Tax Refund Calculator
Enter your 2026-27 income and the tax withheld on your income statement. This starts from PAYG withheld, which is what the rest of this site computes, so you get the same reconciliation the ATO runs at assessment.
- A refund is your own over-withheld money coming back. It is not a bonus and it is not taxed again.
- A deduction cuts your taxable income, not your tax. At a 30% bracket plus the 2% Medicare levy, $1,000 of deductions returns about $320.
| Gross income | $85,000 |
| Less work-related deductions | $0 |
| Taxable income | $85,000 |
| Tax on taxable income | $16,020 |
| Less low income tax offset | $0 |
| Plus Medicare levy | $1,700 |
| Plus HELP repayment | $0 |
| Total tax owed | $17,720 |
| Tax withheld during the year | $19,000 |
| Refund | $1,280 |
Estimate for an Australian resident claiming the tax-free threshold, using 2026-27 rates, the low income tax offset and the 2% Medicare levy. It does not model the Medicare levy surcharge, spouse and dependant offsets, the private health insurance rebate, capital gains or income with no withholding.
A refund is over-withholding coming back
Your employer does not know your final tax position. Every payday it applies the ATO withholding schedule to that one pay, annualises it, and sends the result to the ATO on your behalf. At the end of the year the ATO adds up what you actually earned, works out the tax on it, and compares the two numbers. If the withholding was higher, you get the difference back. If it was lower, you pay the difference.
That is the whole mechanism. A refund is not a reward for lodging, not a government payment and not a bonus for claiming deductions. It is your own money, withheld ahead of time and returned. The mechanics of the withholding side are in how PAYG is calculated, and the withheld figure itself lives on your income statement, covered in the PAYG payment summary guide.
Tax owed at common incomes, 2026-27
The answer first. Compare the total in this table against the tax withheld figure on your income statement. Withheld above the total is your refund. Resident individual claiming the tax-free threshold, no deductions.
| Taxable income | Income tax after LITO | Medicare levy | Total tax owed | Effective rate | HELP repayment if you have a debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $45,000 | $3,695 | $900 | $4,595 | 10.2% | $0 |
| $60,000 | $8,420 | $1,200 | $9,620 | 16.0% | $0 |
| $85,000 | $16,020 | $1,700 | $17,720 | 20.8% | $2,321 |
| $100,000 | $20,520 | $2,000 | $22,520 | 22.5% | $4,571 |
| $120,000 | $26,520 | $2,400 | $28,920 | 24.1% | $7,571 |
| $150,000 | $36,570 | $3,000 | $39,570 | 26.4% | $12,476 |
Rates behind these figures are on the 2026-27 tax brackets page. The HELP column uses the 2026-27 repayment thresholds and only applies if you hold a study loan.
Four things that change your result
1. Deductions, at your marginal rate
A deduction cuts taxable income, so it returns your bracket rate plus the 2% Medicare levy. It never returns the full amount you spent.
| Income | Value of a $1,000 claim |
|---|---|
| $45,000 | $220 |
| $85,000 | $320 |
| $150,000 | $390 |
2. Offsets, which are not deductions
The low income tax offset comes straight off the tax, not off the income. It is worth $700 up to $37,500, tapers from there, and is gone by $66,667. That taper is why the value of a deduction at $45,000 is higher than the bracket rate alone suggests.
3. A HELP or HECS debt
Compulsory repayments begin above $69,528 of repayment income in 2026-27. At $85,000 that is $2,321 settled out of your assessment. If your employer was never told about the loan, nothing was withheld for it. Check the figure on the HECS repayment calculator.
4. Income with no tax withheld
Bank interest, dividends, rent, a side gig or a second job with no withholding all get taxed at your top rate at assessment. Adding $8,000 of untaxed side income on top of $85,000 of salary adds $2,560 to the tax bill, straight off the refund.
The Medicare levy on its own is covered by the Medicare levy calculator, and if you want to check whether your fortnightly withholding is even close to correct before the year ends, use the PAYG withholding calculator or the PAYG calculator on the homepage.
How accurate is this, honestly
What the calculator handles
- 2026-27 resident rates, bracket by bracket
- Low income tax offset and its taper
- The 2% Medicare levy with the low-income phase-in
- Compulsory HELP repayments on the 2026-27 thresholds
- Work-related deductions against taxable income
What it does not handle
- Medicare levy surcharge if you had no hospital cover
- Private health insurance rebate adjustments
- Spouse, dependant, zone and senior offsets
- Capital gains, foreign income and franking credits
- Family and senior Medicare levy thresholds
- Part-year residency and working holiday maker rates
This is an estimate for a resident wage earner, not a lodgement. If your affairs include any of the items on the right, treat the number as a starting point and confirm it in myTax or with a registered tax agent before you count on it. Common reasons the real result comes in lower are set out in why your tax refund is so low, and if the problem is the opposite, too much coming out each pay, read why your PAYG tax is so high.
Frequently asked questions
How is a tax return calculated?
How much tax refund will I get?
How do I compute my tax refund without an accountant?
Is a bigger tax refund better?
How much does a deduction actually add to my refund?
Does a HELP or HECS debt reduce my refund?
How long does the refund take to arrive?
Sources
- ATO: Preparing your tax return (what a tax return does, the 31 October due date)
- ATO: How to track the progress of your tax return (12 business days online, 50 business days on paper, 30 calendar days if manually processed)
- ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates (2026-27 single base tier of $105,000)
- ATO: Income tax estimator
Narelle Hartigan is a CPA-qualified tax accountant with over a decade of experience in Australian personal taxation and payroll. She founded PAYG Calculator Australia to make tax withholding easy for every Australian worker to understand.