How Much Board Should You Charge Your Adult Child? A Fair Australian Guide

Your child has landed a job, started earning their own money and is still living at home. Wonderful!

Except they are also using the electricity, eating everything in the fridge and enjoying access to a bathroom where the toilet paper apparently replaces itself.

So, should you charge your adult child board? And if you do, how much is fair?

There is no official Australian board rate for adult children living at home. However, charging around 10% to 20% of their take-home pay can be a reasonable starting point, depending on how much they earn, whether they are studying and what their board payment includes.

The goal is not to make money from your child or make life so expensive that they can never afford to leave. A fair board arrangement can help cover rising household costs while teaching them how to budget for rent, bills and other adult expenses.

What Is the Difference Between Board and Rent?

Board and rent are often used to mean the same thing, but they can cover slightly different arrangements.

Rent generally refers to payment for accommodation. Board usually includes accommodation plus some shared household expenses, such as food, electricity and internet.

When an adult child pays board, their weekly contribution might include:

• Their bedroom and use of shared areas
• Electricity, gas and water
• Internet
• Groceries and shared meals
• Laundry and cleaning products
• Household basics such as toilet paper
• Shared streaming services

Board does not necessarily include personal expenses such as their mobile phone, clothes, fuel, takeaway, entertainment, car repayments or the suspicious number of parcels arriving at your front door.

Before deciding on an amount, make it clear what the payment covers. Charging $100 per week while continuing to pay for their phone, fuel and lunches is very different from charging $100 and expecting them to manage all their other expenses themselves.

How Much Board Should Your Adult Child Pay?

For many families, charging a percentage of take-home pay is the simplest place to start.

Here is a general guide:

These figures are starting points rather than fixed rules. The right amount will depend on your household expenses, your child’s income and what you are trying to achieve.

A recent Australian discussion about charging adult children board included percentage-based arrangements of between 10% and 20%, as well as calculating a contribution from actual household costs. The main recommendation was to keep the amount reasonable and involve your child in the conversation rather than simply announcing a figure. You can read more about the different approaches through ABC News.

Three Ways to Calculate Fair Board

1. Charge a Percentage of Their Income

This is usually the easiest option, particularly if your child works casually or their income changes each week.

Start with their take-home pay after tax and calculate between 10% and 20%, adjusting the percentage for their circumstances.

For example:

• A university student earning $350 per week might pay $35 at 10%.
• An apprentice earning $650 per week might pay $65 at 10%.
• A full-time worker taking home $1,000 per week might pay between $150 and $200.

A percentage-based arrangement can work well for casual workers because their board automatically drops during quieter weeks.

Nobody needs to call an emergency family meeting because their Saturday shift was cancelled.

2. Calculate Their Share of Household Costs

Another option is to look at what your household actually costs to run.

Add up the regular expenses your adult child benefits from, including:

• Groceries
• Electricity and gas
• Water
• Internet
• Cleaning and laundry products
• Shared subscriptions
• Rent or mortgage costs, if you want to include an accommodation contribution

Convert those expenses into a weekly figure and work out a reasonable contribution.

You do not need to divide every expense equally between every adult in the house. Parents may choose to contribute more when their child is studying, completing an apprenticeship or saving towards moving out.

The benefit of this method is that your child gets to see how much running a household actually costs. Transferring board every Friday does not automatically teach financial literacy. Looking at an electricity bill together certainly helps.

The free Moneysmart Budget Planner can help you calculate your regular income and household expenses.

3. Compare It With the Cost of Moving Out

Look at what your child would pay to rent a room in a share house in your area. Remember to include the likely cost of utilities, internet, groceries and transport.

Their board at home would generally be comfortably lower than the total cost of moving out, particularly if you want to help them build savings and become independent.

This comparison can also be quite educational for an adult child who believes $80 per week is an outrageous attack on their human rights.

However, local market rent should only be used as a reality check. If you live in an expensive suburb, charging your 19-year-old apprentice anything close to market rent could make it almost impossible for them to save.

Should Students and Apprentices Pay Less Board?

Usually, yes.

Someone studying full-time or completing a lower-paid apprenticeship will generally have less disposable income than an adult working full-time. A lower contribution allows them to help with household costs without swallowing most of their pay.

The board conversation can also be a useful reminder to consider upcoming education expenses before deciding when payments should begin.

For families with teenagers approaching Year 11 and 12, this is also a good time to think ahead – subjects like Maths Methods can make or break ATAR scores, and getting support from a VCE Maths Methods tutor early keeps options open before university applications begin.

If tutoring or other education costs are already part of the family budget, you might keep their board lower or temporarily pause it while they are studying.

You may also decide not to charge financial board while your child is studying, provided they are genuinely working towards something and contributing to the household in other ways.

Their contribution could include:

• Cooking one or two dinners each week
• Doing their own washing
• Cleaning shared areas
• Helping with younger siblings
• Mowing the lawn
• Buying some of their own groceries
• Taking responsibility for one or two household bills

Not charging board does not mean providing an endless all-inclusive resort complete with room service and a 24-hour laundry.

Should You Charge Board If Your Child Is Between Jobs?

Losing a job does not automatically mean your child should stop contributing to the household altogether.

You might temporarily reduce or pause their board while they look for work. If they have some income from casual work or government support, you could charge a smaller percentage rather than a fixed amount.

It is also reasonable to replace some of their financial contribution with additional household responsibilities.

Agree on how long the temporary arrangement will last and when you will review it. This keeps the situation supportive without allowing “between jobs” to become an open-ended lifestyle involving gaming, toast and no visible job applications.

Should You Charge Board If You Don’t Need the Money?

You can still charge board even if you can comfortably cover your household expenses.

Some parents use the money for groceries and bills. Others quietly save all or part of it and return it later to help their child with:

• A rental bond
• Moving expenses
• An emergency fund
• A reliable car
• Education costs
• A first-home deposit

You might also split the money, using one portion for household expenses and saving the rest.

There is no single correct approach. However, if the purpose of charging board is to teach financial responsibility, explain what the payment covers and involve your child in the budgeting process.

Saving the money for them can be a generous surprise, but the financial lesson comes from learning to manage a regular expense.

How Much Board Is Too Much?

Board may be too high if it leaves your child unable to cover essential personal expenses or make reasonable progress towards independence.

Before setting the amount, look at what they need to pay for themselves, including:

• Transport to work or university
• Mobile phone costs
• Work clothing or equipment
• Study expenses
• Medical costs
• Car registration and insurance
• Personal savings
• Existing debts

This does not mean their budget needs unlimited room for takeaway, festivals and a new outfit every weekend. It does mean the board payment should reflect what they actually earn and the essential costs they need to manage.

If they are working full-time but saving nothing, it may also be worth looking at where the rest of their money is going rather than simply increasing their board.

Put the Board Arrangement in Writing

You do not need to present your child with a 47-page lease prepared by a solicitor.

A simple written agreement can still prevent misunderstandings and selective memory later.

Include:

• The weekly or fortnightly board amount
• When payments begin
• When payments are due
• What the board includes
• Which expenses they must pay themselves
• Their expected household chores
• What happens if their income drops
• When the arrangement will be reviewed
• Any savings goal connected to the arrangement

Review the amount every three to six months or whenever their employment or study situation changes.

And yes, they should probably still empty the dishwasher. Paying board does not purchase immunity from normal household chores.

How to Bring Up Board Without Starting an Argument

Avoid announcing the new charge when your child is halfway through dinner or standing at the front door on their way out.

Choose a calm time and explain why you want them to contribute. Show them some of the household costs, discuss what they can realistically afford and give them notice before the first payment is due.

You could say:

“Now that you’re earning your own money, we’d like you to start contributing towards the household. We’re not trying to make money from you. We want the amount to be fair, help cover some of your costs and give you experience managing a regular payment before you move out.”

Give them an opportunity to ask questions and suggest a different amount.

Negotiating does not mean they automatically get their way. It gives them a chance to understand how the amount was calculated and practise having an adult financial conversation.

Board should also not be used as punishment because you disagree with their job, course, relationship or life choices. The amount should reflect their income and household costs, not how annoyed you are with them that week.

Do You Pay Tax on Board From an Adult Child?

Payments from family members that genuinely relate to family care or shared household expenses may be treated as a domestic arrangement rather than rental income.

The Australian Taxation Office states that these domestic payments generally do not need to be declared as income, but you also cannot claim deductions for the related household expenses.

However, the tax treatment may be different if you charge commercial rent or provide your child with a formal lease or licence to use the property.

Check the latest ATO guidance on rental income and domestic arrangements or speak with a registered tax professional if you are unsure about your arrangement.

What Is a Fair Weekly Board Amount?

For many families, starting at around 10% of take-home pay for a student, casual worker or apprentice—and between 15% and 20% for someone working full-time—provides a practical starting point.

From there, adjust the amount according to:

• How much your child earns
• Whether they are working or studying
• What their board includes
• Your household’s actual expenses
• Their essential personal costs
• Their savings goals
• Any health or employment difficulties

The most important thing is that the amount is reasonable, clearly explained and reviewed when circumstances change.

Board should help your adult child move towards independence—not leave them so broke that moving out becomes impossible.

It may not stop them from standing in front of an open fridge asking whether there is “anything to eat”, but at least they will be contributing towards the electricity while they do it.

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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