child care rebate

[sunnyflower]

is there anyone who knows how this 30% child care rebate actually works? I was reading a government leaflet the other day and it said that it is not an actual in your hand cash rebate but a tax rebate .does that mean the amount of tax you need to pay overall is less,does that mean you may come out with extra money.

please explain?

[Baby Girl]

If you call the family assistance office or look on their website you can find out what rebate you are entitled to and then you claim it with your tax. I assume there will be a new section for claiming it this year. You will still have to pay the same amount of tax over the course of the year but you will be able to claim the rebate as part of your tax return.

This tax year you can claim child care rebate for the year July 2004 to June 2005. So you claim it a year behind IYKWIM.

[cupcakemafia]

http://www.ato.gov.au - Best site for info.

The 30% child care tax rebate is an ATO-delivered tax rebate (NOT a cash-in-hand payment) that can be paid to you via your end-of-year tax return.

You can be rebated up to 30% of your out-of-pocket child care expenses. You can be rebated up to $4,000 in these out-of-pocket expenses per child in child care.

Basically, this is:

Child Care Fees Payable minus Child Care Benefit Received = Out-Of-Pocket Expenses

This financial year you can claim for any out-of-pocket expenses from the 2004-2005 financial year.

There are some eligibility requirements however: Both yourself and your partner (if applicable) MUST have met the Work/Study/Training Test for the ENTIRE 04/05 financial year. This means both you and your partner MUST have worked/studied/undertook training/volunteer work/cared for someone with a disability etc for AT LEAST 15 HOURS A WEEK EACH FOR THE ENTIRE 04/05 FINANCIAL YEAR.

The ATO get this eligibility info by data matching with FAO. You should call the FAO on 136 150 to find out if their records show you have met these requirements. You should also keep all your child care receipts from the 04/05 financial year for your tax records - if you don't have them/threw them away you should contact the child care centre your child(ren) were using in that year and get copies for your own records.

FAO will also send you a letter re: this rebate and your eligibility. If you disagree with the letter (usually it will state whether you have met the W/S/T test), call the FAO and discuss this with them.

Hope that helped.
Not that I work for FAO or anything lol