HUNDREDS of dollars that could be spent on educational resources will be handy for parents preparing their children for the new school year, according to a peak parents' organisation.
The federal government's Schoolkids Bonus will give families $410 for each primary child and $820 for secondary students from this year.
The bonus replaces the education tax refund and will be split, with half to be paid in January and the remainder in July.
Tasmanian State School Parents and Friends president Jenny Eddington said yesterday she expected it to be useful as families recovered from the Christmas period.
"It's good having the payment coming just before school returns and it's a lot better than having to wait six months into the year to claim things through your tax," Ms Eddington said.
"This is also much easier than having to keep lots of receipts."
Ms Eddington said she expected parents to put the first payment towards books and preparing their child for school with the second instalment in July possibly going towards winter uniforms.
She said she expected only a few to spend the bonus on items not related to their child's education.
The bonus will be paid by Centrelink or the Veterans' Affairs Department directly into bank accounts between January 9 and 22.
Parents will be slightly better off with the bonus compared with the tax refund.