What pay remains after tax?
Your employment income is estimated for each work pattern, then resident income tax and a simplified Medicare levy are deducted.
Return-to-work Maths · Updated for 2026–27
What does childcare and returning to work really leave your family?
Enter both incomes, your working days and each child's care details. ParentMath compares the current pattern with one fewer and one more working day, recalculates tax and Child Care Subsidy, then shows how much the family's estimated cash position rises or falls.
Last updated 11 August 2026 · settings checked against published Australian Government rates
2026–27 Child Care Subsidy rates
Australian resident tax rates
Private by default
Example family
These example family figures show how the calculator works. Change any figure to use your own.
1
Annual gross
What income and work pattern are you comparing?
Use your expected employment income for the full financial year. Your names stay on this device.
3 days
012345
Estimated annual employment income: $0
Estimated family adjusted taxable income for Child Care Subsidy: $0.
Advanced income settings
Included in family income for Child Care Subsidy, but excluded from employment take-home pay.
2
What care changes with your workdays?
Add up to four children. Fees are entered per booked day.
3
Per child
How many subsidised hours can apply?
100 hours may apply where both parents exceed 48 hours of recognised participation per fortnight, for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children, approved exemptions or specified Additional Child Care Subsidy circumstances.
Show typical 5% Child Care Subsidy withholding
Withholding changes cash paid during the year, not your final estimated entitlement.
Plain English
How does the calculator compare workdays?
How much Child Care Subsidy may apply?
Your family adjusted taxable income, Child Care Subsidy percentage, hourly cap and subsidised hours are recalculated for each work pattern.
What is the family difference?
The calculator compares household employment income after estimated tax and the childcare gap.
A quick worked example
How much do you keep from one extra workday?
Sometimes you keep nothing. In this illustrative example, one parent earns $120,000 and the other has a $60,000 full-time salary. Moving from 3 to 4 days adds $9,510 a year after estimated tax, but the childcare gap rises by $10,033.92.
With one child in 12-hour sessions at $180 a day and 72 subsidised hours, family adjusted taxable income rises from $156,000 to $168,000 and the standard Child Care Subsidy rate falls from 76.5% to 74.1%. The family's position goes backwards by $523.92 a year, or $10.08 a week, before other work costs. The figures were verified against the ParentMath calculation engine on 11 August 2026.
Return-to-work questions
What sits behind the comparison?
Short answers about the tax, childcare and Child Care Subsidy settings used in this estimate.
What does the return-to-work result include?
The result combines both parents' estimated employment income after Australian resident income tax and a flat 2% Medicare levy, then subtracts childcare fees after estimated Child Care Subsidy.
Australian Taxation Office: legislated 2026–27 resident tax ratesWhat costs and payments are left out?
The estimate excludes Higher Education Loan Program repayments, Family Tax Benefit, tax offsets, deductions, superannuation, salary packaging, Medicare levy reductions or exemptions, the Medicare Levy Surcharge and general living costs.
Australian Taxation Office: Medicare levy guidanceHow can another workday change the childcare result?
Another workday can increase employment income and the number of booked care days. The extra family income may also change the Child Care Subsidy percentage, so the calculator updates tax, Child Care Subsidy and childcare together.
Services Australia: how income affects Child Care SubsidyWhich income tax settings does ParentMath use?
ParentMath uses the legislated 2026–27 Australian resident income tax brackets and adds a simplified 2% Medicare levy. Your individual tax circumstances can produce a different result.
Australian Taxation Office: legislated tax rate changesCan I treat the result as an exact entitlement or financial recommendation?
No. The result is an educational estimate for comparing scenarios. Services Australia determines Child Care Subsidy entitlements and the Australian Taxation Office applies tax rules to individual circumstances.
Services Australia: Child Care SubsidyCan an extra day at work leave my family worse off?
Yes. In one illustrative scenario, moving from 3 to 4 workdays adds $9,510 a year after estimated tax but increases the childcare gap by $10,033.92. The family's position falls by $523.92 a year, or $10.08 a week, before travel and other work costs.
What happens to childcare subsidy if I earn more?
Higher family adjusted taxable income can reduce the standard Child Care Subsidy rate. In 2026–27, the rate falls by 1 percentage point for each $5,000 above $88,520. In the worked example, another workday raises family adjusted taxable income from $156,000 to $168,000 and lowers the estimated rate from 76.5% to 74.1%.
Services Australia: income and Child Care Subsidy percentageHow much do I actually keep from an extra day at work?
Compare the change in household income after estimated tax with the change in childcare gap. The result may be positive or negative. ParentMath also recalculates family adjusted taxable income, the Child Care Subsidy percentage and subsidised hours for the new work pattern.
Is it cheaper for one parent to stay home?
Staying home can produce a higher short-term cash result when lost after-tax income is less than childcare and work costs, but this calculator does not price superannuation, career progression or leave.
Official sources checked 11 August 2026. Government settings can change.