Family Tax Benefit Deadline 2026: What You Must Do Before 30 June

If your household receives, or was eligible for, Family Tax Benefit (FTB) during the 2024–25 financial year, there’s a date you cannot afford to miss. The deadline falls on 30 June 2026, and families who don’t act before then risk losing money they’re owed — or having to repay Family Tax Benefit they’ve already received.

Services Australia has confirmed that around 170,000 Family Tax Benefit families and 241,000 Child Care Subsidy families still need to sort out their 2024–25 income details before this date. If that includes you, here’s exactly what’s happening, why it matters, and what to do right now.

Table of Contents

• What Is the Family Tax Benefit Deadline 2026?
• Why This Deadline Exists
• Who Needs to Act Before 30 June
• What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
• How to Confirm Your Income or Submit a Lump Sum Claim
• What If You Genuinely Can’t Meet the Deadline?
• Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy: A Shared Deadline
• Quick Checklist Before 30 June 2026
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Family Tax Benefit Deadline 2026?

Family Tax Benefit isn’t a “set and forget” payment. Every financial year, Services Australia needs to check that what you were paid actually matches what your household earned — a process called balancing. To make that possible, you need to either confirm your Family Tax Benefit income or, if you haven’t claimed yet, submit a lump sum claim before the window closes.

For the 2024–25 financial year (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025), Family Tax Benefit families get exactly 12 months from the end of that financial year to do this. That window closes on 30 June 2026. After that date, the option disappears completely — there’s no quiet grace period.

This covers two slightly different groups: families already receiving fortnightly Family Tax Benefit who need to confirm their income for balancing, and families who didn’t claim during 2024–25 but believe they were eligible and want to claim it now as a one-off lump sum.

Why This Deadline Exists

The reasoning is straightforward. Payments during the year are based on an estimate of your family income. Once the financial year ends and tax returns are lodged, Services Australia compares that estimate to your actual income to check whether you were paid the right amount of Family Tax Benefit — too little, too much, or exactly right.

This is also when supplements, top-ups, and arrears get released — but only for families who’ve completed the confirmation step. Skip it, and none of that extra Family Tax Benefit money gets paid out, regardless of how eligible you would otherwise have been.

Who Needs to Act Before 30 June

You’re likely affected if any of the following apply to you:

• You received Family Tax Benefit fortnightly during 2024–25 and haven’t yet confirmed your family income for that year.
• You and your partner haven’t lodged your 2024–25 tax returns yet (and you’re required to).
• You didn’t claim Family Tax Benefit at all during 2024–25, but think you may have been eligible and want to submit a lump sum claim now.
• You also receive Child Care Subsidy and haven’t confirmed your income — it shares the same 30 June cut-off.

If you were single for the entire 2024–25 financial year and received an income support payment the whole time, Services Australia may balance your Family Tax Benefit automatically without you needing to do anything. Everyone else generally needs to take action manually.

For a wider look at what other support might apply to your household, our guide to Centrelink payments in Australia breaks down the major payment categories in one place.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

This is the part families tend to underestimate. Missing 30 June doesn’t just mean a smaller payment later — the consequences depend heavily on your situation, and they’re more serious than most people expect.

If you were receiving Family Tax Benefit during 2024–25 and don’t confirm your income in time, you’ll be required to repay the full amount of Family Tax Benefit you received for that entire financial year. You also won’t receive any top-up, arrears, or supplement payments you might otherwise have been owed.

If you hadn’t claimed yet and were planning to lodge a lump sum claim, you simply won’t be able to after 30 June. There’s no late submission window for the 2024–25 year — the entitlement is gone for good.

For families also on Child Care Subsidy, the flow-on effect is faster and more immediate: if income isn’t confirmed in time, CCS payments stop from 6 July, and families are charged full child care fees from that point onward. Confirming income after 6 July doesn’t get you backdated payments for whatever you missed in the meantime.

How to Confirm Your Income or Submit a Lump Sum Claim

The process itself is simpler than the consequences make it sound. You have two main paths, and which one applies depends on whether you’re required to lodge a tax return.

If you need to lodge a tax return: Lodge your 2024–25 tax return with the Australian Taxation Office as normal (and your partner needs to as well, if you have one). Once the ATO processes it, your income details are automatically passed to Services Australia, and your Family Tax Benefit balancing happens from there. You can use the ATO’s tools to confirm whether you’re required to lodge in the first place.

If you don’t need to lodge a tax return: You still need to actively tell Services Australia this — it isn’t assumed automatically. Sign in to your Centrelink online account through myGov, or use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, and select the option to advise that you’re not required to lodge.

If you haven’t claimed Family Tax Benefit yet for 2024–25: You’ll need to submit a lump sum claim through your Centrelink online account before 30 June, and also confirm your income using one of the two methods above.

If you don’t already have a myGov or Centrelink online account, set one up as early as possible. Account verification can take a few days, and you don’t want that eating into your remaining window before the deadline.

What If You Genuinely Can’t Meet the Deadline?

Sometimes there are real, unavoidable reasons a family can’t sort this out in time — illness, a family emergency, or being overseas, for example. If that’s your situation, don’t simply let the date pass. Call the Centrelink Families Line on 13 61 50 before 30 June to explain your circumstances. Special-circumstances extensions are considered case by case, but only if you’ve actually contacted Services Australia about it beforehand. For a full breakdown of what this line can help with and the best times to call, see our complete guide to the Centrelink Families Line.

Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy: A Shared Deadline

It’s worth repeating, because so many families miss it: this isn’t only a Family Tax Benefit issue. The same 30 June cut-off applies to confirming income for Child Care Subsidy. If your household receives both payments, sorting out your tax return or non-lodgement advice once covers both — but missing it affects both as well, just on slightly different timelines. Family Tax Benefit repayment is triggered as soon as balancing happens, while CCS payments specifically stop from 6 July.

If you’re unsure which other payments your family might be eligible for, our broader guide on Centrelink payment eligibility and claims covers the most common family and parenting payments in one place.

Quick Checklist Before 30 June 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

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This article is for general informational purposes only and isn’t financial, tax, or legal advice. Rules and deadlines can change — always confirm your specific Family Tax Benefit situation directly with Services Australia before taking action.