Agreements and Family Tax Benefit
If you receive Family Tax Benefit Part A, the amount you receive is based on our
assessment using the child
support formula. This is known as a CSA notional assessment. How much Family
Tax Benefit Part A you receive is not based on the child support
agreement amount.
If the entire amount agreed is not collected,
Centrelink uses the amount in the notional assessment to assess your Family
Tax Benefit Part A entitlement. Centrelink calculates the percentage collected and
applies that percentage to the child support that you would have received if a CSA
formula assessment was in place.
For example, if we collect 50 per cent of the agreed amount of child support then
only 50 per cent of the notional formula amount will affect your Family Tax Benefit rate.
Example: Mary
Mary has an agreement with Philip to receive $4,000 child support per annum. Based
on CSA’s notional assessment, Mary would receive $5,000 per annum if they didn’t
have an agreement. CSA only collected 50 per cent, or $2,000, of the child support
agreement amount. So, Mary’s Family Tax Benefit Part A will be assessed on $2,500,
which is 50 per cent of the CSA notional assessment amount of $5,000.
If you don’t receive the full amount of child support you are entitled to during
the financial year, Centrelink will keep a record of the underpaid amount and treat
any additional amount of child support you receive in future years as though it
was paid in the year the underpayment occurred.
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