I’m about to move in with a new partner. I have a 12 year old who is my dependent child who I have 50% care of. My question is at what point would my new partner’s children (who are not biologically mine) be considered my dependent children too? Do they just have to live with us both and I contribute to their care costs for them to be considered my dependent children? Or does it have to be more? And what are the implications for tax for listing more dependent children? What do I need to be aware of regarding tax as someone who is moving in with a new partner who has two children?
This thread is archived and the information may not be up-to-date. You can't reply to this thread.
655 views
2 replies
A dependent child is your child who is:
- under 21 years old, or
- 21 to 24 years old and a full-time student at a school, college or university.
The child must be an Australian resident and you must have contributed to their maintenance.
This information is used to determine your entitlements and income test threshold for the:
- private health insurance rebate
- Medicare levy surcharge
All replies
A dependent child is your child who is:
- under 21 years old, or
- 21 to 24 years old and a full-time student at a school, college or university.
The child must be an Australian resident and you must have contributed to their maintenance.
This information is used to determine your entitlements and income test threshold for the:
- private health insurance rebate
- Medicare levy surcharge
Your child includes:
- your child, whether born in marriage or not
- your adopted child
- a newborn or newly adopted child
- a child of your spouse (your stepchild)
- someone who is your child within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 (for example, a child who is considered to be a child of a person under a state or or territory court order giving effect to a surrogacy agreement).
Family and dependants for Medicare levy surcharge purposes | Australian Taxation Office
Featured articles
6 Feb 2026 · 4 min read time
24 Aug 2025 · 3 min read time
15 Apr 2026 · 3 min read time