Shared care

For family tax credit purposes when there is shared care, there can be more than one principal caregiver. Both parents of a dependent child can qualify as a principal caregiver in shared care cases and be entitled to family tax credit if:

• they are living apart and
• they both qualify and
• they care for the dependent child for at least a third of the time throughout the tax year

If a child is under the care of each parent for more than 2 days of a week then Inland Revenue recognises the shared care arrangement and each parent can be paid the appropriate amount of family tax credit.

For the Ministry of Social Development to pay family tax credit in shared care cases, the client must have a formal agreement and supply a copy of either:

• the signed care agreement or
• the court order stating the arrangement

For information about how to process family tax credit in shared care cases in SWIFTT contact Helpline.

When one parent has care of the child(ren) for 2 days or less they cannot receive the family tax credit. In this situation all of the family tax credit is paid to the parent with the majority of the care.

Note when there is an informal care agreement refer the client to Inland Revenue for any family tax credit payments.

For more information see:

• Principal caregiver