Working for Families Notice: What to Check Before 1 April

A notice of entitlement estimates your Working for Families payments for the coming year. A letter asking for information needs a response before Inland Revenue can complete that estimate. Identifying which document you have is the first step before relying on the amount for rent or childcare.

A correct notice of entitlement usually needs no further confirmation. Leaving a request for information unanswered can stop weekly or fortnightly payments even though the family may ultimately qualify for assistance.

Check which document you have

Inland Revenue usually contacts families in February or March about the year running from the following 1 April to 31 March. A notice of entitlement sets out the estimated income, family details, payment amounts and dates. If these details are correct, regular payments generally continue as stated without another application to confirm the notice.

A request for information means Inland Revenue does not have enough information to calculate the coming year's payments. Its guidance says regular payments will stop if the requested information has not been received by 1 April. A year-end lump sum can be arranged instead, and regular payments can resume after the missing information is supplied. Neither option removes the immediate cash-flow problem if a household was expecting its usual instalments.

Document	What it concerns	What to check first
Notice of entitlement	Estimated payments for the coming year	Tax year, income and family details
Information request	Missing information needed to work out payments	Requested documents and response deadline
End-of-year assessment	Entitlement for a completed year	Actual income, payments and any balance

These documents serve different purposes. Inland Revenue explains the first two in its annual entitlement notice guidance. A debt for a completed year is a separate reconciliation, discussed in our Working for Families overpayment guide.

Estimate income for the year shown on the notice

Suppose Amelia receives a notice in February 2027 for the period 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028. She expects gross salary of NZ$5,000 a month from April to July, increasing to NZ$6,000 from August. Her salary forecast for that period is NZ$68,000: four months at NZ$5,000 plus eight months at NZ$6,000.

Using her old monthly salary for all twelve months would give NZ$60,000 and miss the increase. Using the new monthly salary for all twelve months would give NZ$72,000 and overstate this forecast. Both would be wrong under the stated assumptions. Any expected bonus and her partner's relevant income need to be considered separately.

The same issue arises when a parent plans to return to work, changes hours or starts a second job. You may need to update the current year's income estimate as well, but it is a different period. Check the year selected in myIR before entering the numbers.

Build the forecast for the year on the notice, including known changes during that year.

Past tax returns do not replace a current income forecast

Sole traders, contractors and landlords may need to file an individual income tax return, known as an IR3. Inland Revenue may use a return from one of the previous two years when estimating the coming year's Working for Families entitlement. A missing return or insufficient information can trigger a request rather than a completed notice.

A historical return establishes past income. It does not prove the next year will be the same. A contractor who has signed a substantial new contract needs a forecast of the work expected and the deductible expenses likely to be incurred.

For the family-income estimate, combine the forecast net business profit with the partner's relevant income and any required adjustments. Our income and payment guide explains the distinction between turnover and profit with a worked example.

Depending on what Inland Revenue asks for, you may need to supply an outstanding IR3, accounts, a business-income budget or confirmation from an accountant. An extension for filing an income tax return does not mean a separate Working for Families information deadline can be ignored. Keep the forecast and its assumptions with the records supplied.

Income is only one part of the notice

Check each dependent child, the actual care arrangements and the dates of any relevant change. A new partner, separation, change in shared care or a child becoming financially independent can affect entitlement even when household earnings have not changed.

For shared care, the important information includes who provides day-to-day care and when the arrangement changed. Recording only the circumstances at the time you read the letter may miss an earlier change relevant to the payment period. Review partner details and income together rather than treating them as unrelated updates.

Families with overseas income or recent changes in residence should check which year's rules apply. The Taxation (Budget Measures) Act 2026 changes aspects of Working for Families residence and family-income rules from 1 April 2027. An entitlement under the 2026/27 rules does not establish the result for 2027/28. Inland Revenue notes that distinction on the page accompanying its 2026 family-income interpretation statement.

Retain confirmation that requested information has been supplied.

Update the information and retain the response

In myIR, open the Working for Families account and review Family and income details for the relevant period. An income estimate should include amounts already earned and reasonable expected income through the period's 31 March year-end. Inland Revenue's income-update instructions explain the process.

If you have received a document request, respond through the specified channel and keep your message or submission confirmation. Correcting an income field is not necessarily a substitute for sending the particular documents requested. If anything is unclear, ask Inland Revenue what remains outstanding before assuming payments will continue.

If variable business income makes regular instalments difficult to estimate, a year-end lump sum is another payment option. It avoids the usual in-year estimate risk, although corrected information can still lead to a later reassessment.

The aim is a reasonable forecast based on the correct family circumstances, rather than a perfect prediction of every dollar. Respond to information requests while there is still time to prevent a payment interruption. Our income and payment guide explains how the income figure then affects the main credits.

Disclaimer: This article provides general New Zealand tax and accounting information, not personalised advice. Eligibility and tax treatment depend on your circumstances and the rules applying to the relevant period. Obtain professional advice before acting.