Financial help for new parents in New Zealand: Best Start and beyond

Two systems, two agencies

Money for New Zealand families comes from two places and it is worth knowing which is which before you start ringing people. Inland Revenue pays Working for Families, which includes Best Start and the family tax credit, and is based on your family income. Work and Income pays benefits and targeted assistance, including help with childcare costs and one-off hardship grants.

Paid parental leave is a separate entitlement again, with its own rules and its own qualifying test.

Best Start

Best Start is the payment specifically for having a young child. Inland Revenue publishes it as up to $77 a week, or $4,041 a year, from 1 April 2026.

The important change is the income test. Inland Revenue states that from 1 April 2026, Best Start is income tested from the first year, aligning it with the approach already used in years two and three. For a child born on or after 1 April 2026, the weekly payment of $77 is reduced when family income exceeds $79,000, at a rate of 21 cents in the dollar above that threshold.

Children born before 1 April 2026 keep the old treatment for their first year: Inland Revenue says the first year of Best Start is not dependent on family income for that group, and those clients continue to receive the full first-year entitlement. Years two and three are income tested for everybody.

How to claim it

If you are already registered for Working for Families, you can notify Inland Revenue of the birth through SmartStart, the government's combined new-baby service, and Best Start is added. If you are not already registered, Inland Revenue's guidance for babies born on or after 1 April 2026 is to apply for Working for Families first, after which Best Start is assessed.

Family tax credit

The family tax credit is the main ongoing Working for Families payment and it is not limited to babies. Inland Revenue publishes it as $7,921 a year, or $152 a week, for the eldest child, and $6,454 a year, or $124 a week, for every other child.

It abates against family income above $44,900, with the reduction calculated by multiplying the amount above the threshold by 27.5%.

That abatement is the detail that catches families out. Because Best Start and the family tax credit are both reduced as income rises, a modest pay increase can reduce two payments at once, and the effective loss is larger than either rate suggests on its own. Use Inland Revenue's own estimator before you make decisions about hours or a return to work.

The in-work tax credit

The in-work tax credit is paid to working families and Inland Revenue has flagged a government-announced temporary increase from 1 April 2026. Because the amount attached to that change is not published on the page we relied on, we are not quoting a figure for it. Check Inland Revenue's current rate before you count on it.

Get your income estimate right

Working for Families is paid during the year on an estimate of your family income and squared up afterwards. If your estimate is too low you will be asked to repay, which lands as a bill at exactly the moment a new baby is most expensive.

Tell Inland Revenue when your income changes, when your relationship status changes, and when a child arrives or leaves your care. Weekly or fortnightly payments are usually better than a lump sum at the end of the year for cash flow, but only if the estimate is honest.

Paid parental leave, briefly

Paid parental leave is administered by Inland Revenue but it is not part of Working for Families, and the two do not run together. Inland Revenue states that you cannot receive Best Start and paid parental leave payments at the same time, and that if you register for both, your Best Start will start after your paid parental leave payments stop.

That sequencing is worth planning around, because it means the Best Start money arrives at the point your leave pay ends rather than adding to it. Register for both anyway: the handover is automatic once Inland Revenue holds both registrations, and registering late simply delays the first Best Start payment.

What Work and Income covers separately

Work and Income administers a different set of help, and eligibility is generally assessed on income and assets rather than through the tax system. Its A to Z of benefits and payments is the authoritative list, and it includes assistance with childcare costs for eligible families, help with urgent one-off costs, and income support where a parent is not working.

The Childcare Subsidy is the one most new parents ask about, and it is worth checking against the early childhood education funding you may already receive, because the two interact.

Because Work and Income entitlements are means tested against circumstances that change quickly after a birth, a family that did not qualify while pregnant may qualify afterwards. It is worth re-checking rather than assuming the earlier answer still holds.

Where to get help

Inland Revenue administers Best Start, the family tax credit and the rest of Working for Families, and publishes the current rates and thresholds. Register the birth and notify Inland Revenue through SmartStart where you can. Work and Income handles childcare assistance, hardship grants and income support, and lists everything it pays in its A to Z. Where a figure on this page matters to a decision, check it against the agency's own page first, because these rates change on 1 April.