FamilyBoost vs Childcare Subsidy: How to Claim Both

FamilyBoost and the Childcare Subsidy are two separate payments, run by two different government agencies, and an eligible family can receive both for the same child. The Childcare Subsidy comes first: Work and Income pays it to your childcare service, which lowers your bill. FamilyBoost comes second: Inland Revenue refunds part of whatever you still paid out of your own pocket.

Most of the confusion when parents compare FamilyBoost vs Childcare Subsidy comes from treating them as an either/or choice. They are not. The order matters, though, and so does the paperwork your childcare service gives you. The answers below cover both, with home-based care in Auckland in mind.

If you would rather talk through your own situation, call Kuddles on 027 343 8077, or send us an enquiry through our contact form with your suburb and the days you need.

What Is the Difference Between FamilyBoost and the Childcare Subsidy?

The simplest way to separate the two is to follow the money. One payment never touches your bank account. The other lands in it every three months.

The Childcare Subsidy is a Work and Income payment. It is assessed on your household income, the number of children you have, and the reason you need care, such as work or study. Once approved, it is paid directly to your childcare service, and the service takes it off the fees it charges you.

FamilyBoost is an Inland Revenue payment. It is a partial refund of early childhood education fees you have already paid. You claim it yourself through myIR at the end of each quarter, and the money goes to you, not to your childcare service.

	Childcare Subsidy	FamilyBoost
Run by	Work and Income	Inland Revenue
Who receives the money	Your childcare service	You, into your bank account
When it is paid	Ongoing, against your regular fees	After each quarter, once you claim
How you apply	Application to Work and Income, with a section completed by your childcare service	Claim in myIR, with invoices or statements from your childcare service
What it is based on	Household income, family size, and why you need care	Household income and the fees you actually paid
How much	Set by Work and Income for your circumstances	Up to 40% of eligible fees, capped at $1,560 per quarter
What limits it	Hours per week: up to 9 if you are not working, studying, or training, or up to 50 in situations such as work, study, or training	Dollars per quarter, not hours

The last row is the one parents most often miss. The Childcare Subsidy is counted in hours a week, and FamilyBoost is counted in dollars a quarter. If you are working, studying, or on an approved training course, the higher weekly limit of up to 50 hours is the one that normally applies to you. Work and Income lists the other situations that qualify, and it is the agency to ask if you are unsure which limit applies to you.

Both payments require your child to attend a licensed early childhood service. Licensed home-based care counts, in the same way a licensed centre or kindergarten does.

Can You Get FamilyBoost and the Childcare Subsidy at the Same Time?

Yes. Receiving one does not disqualify you from the other. What changes is the amount FamilyBoost is calculated on.

FamilyBoost only refunds fees that you paid yourself. Anything already covered by another source is taken out first. That includes the Childcare Subsidy, the hours funded under 20 Hours ECE, and any discount your service applies. Inland Revenue expects the invoice or statement you upload to show the final amount charged to you after those deductions.

In practice the order looks like this:

• Your childcare service works out the full fee for the hours your child attended.
• For the hours claimed under 20 Hours ECE, the government funding comes off, if your child is 3, 4, or 5 and you have signed up for it. Only a top-up, if your educator charges one, is left on those hours.
• For the remaining hours, the Childcare Subsidy comes off, if Work and Income has approved it.
• You pay what is left.
• At the end of the quarter, you claim FamilyBoost on the amount in step 4.

Steps 2 and 3 apply to different hours. They are not two deductions stacked on the same hour. Work and Income does not pay the Childcare Subsidy for hours already covered by 20 Hours ECE, with one exception that matters for home-based care: if your child is with a home-based educator who charges a top-up payment for those same hours, the subsidy can be paid towards them.

Age is the other place the two sets of rules part ways. The Childcare Subsidy is generally available for children under 5, with exceptions for children over 5 attending a cohort entry school and children under 6 whose caregiver receives the Child Disability Allowance, subject to eligibility criteria. A 5 year old can often still be using 20 Hours ECE after the subsidy has stopped. FamilyBoost has its own age rule: Inland Revenue lists it for caregivers of children aged 5 and under, so fees you pay for a 5 year old can still go into a claim after the subsidy ends. Ask Work and Income to confirm which hours it will cover before you budget around both.

So a family that receives a large Childcare Subsidy will have a smaller FamilyBoost claim, simply because there is less left to refund. A family that earns too much for the Childcare Subsidy may still qualify for FamilyBoost, because the two use different income tests. It is worth checking both, not assuming that missing out on one rules out the other.

How Much Can FamilyBoost Pay Back?

Eligible families can claim up to 40% of eligible ECE fees they are required to pay, after deducting other subsidies such as 20 Hours ECE and the Childcare Subsidy. The amount depends on household income and is capped at $1,560 per quarter. Eligibility and income limits apply.

For quarters ending after 1 July 2025, FamilyBoost refunds up to 40% of your eligible early childhood education fees, with a cap of $1,560 per quarter. Before that date the rate was 25% with a cap of $975 a quarter, so if you looked at FamilyBoost when it first launched and decided it was not worth the paperwork, the numbers have changed.

The cap works as a ceiling on the refund, not on your fees. Once 40% of the eligible fees you paid in a quarter reaches $1,560, paying more does not increase the refund. Below that point, the fees you paid are refunded at up to 40%.

The words up to matter. FamilyBoost is income tested on your household income for the quarter you are claiming. Inland Revenue works out your quarterly income for you. If you have other income, such as self-employed income or schedular payments, it uses your latest income tax return and divides the income in it by four, so that return needs to be filed before you claim.

A household earning under $35,000 in the quarter can receive the full 40%. Above that, the maximum refund reduces by 7 cents for each dollar earned over $35,000, and it stops once quarterly income reaches $57,286. As an illustration, a household earning $45,000 in a quarter is $10,000 over the threshold, so its maximum refund for that quarter falls by $700, from $1,560 to $860. Inland Revenue publishes the current income limits and has a calculator, and those figures are the ones to rely on. You can check them on the Inland Revenue FamilyBoost page.

For the Childcare Subsidy, the amount is set by Work and Income according to your income, the number of children in your family, the hours your child attends, and the amount and type of fee. We do not quote those rates here, because they are reviewed by government and the only reliable figure is the one Work and Income gives you for your own situation. One limit is fixed, though: the subsidy cannot be paid towards optional charges or donations a service asks for, so those stay on your bill. FamilyBoost draws the line in a different place: Inland Revenue's claim guidance says the childcare fees you claim can include optional charges and services, such as meals or nappies, but not donations.

Which One Should You Apply for First?

Apply for the Childcare Subsidy first, and do it before or as soon as your child starts. There are two reasons.

The first is timing. The Childcare Subsidy reduces your bill from the start, week by week. FamilyBoost only arrives after a quarter has ended. Work and Income suggests applying at least 3 to 4 weeks before you need the subsidy to start. If you are already past that point, it can still pay from the date you first made contact or the date care started, whichever is later, provided you complete the application within 20 working days of that date.

The second is accuracy. Your FamilyBoost claim is based on what you paid after the subsidy. If the subsidy is approved late and backdated, your invoices for that quarter change, and so does the amount you can claim. Getting the subsidy sorted first keeps your FamilyBoost claim clean.

Then register for FamilyBoost in myIR. You can do this at any time, and it is worth doing early so that the first claim at the end of the quarter is a matter of uploading your statement, not setting up an account. If you have a partner, only one of you can register.

How much of this applies to you depends on your household. Use this as a starting point, then confirm with each agency:

• If your household income is within the Work and Income limits, apply for the Childcare Subsidy and register for FamilyBoost, then claim FamilyBoost on whatever the subsidy leaves you to pay.
• If your household earns too much for the Childcare Subsidy, go straight to FamilyBoost and use the Inland Revenue calculator to check whether your income still qualifies for a refund.
• If your child is 3, 4, or 5, add 20 Hours ECE to either path.

Do Both Payments Work with Home-Based Childcare?

Yes, provided the service is licensed. Kuddles is a licensed early childhood education provider and has offered home-based childcare across Auckland since 2008. One qualified educator cares for a small group of no more than four children a day in the educator's own home, with a programme guided by Te Whāriki. Kuddles educators comply with Ministry of Education regulations, are Police vetted along with their family members, and are visited regularly by our programme coordinators. Most of our educators care for children from 0 to 6, and each educator's profile lists the ages cared for in that home. Because the service is licensed, families can use 20 Hours ECE, the Childcare Subsidy, and FamilyBoost.

Two points are specific to home-based care.

Hourly rates vary by educator. At Kuddles, the base rate for home-based educators starts at $8 an hour, and rates may vary depending on the experience and qualifications of the educator and your requirements. That means two families in the same network can have different bills, and therefore different FamilyBoost claims, even when their Childcare Subsidy is assessed the same way. Our childcare page sets out our fees and the subsidies families use with home-based care, alongside how home-based childcare works.

20 Hours ECE can leave a top-up to pay. When an educator's hourly rate is higher than the government funding rate, the family pays the difference as a top-up. That top-up is a fee you paid yourself, so it is the kind of cost FamilyBoost is designed to refund. How large it is depends on your educator's hourly rate and the number of funded hours your child attends each week.

What Do You Need from Your Childcare Service to Claim?

Each payment needs something different from your service, and asking for it early saves a lot of back and forth.

For the Childcare Subsidy, the application has a section that your childcare service completes, confirming your child's enrolment, hours, and fees. Work and Income needs that section to assess the application, so ask your service to fill this in as soon as your enrolment is confirmed.

For FamilyBoost, you need invoices or a statement for the quarter. Inland Revenue asks you to use a quarterly statement if your service can supply one. Its claim guidance currently says most FamilyBoost refunds are paid within 15 working days. Before you upload anything, check that the document shows:

• the name, service address, and licence number of the licensed service, and its GST number if it is GST registered
• your full name and the full name of each child the fees relate to
• the date it was issued, its invoice number or statement number, and the start and end dates of the period the fees cover
• the fees charged, and any 20 Hours ECE funding, Childcare Subsidy, or discounts taken off
• the final amount you paid

If any of that is missing, ask for a corrected statement before you claim. A claim that does not match the paperwork can hold up your refund.

What Else Do Parents Ask About FamilyBoost and the Childcare Subsidy?

Is FamilyBoost paid automatically?

No. You have to register in myIR and submit a claim after each quarter, with invoices or a statement from your licensed childcare service. Inland Revenue allows up to four years to submit a claim for a quarter.

What happens if my household income changes during the year?

FamilyBoost is assessed one quarter at a time, on your household income for the quarter you are claiming, so your refund can go up or down from one quarter to the next. For the Childcare Subsidy, tell Work and Income straight away if your income or your partner's income changes, because it can affect what is paid to your childcare service.

Can I claim FamilyBoost if my child gets 20 Hours ECE?

Yes. The hours funded under 20 Hours ECE are not fees you paid, so they are left out of the claim. Any fees you paid for extra hours, or a top-up on funded hours, can be included.

What if my child moves to a different childcare service partway through a quarter?

Tell Work and Income straight away, because the Childcare Subsidy is tied to the service your child attends. For FamilyBoost, ask each licensed service your child attended for an invoice or statement covering its part of the quarter. Inland Revenue accepts documents from more than one provider in the same claim.

Who do I contact with questions about each payment?

Work and Income handles the Childcare Subsidy. Inland Revenue handles FamilyBoost: you can send a secure message in myIR or call 0800 227 773. Your childcare service can supply the enrolment details and statements both agencies ask for, but it cannot assess your eligibility.

What Should You Do This Week?

Start with the step that depends on someone else. Subsidy applications can be submitted at any time and FamilyBoost can be claimed after each quarter, but both rely on enrolment details and statements from the service your child attends, so choosing an educator comes first.

Tell us your suburb, your child's age, and the days you need. We will check which educators near you have space, and let you know what the hourly rate is and which enrolment details and statements we can supply for your Childcare Subsidy and FamilyBoost claims. With four children at most in each educator's home, a place that is open this week may not be open next month.

Send a childcare enquiry to Kuddles today, so you know who has space before your applications are finished.