Estimate your tax return · 2025-26
Tax return calculator
On $85,000 salary and $500 other income, with $17,500 withheld, and $1,200 in deductions, you should have to pay $264. Enter the figures from your payslips and income statements to estimate your own.
Estimated refund or bill
-$264
you may owe
| Salary and wages | $85,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Other income | $500.00 |
| Deductions | -$1,200.00 |
| Salary sacrifice | -$0.00 |
| Taxable income | $84,300.00 |
| Income tax | -$16,078.00 |
| Low income tax offset | +$0.00 |
| Medicare levy | -$1,686.00 |
| Medicare levy surcharge | |
| Study loan repayment | |
| Total tax and levies | $17,764.00 |
| Tax already withheld | $17,500.00 |
| Refund or amount owing | -$264.00 |
Why you get a refund
Your employer withholds tax assuming you work a full year at the same pay, every year at the same rate. Your actual tax is worked out on your tax return, taking into account:
- Deductions. Your employer does not know about work-related expenses, so they are not in the withholding tables. A tax return includes them, cutting your tax bill.
- Salary sacrifice. When you contribute to super before tax, your taxable income falls, but withholding assumes the full gross pay. That difference comes back as a refund.
- Other income. Interest, dividends and rental income are added to your tax, but are usually not withheld. If you have other income, you may owe tax; if deductions and sacrifice are high enough, you may still get a refund.
- Part-year work or leave. If you took unpaid leave, or worked part of the year, the withholding tables do not adjust. Your return reconciles what you actually earned.
Related calculators: payslip checker, second job tax, bonus tax.
Common questions
When is the tax return due?
If you lodge it yourself, by 31 October. If you use a registered tax agent and are on their client list before 31 October, you usually have longer; your agent will tell you your date.
Why do I get a refund?
Your employer withholds tax from each pay assuming a full year at the same pay, but your actual position changes: you work part of the year, you have deductions your employer knows nothing about, you sacrificed to super, or other income shifts your tax bracket. A refund reconciles what was actually withheld to what you actually owe.
Does my HECS debt reduce my refund?
Yes. The compulsory HECS-HELP repayment is worked out on your tax return and added to your tax bill, so it reduces a refund or increases the amount you owe. If you told your employers about the debt, extra was withheld during the year to cover it.
What counts as other income?
Interest from bank accounts and term deposits, dividends and distributions, and similar investment income. If you have rental property, business or capital gains income, those have their own rules and this calculator does not cover them.
Should I use my 2025-26 or 2026-27 brackets?
Use 2025-26 for the return you lodge now, for the year that ended on 30 June 2026. Use 2026-27 to estimate next year. The difference is the second tax rate falling from 16% to 15%, worth up to $268 a year.
More ways to check your pay
How this is worked out
- Income tax uses the resident brackets for the financial year you select. The 2025-26 estimate uses the 2025-26 second rate of 16%; the 2026-27 estimate uses 15%.
- The low income tax offset, Medicare levy, Medicare levy surcharge (if no private hospital cover), and study loan repayment all apply in the statutory order.
- For 2025-26, the Medicare levy thresholds and study loan repayment schedule use the 2026-27 figures, so the estimate is approximate for those amounts. The main difference between years is the 1% income tax cut.
- The refund is the difference between tax already withheld and your actual tax bill. A positive number is a refund; a negative is a bill.
Estimate only, not financial or tax advice. If your actual circumstances differ from these inputs, your refund will change. The ATO has the final say on your tax return. See our methodology.