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Care percentage calculator: child support and Family Tax Benefit

Enter your parenting schedule to see both parents' care percentage, care band, child support cost share and FTB position. Worked out in your browser.

A parent arranges night cards beside an oversized cobalt calculator showing two shares of care, with two homes and a school backpack nearby.

Quick answer

Your care percentage is the share of the year the children spend with you, counted in nights. Services Australia uses it to decide how much child support you are treated as already providing through care, and whether you can claim Family Tax Benefit. Pick your arrangement below to see both parents' percentages.

Example: if the other parent has the kids for an extra 3 weeks across the year, enter -21 for your side.

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent or saved. Estimates only: Services Australia counts your actual care and applies its own rounding.

The bands the system uses

  • Below regular care: under 14%, up to 51 nights a year.
  • Regular care: 14% to under 35%, 52 to 127 nights a year (2 to 4 nights a fortnight).
  • Shared care: 35% to 65%, 128 to 237 nights a year (5 to 9 nights a fortnight).
  • Primary care: over 65% to 86%, 238 to 313 nights a year (10 to 12 nights a fortnight).
  • Above primary care: over 86%, 314 nights or more.

Why the lines matter

Two lines do most of the work. At 128 nights (35%) a parent becomes eligible for part of Family Tax Benefit, and the child support cost-of-care share starts climbing. At 238 nights (over 65%) a parent can receive the full FTB amount for the child. A swap of a handful of nights across a year can sit either side of a line, so keep an accurate record of actual care.

For how each common schedule lands, and which suits which age, read shared care arrangements in Australia: week on/week off, 5/2 and what the percentages mean. For the money side, use the child support calculator and read how the child support formula works.

Track every handover and change in one place: use the free Atlas separation checklist, then keep your care records in Atlas.

Sources and resources

Last checked: 21 October 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice. Services Australia works from your actual care and may apply different rounding, so treat these figures as estimates.