Tax & government Australia
Tax Refund Calculator Australia
A tax refund is simply the tax your employer withheld minus the tax you actually owe on your taxable income. This calculator works out the second figure from the resident rates, applies the Medicare levy and low income offset, and shows whether you are heading for a refund or a bill.
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Estimated refund (or amount owing)
—Taxable income
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Tax on taxable income
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Medicare levy
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HELP repayment
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Total tax payable
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Tax withheld
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How the result is reached
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-26. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
Reduced from 16% on 1 July 2026
An estimate, not a tax return. An estimate for a resident with one income and ordinary deductions. It cannot see your other income, offsets you may be entitled to, the Medicare levy surcharge or adjustments the ATO makes. Your notice of assessment is the only figure that counts.
How do I estimate my tax refund in Australia?
Work out your taxable income by taking deductions off your income, calculate the tax and Medicare levy on it, then subtract that from the tax already withheld on your income statement. If $17,800 was withheld and $85,000 less $1,800 of deductions gives $17,144 of tax and levy, the refund is about $656.
The $1,000 standard deduction from 2026–27
From the 2026–27 income year the ATO applies an automatic standard deduction for work-related expenses, up to the lower of $1,000 and your assessable labour income, with no receipts needed. If you claim work-related expenses that it covers, the standard deduction is reduced by what you claim, and if your claims total more than $1,000 you need written evidence for every work-related expense you claim.
So for 2026–27 a work from home claim only improves on the automatic deduction when your total work-related claims exceed $1,000. For the 2025–26 return the fixed rate method works as before. We did not find an ATO fixed rate for 2026–27 on the pages we checked: 70 cents an hour applies to 2024–25 and 2025–26.
Where the withheld figure comes from
Your employer reports the tax they withheld to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll, and it appears on your income statement in myGov once finalised after 30 June. Use that figure rather than adding up payslips: the ATO prefills the final number into your return.
If you had more than one employer or income stream, add the tax withheld from each and enter the total income too.
Deductions reduce income, not tax
A $1,000 deduction cuts your tax by your marginal rate on that $1,000, plus the Medicare levy, not by $1,000. On a $90,000 income that is about 32 cents in the dollar after the levy, so a $1,000 deduction is worth roughly $320.
The work from home and car expense calculators work out two of the most common deductions.
How this is calculated
The rule, step by step, so you can check any figure by hand.
taxable income = income − deductionstax = 2026-27 resident brackets on taxable income, less the low income tax offsettotal payable = tax + Medicare levy + HELP repaymentrefund = tax withheld − total payable (a negative result is an amount owing)
The refund is a reconciliation, not a gift: the ATO is returning tax that was taken in advance. If your employer withheld exactly the right amount the answer is nil, and a large refund usually means too much was withheld or you have significant deductions.
Withholding is calculated as though you earn the same pay all year, so a second job, a bonus, a part-year income or unpaid leave all push the result away from nil.
A worked example
Income of $85,000 with $1,800 of deductions and $17,800 withheld, no HELP debt.
- Taxable income$83,200
- Tax after the low income offset$15,480
- Medicare levy$1,664
- Total payable$17,144
- Tax withheld$17,800
- Refund$656
A refund of about $656.
Check the withheld figure against your income statement in myGov, which the ATO matches when you lodge.
What is not in the estimate
Offsets other than the low income tax offset, such as the senior and pensioner or private health insurance offsets, are not modelled. Neither are capital gains, interest and dividends, the Medicare levy surcharge, or the HELP indexation applied at lodgement.
If you receive a bonus or lump sum, or you changed jobs mid-year, the income tax calculator lets you work through each piece of income.
When a refund is late
The ATO pays most refunds soon after processing an electronic return, but a return can be held for checks, particularly if deductions are high or the information does not match what employers reported.
What this calculator does not do
- Residents with a single stream of income
- Offsets other than LITO are not modelled
- No Medicare levy surcharge, capital gains or investment income
- Not a substitute for a notice of assessment
Common questions
How is a tax refund calculated?
It is the tax already withheld minus the tax and Medicare levy you owe on your taxable income. A positive result is a refund; a negative one is a bill.
Where do I find the tax I have already paid?
On your income statement in myGov, which employers finalise after the end of the financial year.
Why is my refund smaller than I expected?
Common reasons are less withheld than the correct amount, extra income the ATO knows about, a HELP debt, or the Medicare levy surcharge.
Do deductions get me back the full amount?
No. A deduction reduces taxable income, so you save only your marginal rate plus the Medicare levy on it.
Can I use this for 2025-26?
Change the first-bracket rate to 16% in the rate panel to approximate it. The other 2025-26 brackets are the same.
Where these numbers come from
- ATO — tax rates, Australian residents 2026-27 resident brackets, 15% lowest rate and the $18,200 tax-free threshold
- ATO — income statements and tax returns How the ATO prefills income and tax withheld
- Australian Taxation Office — claiming deductions The $1,000 standard deduction from 2026–27
Rates last verified 2026-10-26 Every figure Australian Taxation Office sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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