When is my 2025-26 Australian tax return due?

If you lodge your own return, it is due by 31 October 2026. That covers the financial year that ended on 30 June 2026. If you register with a tax agent before 31 October you can generally get a later date.

How is my refund actually worked out?

Your refund is the tax already withheld from your pay minus the tax you actually owe. Tax owed is calculated on your taxable income (income minus deductions), reduced by any offsets such as the low income tax offset, plus the Medicare levy. If withholding was more than the total, the difference is refunded.

Do deductions give me their full value back?

No. A deduction reduces your taxable income, not your tax bill. A $1,000 deduction is worth $1,000 times your marginal rate — so $300 at the 30% rate, not $1,000. This is the single most common misunderstanding about Australian deductions.

What are the 2025-26 Australian resident tax rates?

Nil up to $18,200; 16c per dollar from $18,201 to $45,000; $4,288 plus 30c per dollar from $45,001 to $135,000; $31,288 plus 37c per dollar from $135,001 to $190,000; and $51,638 plus 45c per dollar above $190,000.

Tax Refund Estimator 2025-26 (Australia)

Gross income for the year

Salary and wages before tax, plus any other assessable income. Your income statement in myGov shows this.

Tax withheld

The "tax withheld" figure on your income statement — what your employer already sent to the ATO.

Work-related deductions

Only what you can substantiate: tools, home office, self-education, union fees, work travel. Leave blank if unsure.

Residency for tax purposes

Foreign residents pay from the first dollar and no Medicare levy — different rates entirely.

Taxable income

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Total tax payable

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Your marginal rate

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Step	Amount

What this includes, and what it does not

Every number below comes from the ATO and was checked against their published pages on 25 August 2026. Where something is not modelled, it says so rather than guessing.

Included

Resident tax rates for 2025-26 — nil to $18,200, then 16c, 30c, 37c and 45c bands (ATO: Tax rates – Australian resident).
Low income tax offset (LITO) — $700 up to $37,500, then reducing; nil above $66,667. It is non-refundable, so it can only reduce tax to zero (ATO: Low income tax offset).
Medicare levy at 2% of taxable income for residents.

Not included — check these yourself if they apply

The Medicare levy low-income reduction. If your income is near the low-income threshold your levy may be reduced or nil. The thresholds change each year and this tool does not model them, so a low-income estimate here may overstate the levy.
Medicare levy surcharge — applies above roughly $97,000 for singles without private hospital cover.
HECS-HELP repayments — use the HECS-HELP repayment calculator and add the result to your bill.
Offsets other than LITO, the private health insurance rebate, capital gains, and business or rental income.

This is an estimate to help you plan, not tax advice, and not a substitute for lodging. The ATO's own calculators are authoritative.

The deduction mistake almost everyone makes

A deduction does not come back to you dollar for dollar. It reduces the income you are taxed on, not the tax you owe.

So a $1,000 deduction is worth $1,000 × your marginal rate. On the 30% bracket that is $300 back, not $1,000. The estimator shows your marginal rate above and what your deductions are actually worth, because that is the number people get wrong.