Tax

What the new tax cuts mean to you

Published on July 5, 2019 4:24 am, by Pete Lalor

The government succeeded in having their proposed ‘tax cuts’ approved by parliament yesterday. That means about 10 million Australians can now expect to pay less tax. For some the savings start next week, but for others it will take a couple of years.

The ‘tax cuts’ come as a mix of tax offsets and changes in tax brackets. Tax offsets will be available immediately to tax payers who earn up to $126,000 a year. These tax offsets will be credited against tax you would have otherwise paid when you lodge your tax return. Keep in mind that these offsets are non-refundable. In other words, if you don’t pay enough tax to use up the total offset you wont be issued a refund for the unused amount.

Don’t worry if you’ve already lodged your 2018/19 tax return, the ATO will transfer and additional refund amount into your bank account, you don’t need to do anything extra.

Here’s how the offsets and cuts work for the 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 years:

If you earn up to $37,000 (about 2.3 million people)

• you will continue to get the existing Low Income Tax Offset of $445
• you will also get the new Low and Middle Income Tax Offset tax offset of $255
• your tax offsets will be paid when you lodge your 2018/19 tax return

If you earn between $37,001 and $47,999 (about 1.7 million people)

• you will continue to get the existing Low Income Tax Offset of $445 less 1.5 cents for each dollar of your taxable income over $37,000
• you will also get the new Low and Middle Income Tax Offset. The amount of the offset is calculated by starting with $255 and adding 7.5 cents for each dollar of your taxable income over$37,000, up to the maximum of $1,080
• your tax offset will be paid when you lodge your 2018/19 tax return

If you earn between $48,000 and $90,000 (about 4.5 million people)

• you will continue to get the existing Low Income Tax Offset of $445 less 1.5 cents for each dollar of your taxable income over $37,000
• you will also get the new Low and Middle Income Tax Offset. The amount of the offset is $1,080
• your tax offset will be paid when you lodge your 2018/19 tax return

If you earn between $90,001 and $126,000 (about 1.6 million people)

• you will get the new Low and Middle Income Tax Offset
• the amount of the offset is calculated starting with $1,080 and deducting 3 cents for each dollar of your taxable income over $90,000
• your tax offset will be paid when you lodge your 2018/19 tax return

If you earn more than $126,000

• you will have to wait until 2022/23 and 2024/25 when tax brackets are being changed to get your tax savings

 

Changes in 2022/23 and 2024/25

• in 2022/23 the upper threshold for the 19% tax bracket will increase from $37,000 to $41,000, the lower threshold of the 32.5% tax bracket will be pushed up to $41,001 and the upper threshold will be increased from $90,000 to $120,000 and the lower threshold of the 37% tax bracket will be pushed up to $120,0001
• in 2024/25 the upper threshold of the 32.5% tax bracket will be increased to $200,000, the 37% tax bracket will be removed completely and the 45% tax bracket will start at $200,001
• the current Low Income Tax Offset and Low and Middle Income Tax Offsets will be combined into a new Low Income Tax Offset in 2022/23

 

More information on the changes is available from the Australian Taxation Office.

 

This summary has been prepared by MoneyBrilliant Pty Ltd (AFSL 492711). The information in this summary is of a factual nature only. We are not suggesting or recommending that you take any particular course of action in relation to any financial product or service. It does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. If you need financial advice or taxation advice you should seek advice from a licensed financial adviser or tax agent. You may also be able to access additional information from the websites of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) or the Australian Taxation Office.