maternity payments

[kerrie]

Hello all,
I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with my first baby. My Husband earns $500 in the hand per week. I'm planning to give up work for 12months after we have our baby and I'm trying to work out how we will be able to afford to do this (Our house repayments are $400 per week so Im hopeing I will get something extra per week from the government).
I have checked out the centerlink website but for the life of me I cant seem to work out what the Family tax benefit A & B will entitle me to.
I understand that we will get a one off payment of $4000 when our baby is born but can someone explain to me, in simple terms, how much I will get from the government each week if I give up work completely.
Thanks,
Kerrie :confused:

[mamafelix]

Hi Kerrie

you will definately get some Family Tax benefit A and B and I reckon going by your hubby's pay you're probably entitled to some parenting payment too- but you're only going to get the answers from Centrelink/Family Assistance Office. I'd go in and have a chat if I were you. Don't forget the $500- baby bonus you can claim with your tax every year until your child is five- I didn't know about that one the first year and missed out....

[jemma]

if u go to the family assistance website there is a payment estimater :)

[rebecca]

Hi there,

I was aware of the baby bonus which is $3000 for me cause our little one will be born before July 1. I did not know about claiming the $500 at tax time though for the first five years...does this apply to the Parents that received the Baby Bonus? I thought it was the parents that did not get this opportunity when they had children.
Also, my understanding regarding fortnightly or end of tax payments is that the amount depends on how much you earn as a family. The less money that is earnt I assume the higher the payment...also be careful to advise centrelink of the exact amount that will be seen on your tax return as I have been advised by friends of mine that received fortnightly payments that if it is higher than originally thought, it has to be paid back at the end of the financial year ( if it is lower i wonder if you get money back??). Hope that I have not confused too much and that the info I have given is correct.

Bec & Peanut

[cait]

Hi,

I have found this is a pretty confusing issue when I was claiming as the scales seem to be a bit complicated. :( (I'm sure they do this on purpose!!!)

My partner earns a little bit more than yours Kerrie, and you have to include what you earnt in the financial year too.

Because I finished work in Febuary, 8 months of my income had to be included in our estimate and then I went back to work early so we only get one of the tax benefits (can't remember if it is A or B!). We get the minimum which is $40 a fortnight.

Make sure you over estimate your income as they will pay you the difference once you put your tax return in and will dock your payments if you end up owing them. Jemma's suggestion of visiting their website is good, I didn't know about this when I applied - wish I had tho.

Hope this helps!
Cait.

[rebecca]

OK, I am very excited.....this webiste is great although I agree with how confusing it all is...like I can deduct this from that and add this to that and work out what my taxable income is going to be next year.
Like u Cait, I will be paid up until maybe March/April next year and then off for 12 months...no pay...my husband is on salary but gets bonuses pending on business success and individual performance so his taxable income may vary somewhat.
What i did just discover however is the following:
Maternity Payment $ 3042.00 paid as a one off (apply within 26 weeks of birth)
Maternity Allowance $ 842.64 - Yearly ( apply within 26 weeks of birth)
These 2 payments also exist if a little one (godforbid) is stillborn.
Maternity Immunisation Allowance $213.60 One off payment (apply when child is 18 months or under 2 years).

So I think that I will claim the Maternity Payment and Allowance once Peanut is born and wait till July 2005 to put my tax in to claim the Family Assistance - this way I will have known mine and my husbands taxable income for 2004/2005.

Thanks for this thread everyone...it has got me thinking of saving money harder for when the little one arrives....

Bec & Peanut

[cait]

Hi Bec,

Like your hubby, mine also was receiving bonuses which made our estimating pretty difficult, which is why I over estimated (we got about $150 back becasue of this...nice bonus for xmas!)

Zach was born in March so we missed the $2000 bonus thing but did get the $600. We could then get a pro-rata amount after tax which just confused me even more!! I have just trusted Family Assistance to give us the correct amount!!

[kerrie]

HI All,
And thanks for all the info....I have a masters of midwifery but I still couldn't figure out that website!!! Maybe it's the hormones...anyway, on your advice I called centerlink and spoke with someone who was very helpful.
So heres the update:
The baby bonus no longer exists ($600).
It has been replaced by a one- off "maternity payment" after your buba is born ($4000 after the 1st of July 2005 or $3000 if you baby's born before then...oh and by the way it goes up to $5000 after the 1st July 2006!).
Then theres the Family tax benefit A (I qualify for 42.98/f.n on Jacks wage).
And finally Family tax benefit B ($114.66/f.n if the mamma earns less than $4g/financial year).
All in all it doesn't amout to much spare cash...at least I've figured that out early enough to start a serious savings plan!!
Kerrie:p

[Lucybelle]

I'm on Mat leave from the Family Assistance Office so If anyone else needs claification (I know how confusing this stuff is!) on anything contact me, and I'll try to help.

Cheers

[kurtsmum]

Maternity Allowance is for babies born before 1 July 2004, so you do not receive both Maternity Allowance and Maternity Payment.