Find out how much you could get back from the ATO. Toggle between the 2025-26 tax year (16% second bracket) and 2026-27 (announced 15% second bracket). Includes LITO, Medicare Levy + MLS, HELP/HECS, and occupation-aware deduction prompts.
PAYG vs liabilityDeductions promptsMedicare levy + MLS
01 —INPUTS
2026-27 uses the announced 15% second-bracket rate; threshold-indexed items (MLS, LITO, HELP) carry 2025-26 values until post-budget confirmation.
Step 1 · Your income
Total salary/wages before tax. From your payslip YTD gross or Payment Summary.
Step 2 · Your work
Used only to surface typical deductions for your role — no auto-fill.
Step 3 · Your deductions
Records required for each item; see the ATO D1–D15 deduction categories.
Step 4 · Your situation
Enter your gross income to see your estimated refund.
How your refund is calculated
Your tax refund is the difference between the tax already paid (withheld from your pay throughout the year) and the tax you actually owe based on your taxable income.
Core relationship
Taxable income = Gross income − Deductions
If your employer withheld more tax than you owe (common if you have deductions), you get a refund. If they withheld less, you'll owe money.
Common deductions that increase your refund
Most workers can claim these deductions:
→Work from home — $0.70 per hour using the fixed rate method, or claim actual expenses.
→Car and travel — Cents-per-km method (88c/km up to 5,000km) or logbook method for work-related travel.
→Uniform and clothing — Occupation-specific clothing, protective gear, or clothing with your employer's logo.
→Self-education — Courses, seminars, and study materials directly related to your current job.
→Tools and equipment — Items under $300 can be claimed in full; items over $300 are depreciated.
Substantiation rule
You must have spent the money yourself, it must relate to earning your income, and you need records to prove it.
PAYG withholding — why the refund exists
How PAYG withholding creates the refund
Your employer withholds tax from each pay using the ATO's PAYG withholding tables (Schedule 8 or 9 of TAA53), targeting your annual liability. Withholding assumes you have one tax-free threshold, no deductions, no offsets beyond LITO, and steady income across the year. The reality usually differs — and the difference is your refund or amount payable.
Over-withholding is common because PAYG tables don't account for work-related deductions, charitable donations, salary sacrifice setups, or income variability (e.g. starting a new job mid-year). Under-withholding is rare for single-job employees but common for: people with a second job who haven't ticked "No tax-free threshold" on the second TFN declaration; those receiving allowances or commissions reported separately from base salary; ABN income or share-trading gains with no withholding; and HELP/HECS holders whose withholding hasn't caught up to a recent pay rise.
Refund mechanic
refund = PAYG withheld − (income tax + Medicare levy + MLS + HELP repayment − offsets)
A common misunderstanding: deductions don't directly create the refund — they reduce taxable income, which reduces the calculated tax liability, which means the PAYG withheld already exceeds the new liability. A $1,000 deduction at a 32% marginal rate (30% + 2% Medicare) increases refund by $320, not $1,000.
2025-26 brackets, offsets, levies
2025-26 ATO brackets, LITO, Medicare, MLS, HELP
Resident income tax brackets
Taxable income
Tax on this income
$0 – $18,200
Nil
$18,201 – $45,000
16¢ for each $1 over $18,200
$45,001 – $135,000
$4,288 + 30¢ for each $1 over $45,000
$135,001 – $190,000
$31,288 + 37¢ for each $1 over $135,000
$190,001+
$51,638 + 45¢ for each $1 over $190,000
Low Income Tax Offset (LITO)
Maximum LITO is $700 for taxable income up to $37,500. Tapers at 5¢ per dollar above $37,500 (reducing to $325 at $45,000), then 1.5¢ per dollar above $45,000, reaching zero at $66,667. LITO is non-refundable — it reduces tax to zero but cannot create a refund standalone.
Medicare Levy (2%) and Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)
Medicare Levy is 2% of taxable income for most residents. Low-income exemption thresholds apply (full exemption below $27,222 single for 2025-26). MLS is an additional 1-1.5% if you don't hold appropriate private hospital cover and income exceeds the thresholds:
Tier
Single income
Family income
MLS rate
Base
$0 – $101,000
$0 – $202,000
0%
Tier 1
$101,001 – $118,000
$202,001 – $236,000
1.0%
Tier 2
$118,001 – $158,000
$236,001 – $316,000
1.25%
Tier 3
$158,001+
$316,001+
1.5%
Family thresholds add $1,500 for each dependent child after the first. "Income for MLS purposes" includes salary, investment income, reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, and net investment losses — so salary-sacrifice into super does NOT reduce MLS exposure even though it reduces taxable income.
HELP / HECS repayment thresholds 2025-26
Repayment income
Marginal repayment rate
$0 – $67,000
0%
$67,001 – $79,170
1% on each $ above threshold (marginal)
$79,171 – $125,000
scales 2.5% → 9%
$125,001 – $179,286
scales to 10%
$179,287+
flat 10% applied to total repayment income
Repayment income = taxable income + reportable fringe benefits + reportable super contributions + net investment losses + exempt foreign employment income. Salary-sacrificing into super doesn't lower your HELP repayment — a common source of unexpected year-end HELP bills.
The $150k scenario shows how MLS quietly costs an unprotected senior $1,815/year — usually more than the cheapest qualifying private hospital cover ($1,200-$1,500/year), so the calculus often favours buying cover purely to avoid MLS. Use the calculator above for your specific numbers; the wizard handles all three offsets and the HELP / MLS interaction automatically.
Common pre-lodgement traps
Pre-lodgement traps that reduce or delay your refund
→Lodging before STP finalisation — Most employers finalise STP between 14 July and 31 July. Lodging before finalisation means you're working from draft data — figures may change, triggering an automatic ATO amendment a few weeks later. Wait for the green tick in myGov income statements.
→Estimating WFH hours — The ATO has explicitly flagged that estimates are not acceptable for fixed-rate WFH. Use actual hours from your calendar, diary, or time-tracking app. See the WFH calculator for substantiation requirements.
→Double-claiming reimbursed expenses — If your employer reimbursed an item (full or partial), exclude the reimbursed portion from your deduction. Common with phone, internet, professional memberships, and conference travel.
→Claiming travel from home to work — Standard commuting is not deductible (TR 95/34). Travel between two work sites, between jobs, or carrying bulky tools is deductible. The ATO targets car claims in audit; logbook beats cents-per-km if you regularly exceed 5,000 km.
→Forgetting investment income pre-fill — Bank interest, dividends, managed-fund distributions, and crypto trades flow through pre-fill but pre-fill is incomplete until ~mid-August. Lodging early often means a missing $100 of interest that triggers an amendment.
→Spouse / dependent details missing — MLS, family payments, and senior offsets depend on spouse income and dependent count. Missing or wrong spouse income inflates MLS or reduces SAPTO entitlement.
myTax pre-fill loads progressively from early July through mid-August. Most refund delays come from lodging before pre-fill completes and the ATO holding the return until reconciliation finishes. If you have a tax agent, you typically lodge later (Oct–Mar window) and avoid the early-window mismatches entirely.
FAQ
When will I get my tax refund?
If you lodge online through myTax, most refunds are issued within 2 weeks (the ATO's stated service standard is 12 business days). Paper returns take 10-12 weeks. The ATO can pause processing for verification if your claim diverges materially from prior-year patterns, your employer hasn't finalised STP reporting, or HELP/Centrelink balances are still being reconciled. You can track status via myGov → ATO → Manage tax returns.
Why is my refund different from last year?
Three factors usually drive the swing: income (pay rise, bonus, second job — all bump you toward higher brackets and reduce refund), deductions (fewer claimable expenses or smaller WFH hours after returning to office cuts the refund), and tax withheld (a new employer may use a default tax code that under-withholds, leaving less to refund). Side-hustle income via ABN is the biggest single cause of unexpected tax bills — there's no withholding on gig/freelance earnings, so you owe rather than receive.
What if I owe money instead of getting a refund?
Pay by the due date on your notice of assessment (typically 21 days from issue). The ATO charges general interest charge (GIC) on overdue tax — currently around 11% per annum, accrued daily. If you can't pay in full, request a payment plan via the ATO online services or your tax agent. Plans up to 24 months are commonly approved for individuals owing < $100,000; longer plans require explanation. Acting before the due date avoids GIC and default-listing risk.
What deductions can I claim?
Work-related expenses that you paid for yourself, that directly relate to earning your income, and for which you have evidence. Common claims: work from home (70¢/hour fixed rate or actual-cost), car (cents-per-km up to 5,000 km, or logbook), uniforms (compulsory branded, occupation-specific, or protective), self-education with sufficient nexus to current income, professional memberships, donations to deductible gift recipients (DGR), and tools/equipment. Records are required for claims over $300 (other than car, travel, laundry, and overtime meals which have separate rules).
Do I need my Payment Summary to use this calculator?
No. The calculator estimates your tax withheld using the 2025-26 ATO PAYG withholding tables and your reported income. For a more accurate result, switch "I know my exact tax withheld" on and enter the amount from your end-of-year income statement (the Single Touch Payroll replacement for the old Group Certificate / Payment Summary — available in myGov → ATO → Income statements from mid-July each year once your employer marks STP as final).
What is the $1,000 instant tax deduction for 2026-27?
From 1 July 2026, the Budget 2026 measure lets workers claim up to $1,000 of work-related expenses without receipts. If you switch the calculator to 2026-27 and your itemised deductions are below $1,000, this estimator automatically applies the $1,000 floor. If your actual itemised deductions exceed $1,000, the calculator uses your higher itemised total instead — you only benefit from whichever is larger. Average tax saving: about $205 for 6.2 million workers. The $1,000 deduction is one of several Budget 2026-27 changes — for the full picture of how the Budget affects your annual tax position, run the Budget 2026-27 net impact calculator.
How does the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) affect my refund?
LITO is a non-refundable offset that reduces your tax payable. For 2025-26 the maximum LITO is $700 for taxable income up to $37,500, then tapers at 5¢ per dollar from $37,500 to $45,000 (offset reduces to $325) and 1.5¢ per dollar from $45,000 to $66,667 (offset reaches zero). LITO is automatically calculated — you don't claim it on your return. Because it's non-refundable, LITO can reduce your tax to zero but cannot create a refund on its own. It works in combination with PAYG withholding refunds. See tax offsets calculator for SAPTO, WATO and combined offset modelling.
How do I avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)?
MLS applies in addition to the 2% Medicare Levy when your income for MLS purposes exceeds $101,000 (single) or $202,000 (family base, plus $1,500 per dependent after the first). The rate is 1% / 1.25% / 1.5% across the three income tiers. The only way to avoid MLS while above the threshold is to hold appropriate private hospital cover for the full year. "Appropriate cover" means hospital cover with an excess of $750 or less per person (single) or $1,500 family. Extras-only or hospital cover with higher excess does not qualify. MLS is calculated automatically; this estimator applies single tiers based on your input — if you have a family arrangement, the actual MLS may differ.
When does my HELP/HECS repayment kick in?
HELP / HECS-HELP / SA-HELP / VET Student Loan repayments are triggered by repayment income (taxable income plus certain reportable amounts), not by salary alone. For 2025-26 the minimum threshold is $67,000 (1% repayment), increasing to 2-9% across mid-range bands, then flat 10% above $179,286. Your employer withholds an estimated repayment from each pay if you've ticked the HELP box on your TFN declaration — that withholding is reconciled at lodgement against the actual amount based on full-year income. Salary sacrifice and reportable super contributions count toward repayment income, even though they reduce taxable income — a common source of unexpected HELP catch-up bills at year-end.
Why is my refund showing 'Under review' on myGov?
The ATO conducts automated risk reviews on a portion of returns. Triggers include: deductions materially above prior-year baseline or industry average (the ATO publishes occupation-level deduction benchmarks); rental property income with negative cash flow; capital gains involving crypto or unlisted assets; foreign income; first-year returns; or pre-fill data mismatches. Most reviews resolve within 4 weeks. Provide records if the ATO asks — they typically request the substantiation rather than denying outright. If your return is paused at the 4-week mark with no contact, lodging an enquiry via myGov chat or your tax agent usually accelerates it.
What can I claim without receipts?
Under the standard substantiation rules: total work-related expenses up to $300 without written evidence (you still need to show you incurred the expense if asked), laundry of compulsory uniforms up to $150 without receipts, and the cents-per-km car method up to 5,000 km (no receipts needed but a reasonable basis for the kilometres). Beyond those, written evidence is required. From 1 July 2026 the Budget 2026 $1,000 instant deduction will replace the $300 receipt-free floor for most workers — see the 2026-27 toggle in the calculator above.
EOFY refund estimator for 2025-26 resident individuals. Applies LITO ($700 max, taper to $0 at $66,667), Medicare Levy (2%), Medicare Levy Surcharge (single thresholds $101k/$118k/$158k at 1%/1.25%/1.5%; family base $202k + $1,500/dep after first), HELP/HECS 2025-26 thresholds (min $67k, mid $125k, flat 10% above $179,286), and occupation-aware deduction prompts. Does not model private health rebate, investment income, offsets beyond LITO, or prior-year amounts.