn't take into concideration. Worth doing them though i think and they work pretty fast.
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the BBY has to be paid in fortnightly installments
