T1 - Spouse (without dependent child or student), child-housekeeper or housekeeper

About question T1

Question T1 image from tax return for individuals form.

The following definitions will help you determine whether you are eligible for this tax offset.

Your 'spouse' includes another person (whether of the same sex or opposite sex) who:

    you were in a relationship with that was registered under a prescribed state or territory law,

    although not legally married to you, lived with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.

A housekeeper is someone who kept house for you full time and also cared for your dependent children, students or invalid relatives, or your dependent spouse who received a disability support pension.

A child-housekeeper is your child who kept house for you full time. Your child includes your adopted child, stepchild, ex-nuptial child or child of your spouse. However a child who is a full-time student or a full-time employee is not considered to keep house full time. (See the full definition of child.)

Keeping house means more than simply child-minding or performing domestic duties. It includes having some responsibility for the general running of the household.

See an explanation of Adjusted taxable income (ATI).

Did you have a dependent spouse, child-housekeeper or housekeeper for any part of the year?

No

    go to question T2 Senior Australians (includes age pensioners, service pensioners and self-funded retirees), or
    
    return to main menu Tax return for individuals instructions.

Yes

Read below.

Shared care

You had shared care if you, and your spouse if you had one, cared for your child for some of the income year, and someone else, such as a former spouse, cared for the child for the rest of the income year.

If you received family tax benefit Part B as part of a shared-care arrangement, you will need to know your family tax benefit (FTB) shared-care percentage to calculate your spouse offset. Your FTB shared-care percentage is usually not the same as your 'Shared care percentage' which appears on correspondence you have received from the Family Assistance Office (FAO).

If you do not know your FTB shared-care percentage, contact the FAO on 13 61 50.

Answering this question

If you had a dependent spouse, read on. If you had a child-housekeeper, go to part B. If you had a housekeeper, go to part C. If you are claiming a combination of these tax offsets, work through the relevant parts in order.

Part A - Dependent spouse

You cannot claim this tax offset if:

    your adjusted taxable income (ATI) for 2009-10 was more than $150,000
    your spouse's ATI for 2009-10 was $9,254 or more.

You can work out your ATI or go to www.ato.gov.au/calculators to use the online income test calculator.

You can claim a dependent spouse tax offset for any period in 2009-10 that you had a spouse and you met all these conditions:

    you maintained your spouse - see What is maintaining a dependant?
    your spouse was a resident - if you are not sure, read Are you an Australian resident?
    you were a resident at any time during 2009-10
    neither you nor your spouse (during any period they were your spouse) was eligible for family tax benefit (FTB) Part B or if one of you was eligible for it, you were eligible at the shared-care rate only.

To work out your spouse's ATI for the period you can claim use Worksheet 1 - Working out a person's ATI for the relevant period.

The maximum spouse tax offset you can claim is $2,243.

If you are entitled to claim a dependent spouse tax offset, go to part A of Completing your tax return.

Part B - Child-housekeeper

You cannot claim this tax offset if:

    your adjusted taxable income (ATI) for 2009-10 was more than $150,000, or
    you had a spouse for all of 2009-10 and the combined ATI of you and your spouse was more than $150,000, or
    you had a spouse for only part of the year and the sum of the following is more than $150,000
       your ATI
       your spouse's ATI for 2009-10 multiplied by the number of days they were your spouse divided by 365, or
    you had a child-housekeeper for the whole year and their ATI for 2009-10 was $7,594 or more, or $9,042 or more if you had another dependent child or student.

You can work out the ATI for you and your spouse or go to www.ato.gov.au/calculators to use the online income test calculator.

You can claim a child-housekeeper tax offset for any period in 2009-10 that you had a child-housekeeper and you met all these conditions:

    you maintained your child-housekeeper - see What is maintaining a dependant?
    your child-housekeeper was a resident - if you are not sure, read Are you an Australian resident?
    you were a resident at any time in 2009-10
    you were not eligible for a dependent spouse tax offset under part A
    you were not eligible for FTB Part B or were eligible for it only at the shared-care rate.

To work out your spouse's ATI for the period you can claim use Worksheet 1 - Working out a person's ATI for the relevant period.

The maximum child-housekeeper tax offset you can claim is $1,828, or $2,190 if you had another dependent child or student.

If you are entitled to claim a child-housekeeper tax offset, go to part B of Completing your tax return.

Dependent spouse tax offset - income tests

The dependent spouse tax offset provides tax relief for personal circumstances. To be eligible for the offset you must meet specific criteria.

From the 2009-10 income year, the introduction of a new income test may affect your eligibility for this tax offset. You may no longer be eligible for the tax offset or only be entitled to a lesser amount.

In previous years, your taxable income and the separate net income of your spouse was used to assess your eligibility. From the 2009-10 income year your adjusted taxable income will be used. All other eligibility requirements remain unchanged.

Your adjusted taxable income is the sum of the following amounts:

    taxable income
    adjusted fringe benefits (reportable fringe benefits x 0.535)
    tax-free pensions or benefits
    target foreign income (income from overseas not reported in your tax return)
    reportable super contributions (includes both reportable employer superannuation contributions and deductible personal superannuation contributions)
    total net investment loss (includes both net financial investment loss and net rental property loss)

    less

    child support you've paid.

For further information regarding child support you paid (deductible child maintenance expenditure), refer to the Family Assistance Guide.


For the 2009-10 income year, you will be eligible to claim a dependent spouse offset if all of the following apply:

    your adjusted taxable income was $150,000 or less
    your spouse's adjusted taxable income for the year was less than $9,254
    you met all the following conditions:
       you maintained your spouse
       your spouse was an Australian resident
       you were an Australian resident
       neither you nor your spouse were eligible for family tax benefit Part B or were only eligible for it at a shared-care rate.

The following example shows how the change in income tests affect eligibility for the dependent spouse tax offset.

Example 1

    Toni and Brett are married. Toni works for a charity as a volunteer and is not in paid employment. They have rental properties and a share portfolio. Brett also has entered into a salary sacrificing arrangement to boost his super.

    For the 2008-09 income year, Brett's taxable income was $120,000 (after claiming a rental loss of $17,000 and a financial investment loss of $8,000), and he had reportable employer superannuation contributions (salary sacrificed amount) of $10,000.

    As Brett's taxable income was $120,000 and under the income threshold, he was eligible to claim the dependent spouse tax offset.

    For the 2009-10 income year, Brett's financial situation remains similar. His taxable income is $120,000 (after claiming a total net investment loss of $20,000), and he has reportable super contributions of $15,000.

    The income test for this offset has changed and Brett's adjusted taxable income is now used to calculate his eligibility for the offset. Brett's adjusted taxable income is $155,000.

    $120,000 + $20,000 + $15,000 = $155,000.

    As Brett's adjusted taxable income is over the income threshold for this offset he is not eligible to claim the dependent spouse tax offset.

Example 2

    Tony and Dana are in a de-facto relationship. Dana is on unpaid leave. Tony wants to claim the dependent spouse tax offset for Dana in his 2009-10 income tax return.

    While Dana has no salary or wage income, her employer has made $10,000 in reportable employer superannuation contributions for her during the 2009-10 income year.

    As Dana had no other taxable income or fringe benefit amounts for the income year, her taxable income is nil, but her adjusted taxable income is $10,000. This is because reportable employer superannuation contributions are included in the income test.

    Therefore, Tony is not eligible to claim the dependent spouse tax offset as Dana's adjusted taxable income is more than the dependent spouse income threshold of $9,254 for the 2009-10 income year.

More information


For more information, refer to Spouse (without dependent child or student), child-housekeeper or housekeeper. http://www.ato.gov.au/content.asp?doc=/content/00216847.htm

Last Modified: Monday, 12 July 2010