Private Health Insurance Rebate Calculator
A single person under 65 with income for surcharge purposes of $105,000 or less gets a 24.118% private health insurance rebate on premiums paid from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. This calculator turns that percentage into dollars on your premium, then shows whether your tax return pays you a refundable offset or claws some back, for the 2025-26 return you lodge now or for 2026-27.
| Premiums paid | Code | Rate | Your share | Entitled | Received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026 | 30 | 24.288% | $1,500.00 | $364.32 | $364.32 |
| 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026 | 31 | 24.118% | $500.00 | $120.59 | $120.59 |
Income for surcharge purposes: $95,000. Base tier runs to $101,000.
At this income there is no Medicare levy surcharge for 2025-26, so cover is a choice, not a tax saving. Check the detail in the Medicare levy surcharge calculator.
How much is the private health insurance rebate for 2026-27?
24.118% of the premium for a single person under 65 in the base tier, on premiums paid from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. The rebate rises with the age of the oldest person on the policy and falls to nil in Tier 3. These are the ATO's published rates (QC49965, updated 22 June 2026), set from 1 April 2026 by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
| Oldest person covered | Base tier $105,000 or less | Tier 1 $105,001 to $123,000 | Tier 2 $123,001 to $164,000 | Tier 3 $164,001 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 65 | 24.118% | 16.079% | 8.038% | 0.000% |
| 65 to 69 | 28.139% | 20.098% | 12.058% | 0.000% |
| 70 and over | 32.158% | 24.118% | 16.079% | 0.000% |
Income ranges shown are for singles. The same percentages apply to premiums paid from 1 April to 30 June 2026, the second half of the 2025-26 year. For premiums paid from 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, the 2025-26 rates were:
| Oldest person covered | Base tier $101,000 or less | Tier 1 $101,001 to $118,000 | Tier 2 $118,001 to $158,000 | Tier 3 $158,001 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 65 | 24.288% | 16.192% | 8.095% | 0.000% |
| 65 to 69 | 28.337% | 20.240% | 12.143% | 0.000% |
| 70 and over | 32.385% | 24.288% | 16.192% | 0.000% |
What that is worth in dollars
A $2,000 premium paid monthly through 2025-26 puts $1,500 before 1 April and $500 after it. For a single person under 65 in the base tier the rebate is $364.32 plus $120.59, so $484.91 for the year.
| $2,000 premium, 2025-26 | Base tier | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 65 | $484.91 | $323.28 | $161.62 | $0.00 |
| 65 to 69 | $565.76 | $404.09 | $242.44 | $0.00 |
| 70 and over | $646.57 | $484.91 | $323.28 | $0.00 |
For 2026-27, a $1,500 share paid between 1 July 2026 and 31 March 2027 attracts $361.77 in the base tier and $241.19 in Tier 1 for someone under 65.
Private health insurance rebate tiers and income thresholds
The rebate tiers use the same income thresholds as the Medicare levy surcharge, by law: the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 sets one set of tier thresholds and the Medicare Levy Act 1986 borrows them. You are in a higher tier only when your income exceeds the threshold, so $105,000 exactly is still the base tier. The 2026-27 thresholds rose on 1 July 2026 (ATO QC49965).
| Income for surcharge purposes | Base tier | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, 2026-27 | $105,000 or less | $105,001 to $123,000 | $123,001 to $164,000 | $164,001 or more |
| Family, 2026-27 | $210,000 or less | $210,001 to $246,000 | $246,001 to $328,000 | $328,001 or more |
| Single, 2025-26 | $101,000 or less | $101,001 to $118,000 | $118,001 to $158,000 | $158,001 or more |
| Family, 2025-26 | $202,000 or less | $202,001 to $236,000 | $236,001 to $316,000 | $316,001 or more |
Family thresholds go up by $1,500 for each Medicare levy surcharge dependent child after the first. With three dependent children the 2026-27 family base tier is $213,000. For the surcharge itself on the same tiers, use the Medicare levy surcharge calculator.
Why your rebate changes on 1 April
Every 1 April the rebate percentages are multiplied by a rebate adjustment factor, so each financial year has two rates: one for premiums paid 1 July to 31 March, another for 1 April to 30 June. The factor for 1 April 2026 is 0.993 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, PHI 12/26, published 17 February 2026). For 1 April 2025 it was 0.987. The Act rounds each new percentage to three decimal places, which is how 24.288% became 24.118%.
Your private health insurance statement shows the split as two lines with different benefit codes. Report each line separately in your return:
- Under 65: code 30 before 1 April, code 31 from 1 April
- 65 to 69: code 35 before 1 April, code 36 from 1 April
- 70 and over: code 40 before 1 April, code 41 from 1 April
The rates from 1 April 2027 are not published yet. The ATO says they will be available in March 2027, so the calculator's 2026-27 figure for 1 April to 30 June 2027 repeats the current percentage and is marked as an estimate.
Which age band applies
The age of the oldest person covered by the policy sets the band for everyone on it. A 60-year-old covered with a 66-year-old spouse gets the 65 to 69 rate. When the oldest person turns 65 or 70 during the year, the higher rate starts from that day and your statement gets an extra line. If a person aged 65 or over leaves the policy, for example because a spouse dies, the remaining adult can keep the older rate until a new adult joins (Private Health Insurance Act 2007 s 22-25).
What income counts for the rebate
The test uses income for surcharge purposes, not taxable income. It is taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, total net investment losses and reportable super contributions, the same figure as income for MLS purposes. A couple adds both incomes together. A dependent child's income never counts.
Family status is fixed on 30 June. If you are single with no dependants on that day, you are tested on single thresholds even if you had a spouse for most of the year. A single parent uses the family thresholds on their own income.
Three things work differently from the surcharge test:
- The surcharge rule that clears a married person whose own income is $28,011 or less has no equivalent in the rebate test (our reading of Private Health Insurance Act 2007 s 22-30; the ATO does not discuss it).
- The surcharge is split by days across the year. The rebate tier is set once, on your 30 June status.
- Supporting a dependent child or sibling on any day triggers family thresholds, and a health fund can keep a student on a family policy to age 31. The $1,500 lift still counts only surcharge dependent children: under 21, or 21 to 24 in full-time study.
Premium reduction or tax offset: what happens at tax time
You can take the rebate as a lower premium from your insurer, or claim it in your tax return as a refundable tax offset. To take the reduction you nominate a tier with your fund. The return then settles the difference between the tier you nominated and the one your income actually lands in.
Rebate too low: refundable offset
The ATO's Narelle is single, 45 and earned $83,000 in 2025-26, so she is in the base tier. Her fund took $146 off a $900 premium before 1 April and $48 off $300 after. Her entitlement is $218.59 and $72.35, so the return pays her a $96.94 offset.
Rebate too high: repaid through the return
Peta is single, 50, and on $109,000, which is Tier 1 for 2025-26. Of her $1,200 premium, $200 is lifetime health cover loading, leaving $1,000 eligible. Her fund took off $182 and $60, more than her Tier 1 entitlement of $161.64. She repays $80.36, shown on her notice of assessment as an excess private health insurance refund or reduction. The ATO says there are no additional penalties for estimating your income incorrectly.
The rebate is claimed in the year the premiums are paid, not the year they cover. The offset or amount owed joins the rest of your assessment, so see how it moves your overall result in the tax refund calculator.
Lifetime health cover loading gets no rebate
The government does not pay the rebate on the lifetime health cover loading part of a hospital premium. In the ATO's example, a $220 premium includes a $20 loading, so the base tier rebate applies to $200: 24.288% of $200 is $48.58, which the ATO rounds to $49.
The loading is 2% on top of the premium for every year you are aged over 30, up to a maximum of 70%, and is removed after 10 years of continuous cover. It applies to hospital cover only, not extras.
Couples, shared policies and single parents
When a policy covers two adults, the premium splits into equal shares, whoever paid it. Each adult is tested on their own share: a couple on a combined $256,000 in 2026-27 are both in Tier 2, so each gets the Tier 2 rate on half the premium. Dependants on the policy have no share.
Your return uses a tax claim code for this:
- A: single with no dependants
- B: single with a dependant, including single parents, so the family thresholds apply
- C: you claim your own share
- D: you also claim your spouse's share
- E: your spouse claims your share
- F: you are covered as a dependant, so no rebate, though you may be exempt from the surcharge
To claim your spouse's share you must have a spouse on 30 June, be covered by the same policy for the same period, and both agree before you lodge.
Proposed change for over-65s from 1 April 2027
The Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 would give people aged 65 and over the same rebate percentage and calculation method as people under 65. It passed the House of Representatives on 16 September 2026 and was introduced in the Senate on 17 September 2026. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee reported on 7 October 2026.
As at 12 October 2026 the bill is before the Senate and is not law. The Department's fact sheet describes the change as "subject to legislation passing Parliament". Until it passes, the 65 to 69 and 70 and over rates in the tables above apply.
Hospital cover, the rebate and the Medicare levy surcharge
The rebate lowers the cost of cover. The surcharge is what skipping hospital cover costs above the base tier. A single person on $110,000 with no hospital cover pays a $1,100 surcharge for 2026-27. With cover, the same person is in Tier 1 and gets 16.079% back on the premium, or $241.19 on $1,500 paid before 31 March 2027. Run your own numbers through the Medicare levy surcharge calculator and set them against your net premium.
Two differences catch people out. Extras-only cover attracts the rebate but does nothing for the surcharge. And no policy removes the 2% Medicare levy, which the Medicare levy calculator works out. For your pay after tax and both Medicare charges, start with the PAYG calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is the private health insurance rebate income tested?
What is the private health insurance rebate for over 65s?
Do I get the rebate on extras cover?
What happens if I picked the wrong rebate tier with my insurer?
Why do I owe money for private health insurance at tax time?
Is the rebate paid on the lifetime health cover loading?
Can a temporary visa holder get the private health insurance rebate?
Sources
Each source below was retrieved on 8 October 2026 and returned a live page. The bill page was checked again on 12 October 2026.
- ATO: Income thresholds and rates for the private health insurance rebate (QC49965, last updated 22 June 2026). Tiers and rates for 2025-26 and 2026-27, the Narelle, Peta and Zoe examples.
- ATO: Claiming the private health insurance rebate (QC72945, last updated 22 June 2026). Premium reduction or offset, equal shares, the adjustment factor.
- ATO: Private health insurance rebate eligibility (QC49964, last updated 22 June 2026). Income for surcharge purposes, complying policies, Medicare eligibility.
- ATO: Your private health insurance statement (QC49966, last updated 22 June 2026). Benefit codes and the two statement lines.
- ATO: Lifetime health cover (QC49963, last updated 5 May 2026). No rebate on the loading.
- ATO: Private health insurance policy details 2026 (QC106624, last updated 30 May 2026). Tax claim codes A to F.
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: PHI 12/26 Rebate adjustment factor effective 1 April 2026 (published 17 February 2026). The 0.993 factor and the rates from 1 April 2026.
- Federal Register of Legislation: Private Health Insurance Act 2007 (compilation of 19 September 2026), ss 22-15 to 22-45.
- Parliament of Australia: Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026. Status and dates.