Tax Return · Calculator

Tax Return Calculator Australia 2026

Find out if you'll get money back or owe the ATO on the 2025-26 return you can lodge from 1 July 2026. Enter your income, the tax already withheld, and your deductions to estimate your refund.

Defaults to 2025-26 rates — the return you lodge from 1 July 2026. This is an estimate only — your actual refund may differ.

01 —INPUTS

2025-26 is the return being lodged now

Salary, allowances, interest, dividends, rent and other assessable income before deductions.

From your PAYG payment summary or income statement

Uniforms, tools, self-education, work travel, etc.

Donations, union or professional fees, income-protection premiums, investment costs and tax-agent fees.

Medicare levy

Used only for the Medicare levy family-income reduction.

Enter only days for which you meet an ATO exemption category. Overlapping full and half days are capped to the income year.

Uses ATO repayment-income rules. Add the annual adjustment amounts below if they appear on your return.

Awaiting input

Enter your income and tax withheld to estimate your refund

Next best steps

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Already received the ATO result? Use the Tax Return Outcome Reconciler to compare the estimate with your notice of assessment line by line.

How your tax return works

Throughout the year, your employer withholds tax from your pay based on how much they expect you'll owe. One-off payments are often over-withheld — the bonus tax calculator shows how a bonus nets out at tax time. When you lodge your tax return, the ATO calculates your actual tax liability and compares it to what was withheld:

→ Refund — If more was withheld than you owe, you get the difference back
→ Amount owing — If less was withheld than you owe, you need to pay the difference
What affects your refund?

Deductions: Work-related expenses, working from home (70c/hr), self-education, donations and other eligible costs. For the 2025-26 return, $300 is a written-evidence exception, not a free deduction. If relevant work claims exceed $300, keep evidence for the full claim, subject to category-specific rules.

Multiple income sources: Each payer withholds as if they're your only income source, which can lead to under-withholding.

Tax offsets (private health insurance rebate etc.) reduce your tax payable directly — your actual refund may be higher if eligible.

Common reasons for a tax bill: multiple jobs, investment income with no tax withheld, capital gains, incorrect TFN declaration, HELP debt repayments not withheld.

2025-26 resident tax rates
Taxable income Tax on this income
$0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $45,000 16c per $1 over $18,200
$45,001 – $135,000 30c per $1 over $45,000
$135,001 – $190,000 37c per $1 over $135,000
$190,001 and over 45c per $1 over $190,000

Plus the Medicare levy, with a reduction or exemption at eligible low incomes. These are the rates for the 2025-26 return you lodge now — switch the calculator to 2026-27 to estimate the year in progress on the new 15% second-bracket rate.

Worked examples (2025-26)

Estimated resident income tax after LITO plus the Medicare levy, before deductions, HELP, other offsets or PAYG withheld. Your refund estimate starts with tax withheld minus this liability.

$50,000.00 income

  • Income tax: $5,538.00
  • LITO applied: −$250.00
  • Medicare levy: $1,000.00
  • Total: $6,538.00
  • Effective rate: 13.1%

$90,000.00 income

  • Income tax: $17,788.00
  • Medicare levy: $1,800.00
  • Total: $19,588.00
  • Effective rate: 21.8%

$150,000.00 income

  • Income tax: $36,838.00
  • Medicare levy: $3,000.00
  • Total: $39,838.00
  • Effective rate: 26.6%
Before you lodge — 5-minute checklist
→ Wait for pre-fill. Most employer income statements, bank interest and dividend data finalise mid-to-late July. Lodging before then risks needing an amendment.
→ Submitted your super notice of intent? If you made personal super contributions in 2025-26 and want a deduction, lodge your notice of intent to claim your super deduction before you lodge your return — the deduction is forfeited if the notice goes in after.
→ Gather your deductions. If relevant 2025-26 work claims exceed $300, written evidence is generally needed for the full claim, subject to specific exceptions. Use the WFH deductions calculator or the deductions action plan to see what you can claim.
→ Estimate your refund first. Run the tax refund estimator to see your expected outcome — including LITO, Medicare levy and HELP repayments — before you lodge.
→ Lodge by 31 October 2026. The self-lodgment deadline for the 2025-26 return is 31 October 2026. Using a registered tax agent may entitle you to a later date.
Compared with the ATO's own tools

The ATO publishes several calculators and they answer different questions. If you arrived looking for "the ATO tax calculator", this is which one you probably wanted.

Question you are askingWhat answers it
"What is the tax on this taxable income?" The ATO's simple tax calculator. Income tax only — it deliberately leaves out the Medicare levy, offsets and study loans, so its figure is never your refund.
"Am I getting a refund or a bill?" This page, or the ATO's income tax estimator. Both compare tax withheld against a full liability including the Medicare levy, LITO and any HELP repayment.
"Is my employer withholding the right amount?" The ATO tax withheld calculator, or our PAYG calculator — both work per pay period rather than per year.
"What will the ATO actually assess?" Only myTax, once pre-fill is in. Every estimate before that — theirs and ours — is working from numbers you typed rather than from what your payers reported.

Estimates on this page are ours and are not endorsed by the ATO. Official ATO tools are linked from the sources below.

Estimate vs assessment

Two estimates of the same return can differ by hundreds of dollars without either being wrong, because several amounts are only settled when the ATO processes the return. These are the usual culprits, in rough order of how often they bite.

Pre-fill was not final Income statements are marked 'tax ready' by mid-to-late July, and bank interest, dividends and health fund data arrive over several weeks. Lodging against draft pre-fill is the single most common cause of an amendment.
Offsets the estimate does not model The private health insurance rebate, SAPTO, the invalid and carer offset, the zone offset and foreign income tax offsets are all calculated at assessment. This page covers LITO and the Medicare levy; it does not attempt the rest.
A lump sum in arrears Back pay reported as lump sum E attracts a tax offset that no estimate — including the one in myTax — shows on screen. The ATO works it out while processing, so the assessment usually comes back better than the estimate.
Medicare levy surcharge If you had no eligible private hospital cover for part of the year and your income for surcharge purposes crossed the threshold, the surcharge is added at assessment. Check it with the Medicare levy and MLS calculator before you assume the refund figure.
A study or training loan A compulsory HELP, VSL or SFSS repayment is worked out on repayment income, which adds back items such as reportable fringe benefits and net investment losses — so it can exceed what a simple taxable-income estimate suggests.
Debts the ATO offsets first A refund can be applied against an existing ATO debt, a prior-year amount owing, or a Services Australia debt before it reaches your bank account. The assessment shows the full refund; the deposit shows what was left.

Once the notice of assessment arrives, the outcome reconciler walks the difference line by line, and processing times explains where a delayed refund usually sits.

FAQ
How is a tax refund calculated?
Your refund is the difference between the tax withheld during the year (shown on your income statement) and your actual tax liability based on your taxable income. If you withheld more than you owe, you get a refund.
What deductions can I claim?
You can claim eligible expenses directly related to earning your income, including work-related travel, occupation-specific clothing, tools, self-education and working from home. For 2025-26, the $300 rule is a written-evidence exception, not an automatic deduction: if your relevant work claims exceed $300, you generally need written evidence for the full claim, subject to category-specific exceptions.
Why do I owe tax instead of getting a refund?
Common reasons include having multiple jobs (each employer withholds tax as if they're your only income), investment income without tax withheld, or your employer under-withholding based on incorrect information.
When will I get my refund?
Most refunds are processed within 2 weeks if you lodge online through myTax. Paper returns take longer. If the ATO needs to review your return, it may take additional time.
What if I can't pay my tax bill?
The ATO offers payment plans for people who can't pay their tax bill in full. Contact them early to avoid penalties. Interest applies to overdue amounts.
When can I lodge my 2025-26 tax return?
You can lodge your 2025-26 return from 1 July 2026. Most pre-fill data (employer income statements, bank interest, dividends) is finalised by mid-to-late July, so lodging late July onward reduces the chance of needing an amendment.
What changed for tax from 1 July 2026?
The 2026-27 financial year began on 1 July 2026: the second-bracket rate dropped from 16% to 15%, MLS income thresholds were indexed, and the enacted work-expense standard deduction commenced for eligible workers. Its statutory amount is the lesser of $1,000 and assessable labour income, reduced by relevant actual work deductions. These settings affect the 2026-27 return you'll lodge in 2027 — the return you lodge now is still assessed on 2025-26 rules.
Why is my refund smaller than the estimate?
Usually one of six things: pre-fill was not final when you lodged, an offset that only exists at assessment (private health rebate, SAPTO, foreign income tax offset) went the other way, the Medicare levy surcharge applied for a period without eligible hospital cover, a compulsory study loan repayment was calculated on repayment income rather than taxable income, an amount was reclassified during processing, or the refund was applied against an existing ATO or Services Australia debt before it was paid out. Compare the notice of assessment line by line rather than trusting a single total.
Is this the same as the ATO tax calculator?
No, and the ATO has more than one. Its simple tax calculator returns income tax alone, with no Medicare levy, offsets or study loan, so its number is never a refund. Its income tax estimator is the closest equivalent to this page. Its tax withheld calculator answers a different question again — what your employer should be deducting each pay. Only myTax, working from finalised pre-fill, produces what will actually be assessed.
Which tax year does this calculator use?
It defaults to 2025-26 — the return you lodge from 1 July 2026 — and applies resident rates, LITO, the Medicare family and exemption details you enter, and optional HELP repayments for the selected year. Use the year selector to switch to 2024-25 for a late or amended return, or 2026-27 to estimate the year in progress.
How accurate is the 2026 tax return estimate?
It is a planning estimate based on the income, tax withheld, deductions, Medicare details and study-loan information you enter. Accuracy depends on complete final figures and correct eligibility choices. It cannot reproduce every offset, adjustment or ATO data match; only a lodged return assessed by the ATO produces the final refund or amount owing.
How do I lodge my 2026 tax return in myTax?
Sign in to myGov, open the linked ATO service and start the 2025-26 return in myTax. Wait until income statements show Tax ready, check all pre-filled income, add eligible deductions and declarations, review the estimate, then submit. Keep records supporting your claims.

Tax Accuracy & Sources

Reviewed: 17 July 2026 · Tax year: 2026-27

Estimates refund or amount owing for an Australian resident from assessable income, withholding, deductions, LITO, Medicare levy family settings and exemption days, and optional HELP repayment-income adjustments. It excludes Medicare levy surcharge, SAPTO, private health rebates, foreign-resident rules, other offsets, private rulings and full return complexity.

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