Will you get a refund this year, or owe the ATO? Drop your figures into the calculator below and find out in under a minute — using the FY2025/26 brackets, Medicare Levy, MLS, HECS-HELP and LITO.
The arithmetic is the same one a registered tax agent runs in their practice software. We’ve just made it free, instant, and private — nothing about your numbers is stored, sent, or tracked.
Estimate Tax Refund / Payable Calculator for 2025/2026
Australian individual income tax — refund or amount owed, calculated to current ATO rules.
1Income
2Deductions and Debts
Three steps to your estimate
Enter your income
Gross income or wages from your PAYG payment summary, plus any other income (interest, dividends, rent). Add reportable fringe benefits and reportable employer super if shown on your payment summary.
Add deductions and details
Total work-related and other deductions, HECS/HELP debt balance, and whether you held private hospital cover for the full year.
See your refund
We apply the FY26 ATO brackets, Medicare Levy, MLS, LITO and HECS-HELP repayment — then subtract PAYG withheld. You see the refund or amount owed.
The FY2025/26 figures we apply
| Component | Rule applied |
|---|---|
| Resident income tax | 0% to $18,200 · 16% to $45,000 · 30% to $135,000 · 37% to $190,000 · 45% above (Stage 3 from 1 Jul 2024) |
| Non-resident tax | 30% to $135,000 · 37% to $190,000 · 45% above (no tax-free threshold) |
| Medicare Levy | 2% of taxable income — phased in between $27,222 and $34,027 for low income earners |
| Medicare Levy Surcharge | 1% / 1.25% / 1.5% by income tier if no private hospital cover. Income tested on taxable income + RFB + RESC. |
| Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) | Up to $700 — phases out between $37,500 and $66,667 of taxable income |
| HECS-HELP repayment | FY2025/26 thresholds — 1% from $54,435, rising to 10% above $159,663. Capped at outstanding debt. |
Before you book — frequent questions
Where do I find the numbers to enter?
Most figures come straight off your employer’s PAYG Payment Summary (now called an Income Statement in myGov). Gross income, PAYG withheld, reportable fringe benefits and reportable employer super contributions are all itemised there. Other income comes from your bank interest statements, share dividend notices, distribution statements, and rental statements. If you’re missing anything, log into myGov — the ATO pre-fill report usually has it ready by late July.
I’m seeing a debt, not a refund — what went wrong?
Usually one of four things. Your employer withheld too little against your bracket, you received untaxed income (interest, capital gains, share dividends, side income), you reached the Medicare Levy Surcharge threshold without private hospital cover, or your HECS-HELP repayment threshold was crossed without your payroll team knowing about the debt. Trinity can usually trim the bill by reviewing missed deductions and timing strategies.
Does this work for sole traders, contractors and ride-share drivers?
For a quick indicator, yes — enter your expected net business profit (income minus business expenses) into the Gross Income field, plus any PAYG instalments you’ve already paid into the PAYG Withheld field. The calculator won’t handle GST, instant asset write-offs, super contributions you make to yourself, or the small business tax offset. For a proper sole trader return we need to walk through your trading numbers together.
What deductions am I likely missing?
The ones Trinity finds most often: working-from-home running costs (electricity, internet share, phone), depreciation on a home computer or tools bought in the year, professional memberships and CPD courses, income protection insurance premiums, tax agent fees from last year, charitable donations to DGRs, and motor vehicle costs for work travel (not commute). The deduction is worth your marginal tax rate — so $1,000 of legitimate claims is worth around $300 to most middle-income earners.
Are the FY2025/26 rates definitely up to date?
The calculator applies the Stage 3 tax cuts that took effect 1 July 2024 (16% / 30% / 37% / 45% bands), the current 2% Medicare Levy with the low-income shading, the four-tier MLS scale, LITO up to $700, and the 19 HECS-HELP repayment bands starting at $54,435. We refresh these rates each financial year when the ATO publishes them.
Why ask about reportable fringe benefits and salary-sacrifice super?
Neither sits in your taxable income, but both push up the income figure that triggers the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the HECS-HELP compulsory repayment. Leaving them blank gives a too-rosy refund estimate if you salary-package a car, novated lease, or sacrifice into super beyond the employer SG rate. Adding them keeps the result honest.
Is my data safe in this calculator?
Yes — all maths runs in your browser using JavaScript. No numbers are sent to Trinity, no cookie is dropped, no analytics tracker fires on the calculator inputs. When you close the tab, the data is gone. We built it that way because tax numbers are personal.
What if my situation is more complicated?
If you have a rental property, capital gains, foreign income, a family trust, a spouse for the family income test, dependants, a small business, or you’ve changed residency mid-year — book a chat. The calculator is built for straightforward PAYG earners. Anything more complex deserves a registered tax agent looking at your full picture.
Ready to lodge — or want a sanity-check first?
Trinity has been lodging Australian tax returns since 2003. A 15-minute phone chat with Ramy is free — we’ll talk through your situation, flag anything the calculator missed, and you decide whether you want us to lodge for you.
Book a free 15-min chat See our tax return service
Ramy Hanna · Principal, Trinity Accounting Practice · Registered Tax Agent · Fellow IPA, TIA, NTAA · Certified Xero Advisor
159 Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills NSW 2209 · Established 2003 · Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
