Tax Return Calculator Australia 2025-26
Estimate your refund — or your bill — before you lodge.
Estimate your ATO refund for the 2025-26 return you lodge from 1 July 2026. Enter your income, tax withheld and deductions — the calculator applies 2025-26 brackets, LITO, Medicare levy, surcharge and the new marginal HELP repayment.
Estimates use 2025-26 ATO rates. Your notice of assessment is the official outcome.
How your refund is calculated
Refund = withheld − actual liability
Through the year your employer withholds PAYG tax from each pay based on withholding schedules. When you lodge, the ATO calculates your actual liability: income tax on taxable income, minus offsets like LITO, plus the 2% Medicare levy, any Medicare levy surcharge, and any compulsory HELP repayment. If more was withheld than you owe, the difference is your refund; if less, you get a bill.
Worked example
Salary $85,000 with $18,000 withheld and $2,500 of deductions: taxable income $82,500 → income tax $15,538 → plus Medicare levy $1,650 → liability $17,188. Refund = $18,000 − $17,188 = $812. Without those deductions the refund would shrink by about $800 — deductions at this income return roughly 32c per dollar.
2025-26 resident tax brackets used in this return
| Taxable income | Marginal rate | Tax at top of bracket |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $18,200 | 0% | $0 |
| $18,201 – $45,000 | 16% | $4,288 |
| $45,001 – $135,000 | 30% | $31,288 |
| $135,001 – $190,000 | 37% | $51,638 |
| $190,001+ | 45% | — |
Plus the 2% Medicare levy (reduced below $35,013, nil below $28,011 for singles after the Budget 2026 uplift). The Medicare levy surcharge adds 1%–1.5% above $101,000 (single) without hospital cover.
Note: the 16% bottom rate applies to this 2025-26 return. Income you earn from 1 July 2026 is taxed at the new 15% rate — that shows up on next year's return. For tax on your current pay, use the income tax calculator.
Common 2025-26 deductions and their rates
Working from home
The fixed rate for 2025-26 is 70c per hour worked from home, covering electricity, internet, phone and stationery. You need a record of actual hours — a diary, roster or timesheet. Estimates are not accepted. Alternatively, claim actual costs with receipts and a 4-week usage diary.
Car and travel
The cents-per-kilometre method pays 88c/km for 2025-26, capped at 5,000 business kilometres ($4,400 maximum). Home-to-work travel is private and not claimable. Above 5,000 km, use the logbook method.
Other common claims
Donations of $2+ to deductible gift recipients, self-education connected to your current job, tools and equipment (immediate deduction under $300), union and professional fees, income protection insurance premiums, and last year's tax agent fee. Every claim needs records — the ATO's myDeductions app is the easiest way to keep them.
2025-26 lodgment season timeline
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | Lodgment opens for 2025-26 returns (myTax and agents) |
| Late July 2026 | ATO pre-fill usually complete — employers, banks, health funds |
| 31 October 2026 | Deadline if you lodge your own return |
| Up to 15 May 2027 | Extended deadlines via a registered tax agent (engage before 31 Oct) |
Most e-lodged refunds are paid within about 2 weeks. Lodging before pre-fill is complete increases the chance of a mismatch and a delayed refund — late July onwards is the sweet spot.
Legitimate ways to improve your tax outcome
Claim everything you're entitled to
The biggest missed refunds are unclaimed deductions: WFH hours never logged, work kilometres never counted, small equipment purchases forgotten. At a $90,000 income every $1,000 of legitimate deductions returns about $320.
Personal deductible super contributions
A voluntary contribution to super (within the concessional cap) can be claimed as a deduction if you lodge a notice of intent with your fund — contributions are taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate. This is done during the year; for 2026-27 planning see the super contributions calculator.
Don't over-claim
The ATO data-matches employer, bank, health-fund and platform data, and its deduction benchmarks flag outliers by occupation. Claims without records get reversed with interest — and penalties for careless or deliberate over-claiming run 25%–75% of the shortfall.
❓ Frequently asked Frequently asked questions
Which income year does this calculate?
The 2025-26 income year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) — the return you lodge from 1 July 2026. It uses 2025-26 rates: 16% bottom bracket, $28,011 Medicare levy threshold, and marginal HELP from $67,000. Income you earn now (2026-27) is taxed at the new 15% bottom rate on next year's return.
How is my refund worked out?
Refund = tax withheld minus your actual liability. Liability = income tax on taxable income, minus offsets like LITO, plus the 2% Medicare levy, any Medicare levy surcharge, and any compulsory HELP repayment. If withholding exceeds liability, the difference is refunded.
When will I get my refund?
Most electronically lodged returns (myTax or a registered agent) are processed within about 2 weeks. Paper returns can take up to 10 weeks. The refund is paid to the bank account on your ATO record.
Why do I owe money instead of getting a refund?
Usually under-withholding: claiming the tax-free threshold on two jobs, an employer not withholding for your HELP debt, untaxed bank interest or capital gains, or the Medicare levy surcharge applying because you had no private hospital cover.
How does HELP debt change my refund?
From 2025-26 HELP repayments are marginal: nil up to $67,000, 15c per dollar from $67,001 to $125,000, then $8,700 plus 17c per dollar above $125,000 (capped at 10% of income). The repayment is added to your assessment — if your employer withheld extra for HELP, it is already covered by your PAYG.
Is this an official ATO estimate?
No. This is an independent estimate using published ATO 2025-26 rates. Your official outcome is the notice of assessment issued after you lodge. Business income, CGT events, trusts and other complex affairs need a registered tax agent.
Where these figures come from
Every rate and threshold on this page is taken from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) — the source of record for income tax, Medicare levy, HELP repayment and deductions.
- Individual income tax rates (2025-26) — ATO — Individual income tax rates.
- Deductions you can claim — ATO — Deductions you can claim.
- Working from home (fixed rate) — ATO — Fixed rate method.
- HELP repayment thresholds — ATO — Study and training support loans.
- Medicare levy & surcharge — ATO — Medicare levy.
- Lodgment dates — ATO — Your tax return.
Last checked: July 2026. This page covers 2025-26 returns lodged in the July–October 2026 season and will roll to 2026-27 next lodgment season.
Select the question that matches where you are right now.
Your result estimates the refund (or bill) the ATO would issue for your 2025-26 return, based on the income, withholding and deductions you entered.
Sanity-check your position before you lodge. If the estimate shows a big bill, review your withholding and deductions before 31 October rather than being surprised by the assessment.
Not a tax return or an ATO assessment. Items like capital gains events, business schedules, rental property schedules and offsets beyond LITO aren't modelled — a registered tax agent handles those.
Uses published 2025-26 ATO rates including the Budget 2026 Medicare threshold uplift. All calculations run in your browser — nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Three things drive the size of your refund: how much was withheld, your deductions, and the levies that apply to your circumstances.
Withholding schedules approximate your tax assuming steady pay. Bonuses, job changes and second jobs make withholding drift from your true liability — that drift is most of your refund or bill.
A $1,000 deduction returns $180 at 16%, $320 at 30%, $390 at 37% and $470 at 45% (each including the 2% Medicare levy). Higher income makes every receipt worth more.
A HELP debt adds a marginal repayment above $67,000. No private hospital cover above $101,000 (single) adds the 1%–1.5% Medicare levy surcharge. Both land on your assessment, not your payslip — common causes of surprise bills.
The best time to improve next year's refund is during the year — but there is still plenty to get right before you lodge this one.
Go through bank statements, WFH calendars and odometer records for 2025-26 before lodging. Most people under-claim because they never wrote things down — records can be reconstructed from reasonable evidence.
Lodging in early July before employer and bank data arrives is the top cause of amended returns. From late July, myTax pre-fills nearly everything and your refund is less likely to be held for review.
Salary-sacrifice or deductible super contributions, income protection cover, and a proper WFH log started today all improve next year's return — deductions can't be backdated.
Your tax return connects to your pay, HELP debt and super. Model the adjacent decisions with these calculators.
The 2026-27 year you're in now has a 15% bottom rate — see tax on the income you're earning today.
Income tax calculator →If you owed money, check what your employer should be withholding each pay.
PAYG withholding →See how the marginal repayment system affects your debt over time.
HECS-HELP calculator →