Separated couples and eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for a period before separation 007-02020080

Check eligibility for FTB.

Have both parents claimed for a past period?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

If only 1 parent has claimed FTB for a past period when they were a member of a couple, they need to provide:

• An accurate estimate of their ex-partner's income for the relevant financial year. Special rules apply for FTB reconciliation in relation to previous partners
• Their partner's Tax File Number (TFN), however the claimant's ex-partner can be granted an exemption from providing a TFN. The exemption reason 'PUC' should be used

Go to Step 8.

Whether both individuals are eligible for FTB for the partnered period depends on the date of claim determination:

• For shared rate of payment claims where 1 party has already received payment for the couple prior to the separation date, and the other party lodges a past period claim after the separation date, they would not be eligible as only 1 member of a couple can be eligible to receive the payment. See the Resources page for a scenario
• For shared rate of payment claims where a determination for either party has not been made prior to the separation date, both parties may be entitled to a share of FTB for the partnered period. See the Resources page for a scenario

Go to Step 4.

Both claimants need to lodge a claim and provide the relevant information for the past period, for example estimates if the past period is in the current financial year. See Initial contact by customers claiming FTB as lump sum for a previous year.

The payment amount for each party will represent the percentage of the family's total FTB rate .The total FTB paid cannot exceed 100%.

If each claimant agrees on the percentage of the FTB rate for the period prior to separation, payment is to be made using that percentage. See Step 1 in the Manual calculations for FTB claim process table.

If the customers cannot agree on the percentage of family’s FTB rate they should receive, the Service Officer will need to make the determination. Go to Step 5.

Has 1 member of the couple claimed 100% of the FTB rate for the period they were coupled?

• Yes, See Step 1 in the Manual calculations for FTB process table
• No, Go to Step 5

Are both the customer and ex-partner claiming at the same time?

• Yes, pay FTB for the past period on the appropriate agreed percentage for each customer, Go to Step 6
• No, Go to Step 8

Have the customers agreed on a percentage of the FTB entitlement?

Yes, Go to Step 7

No, determine the percentage of FTB that each claimant may be paid, take into consideration:

• How many children are brought to the relationship by each customer
• Shared care if applicable (shared care percentages applied for the period prior to separation on the FTB Shared Care (FSC) screen), and
• Blended families

If shared care is involved with 1 or both claimants, follow the normal shared care process to establish the care percentage. See Notification and assessment of shared care arrangements for Family Tax Benefit FTB.

For blended family cases it is important that the family unit is not paid in excess of 100% legislative entitlement. Therefore if 1 member of the couple has already received for example 80% FTB, then only 20% would be available to the other party to claim. The customer would have received the benefit of payment while partnered. See the Resources page for a scenario.Go to Step 7

The FTB entitlement is worked out as if the couple had not separated in the past period, that is divide the total rate that would have been payable to 1 member of the former couple between both parties.

Procedure ends here.

If no other customer has claimed or been paid for the same period, the claimant can be paid 100%. Process the FTB lump sum claim as if the couple had not separated in the past period. Procedure ends here.

Was the customer paid FTB while they were partnered?

Yes, if 1 member of the couple has already received FTB while they were partnered, the customer would have received the benefit of payment while partnered. Process the claim activity and reject it reason PEC – Partner entitled via CLK. Ensure the claim progress DOC is updated to include the following:

• Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• Ex-partner CRN
• Blended family percentage split (if applicable)
• Shared care assessment for each child (if applicable)
• Percentage of FTB to be paid to each claimant
• Dates assessment is for (previous partnered period)

No, Go to Step 2

The system cannot automatically reassess FTB for couples if an ex-partner claims for a period that has already been paid. The system will always reject the claim. Following completion of the claim, email the NFP team where a manual assessment for the ex-partners FTB claim will be completed. See the Resources page for a link to the NFP Office Locator page.

Process the claim activity so it is rejected for reason PEC – Partner entitled via CLK. Ensure the claim progress DOC has been updated to include the following:

• Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• Ex-partner CRN
• Blended family percentage split (if applicable)
• Shared care assessment for each child (if applicable)
• Percentage of FTB to be paid to each claimant
• Dates assessment is for (previous partnered period)

Email the Families Reconciliation team (NFP) who will undertake the manual calculations and will pay the customer via the Payment Adjustment (PYAJ) screen or the FAO Reconciliation Manual Adjustment (FRMA) screen (whichever is applicable). Once completed, they will document the record(s) to include the following information:

• amount paid and how (PYAJ or FRMA adjustment)
• debt amount for ex-partner (if applicable) and how calculated (on ex-partner record)

NFP staff will reply via email to confirm the updates have been completed.

• FCC Processing staff; go to Step 6
• NFP staff; go to Step 3

To manually calculate the correct entitlement:

• Check the FAO Reconciliation and Claim Summary (FRCS) screen to check amounts paid in the relevant period
• Individual components can be located by selecting the reco result line and coding 'B' in the sub totals line on the FTB Calculation Result (FACRF) screen. The results will be displayed on the FAO Reconciliation Results (FCCR) screen

If reconciliation has occurred on numerous occasions use the most recent data. This will be displayed in the 'top' reconciliation result on the FRCS screen.

• for blended family cases the amount payable can only be the amount available left to pay under legislation
• for shared care rate of payment cases there could be an overpayment that will need to be raised in order to pay the other party

See the Resources page for scenarios.

• include the following information on customer and ex-partner records:
• ex-partner CRN
• children
• shared care (if applicable)
• rent per week (If applicable)
• income used for calculations
• blend applied (if applicable)
• Income Support Payment (ISP) customer (if applicable)
• manual calculations
• record a Display on Access (DOA) DOC for easy reference
• an email will be sent to the referring Service Officer to DOC the record

The referring Service Officer must issue a letter explaining the legislative entitlement to the customer and/or ex-partner using a Q999 letter.

See the Resources page for an example of this letter.