General tax issues
The information on this page is general in nature and reflects the legislation as it currently stands. Please note, ACPSRO is not licensed to give financial advice. The information on this page is provided purely as information and links to relevant ATO pages are provided.
Personal Income Tax Rates
The current personal income tax rates are available from the ATO at: https://www.ato.gov.au/rates/individual-income-tax-rates/
Medicare Levy
For current rates, go to the ATO at https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-levy/
Note that:
- In addition to the Medicare levy, you may have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) if you, your spouse or dependent children don’t have an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover and your income is above a certain amount.
- There are low-income thresholds under which the levy is not payable and also for seniors. Again, go to the ATO website.
Low income superannuation tax offset (LISTO)
The low income super tax offset (LISTO) is a government superannuation payment of up to $500 to help low-income earners to save for retirement. If you earn $37,000 or less a year, you may be eligible to receive a LISTO payment. The LISTO is 15% of the concessional (before tax) super contributions that you or your employer pays into your super fund. The maximum payment you can receive for a financial year is $500, and the minimum is $10. As the LISTO is paid directly into your super fund, you need to make sure your super fund has your TFN. Without your TFN, your super fund cannot accept a LISTO payment. If you have reached your ‘preservation age’ and are retired, you can apply to have your LISTO paid directly to you. For further details, see
https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/In-detail/Growing-your-super/Low-income-super-tax-offset/#
Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset (SAPTO)
This tax offset is available to both pensioners and self-funded retirees who meet certain criteria. The “rebate income” used to assess eligibility for this offset comprises taxable income, reportable superannuation contributions, total net investment loss and adjusted fringe benefits.
For the current rates, refer to the ATO website at https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/Offsets-and-rebates/Seniors-and-pensioners-tax-offset/
DICTO
Eligibility for the Dependent (Invalid and Carer) Tax Offset (DICTO) from 1 July 2014 applies to taxpayers with a dependent who is genuinely unable to work due to a care obligation or a disability.
The test for satisfying the criteria for DICTO is very onerous. A dependent spouse with a disability must generally be receiving either a Social Security or Veterans’ Affairs pension or benefit, and the taxpayer must be receiving the Carer Payment. The care receiver must have a disability that requires constant care, and the carer must apply to Centrelink to be assessed according to the “Adult Disability Assessment Tool” (ADAT). To make the assessment, Centrelink has two forms, one for the carer and one for the doctor. The Carer Payment is means tested, against the same test used for the Age Pension.
The ATO website explains further: https://www.ato.gov.au/forms/withholding-declaration—calculating-your-tax-offset/?page=2
If you need more information, see https://www.carersaustralia.com.au/support-for-carers/centrelink-payments-for-carers/