Tax Refund Calculator Australia 2025–26: Estimate Your Tax Return

Estimate your 2025–26 tax refund, or the amount you will owe, before you lodge. Enter your income, deductions and the tax your employer withheld, and the calculator applies the 2025–26 resident tax rates, the low income tax offset, the Medicare levy and, if relevant, compulsory HELP repayments and the Medicare levy surcharge. For example, on $85,000 of wages with $1,500 of deductions and $18,000 withheld, your taxable income is $83,500, the tax and Medicare levy come to $17,508, and you get back about $492.

How your refund is worked out

Your refund is simply the tax withheld from your pay during the year minus the tax you actually owe for the year. The ATO works out what you owe from your taxable income:

• Taxable income = salary and wages + other income − deductions. The ATO ignores cents, so the calculator rounds down to the whole dollar.
• Income tax at the 2025–26 resident rates in the table below.
• Low income tax offset (LITO) of up to $700, taken off the income tax only. It can cut income tax to $0 but is never paid out as cash and does not reduce the Medicare levy.
• Medicare levy of 2% of taxable income. Singles with taxable income of $28,011 or less pay none; between $28,011 and $35,013 the levy is 10 cents for each dollar over $28,011.
• Compulsory HELP repayment if you have a study loan, worked out on your repayment income.
• Medicare levy surcharge of 1% to 1.5% if your income for surcharge purposes is over $101,000 and you had no appropriate private hospital cover.

These are the rates for the return you lodge now. From 1 July 2026 the 16% rate fell to 15%, so the 2026–27 return you lodge next year will use slightly lower rates.

HELP repayments and the Medicare levy surcharge

Since 2025–26, compulsory HELP repayments are worked out on the part of your income above the threshold rather than on your whole income, except at the highest incomes, where 10% of total income applies. Your repayment income is taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions (such as salary sacrifice) and net investment losses, which is why the calculator asks for those amounts.

Worked examples

The last example would be a $942 refund with private hospital cover: the $1,850 surcharge turns it into a bill. In the HELP example the employer withheld the extra amount because the employee ticked the HELP box on their tax file number declaration; without that, the same person would owe $1,983.

Why you might get a refund or a bill

• Deductions. Withholding assumes you have none, so every deduction you claim lowers your tax. Each $100 of deductions is worth $30 back on a taxable income between $45,001 and $135,000, plus $2 of Medicare levy.
• Part-year work. Withholding treats each pay as if you earned it all year. If you only worked part of the year, too much is often withheld.
• Two jobs. If you claimed the tax-free threshold from both employers, too little is withheld and you will usually owe tax.
• Untaxed income. Interest, rent and side income have no tax withheld, so they add to what you owe.

Important things to check

• If you work from home, the ATO’s fixed rate for 2025–26 is 70 cents per work hour, and you need a record of the actual hours.
• The new standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses does not apply to 2025–26. It starts with the 2026–27 return.
• If you lodge yourself, your 2025–26 return is due by 31 October 2026. Registered tax agents can lodge later under their lodgment program.
• Most returns lodged online are processed within 12 business days.

FAQs

Is the tax refund calculator accurate?

It uses the exact 2025–26 rates and thresholds, so if your figures are right the result should be within a few dollars of your notice of assessment. Differences come from things it does not model: the private health insurance rebate, franking credits, other tax offsets, PAYG instalments, family thresholds for the Medicare levy and part-year private health cover.

Why doesn’t the low income tax offset increase my refund?

It does, but only up to the income tax you owe. The offset is non-refundable: it can bring your income tax down to nil, but any unused part is lost, and it never reduces the Medicare levy.

Does a HELP debt reduce my refund?

The compulsory repayment is added to your tax bill, so yes if your employer did not withhold for it. It is not an extra tax, though: every dollar repaid comes off your study loan balance.

What if the result says I have to pay?

The ATO sends a notice of assessment with the amount and the due date. If you can’t pay in full, you can set up a payment plan through myGov or your tax agent.

Related calculators

• Pay Calculator 2026–27Take-home pay this year
• HECS-HELP Repayment CalculatorYour compulsory study loan repayment
• Medicare Levy Surcharge CalculatorWhether hospital cover saves you money

Sources

• ATO: Tax rates for Australian residents (2025–26 and 2026–27)
• ATO: Low income tax offset
• ATO: Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners · 2025–26 thresholds
• ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income thresholds and rates
• ATO: Study and training support loans repayment thresholds
• ATO: Fixed rate method for working from home
• ATO: Standard deduction for work-related expenses · starts 2026–27
• Taxation Laws (Requirement to Lodge a Return for the 2026 Year) Instrument 2026, section 8
• ATO: Check the progress of your tax return