How much is the bonus?
- A $950 bonus will be paid to taxpayers with taxable income up to and including $80,000.
- A $650 bonus will be paid to taxpayers with income exceeding $80,000 to $90,000.
- A $300 bonus will be paid to taxpayers with income exceeding $90,000 to and including $100,000.
(Note: these rates have been amended. Please see the post on the new updated rates which apply).
Eligibility
You are eligible to receive the payment if:
- you have lodged or will lodge your 2007-08 income tax return before 30 June 2009 or by the deferred date granted by the Tax Office
- your 2007-08 taxable income is not more than $100,000
- your adjusted tax liability for 2007-08 is greater than nil, and
- you are an Australian resident for tax purposes (or were an Australian resident at some stage during 2007-08).
If that sounds like a bunch of accountant-speak to you, and you still need help determining your eligibility, give me a yell and I’ll email you an example you can use with your 2008 Notice of Assessment.
When and how will it be paid?
- Payments are planned to begin being made from early April 2009 for those who have lodged a 2007-08 tax return.
- Taxpayers will not need to apply for the payment. The Australian Taxation Office will make the payment to taxpayers after determining eligibility for the 2007-08 financial year.
- Taxpayers who have not already lodged their 2007-08 income tax return should do so by the end of June 2009 to obtain the bonus.
- The bonus will be a direct payment to taxpayers including through electronic transfer or cheque. This will go into whatever account your tax refund was paid into or the last address on file with the ATO.
If you use a tax agent:
Payment is sent to the address or bank account you nominated as your preference for the 2007-08 tax return. If you used fee-from-refund with an agent, this might not be your personal bank account. If your agent manages payments and correspondence for you, the ATO won’t necessarily have your personal bank or postal address details.
If you want the payment to go into your personal bank account or send a cheque to an address other than the one you usually use through your tax agent, call the ATO on 1300 686 636.
Edit 04/03/09 to add: You can access the Tax Office Tax Bonus Calculator by clicking the link.
Article by Christie Lewis
Christie is Practice Manager at Alan Lewis Accountants . Besides accounting, her passion is for all things small business (and blogging, of course). You can contact Christie directly at christie@lewistaxation.com.au.
Christie has written 799 awesome articles for us at Alan Lewis Accountants – BLOG
Twitter: @christielewis
{ 254 comments… read them below or add one }
That is a bit too much accountant-speak for me, I’m afraid!
I’m a full-time uni student who was up until recently working two part-time jobs. I now only have the one job, which pays more than both of the previous jobs combined, and am waiting for uni to go back in March. I’m not eligible for any other Centerlink payments (Youth Allowance, etc) due to my parents’ assets and the like.
Is this tested by my own tax from last year, or am I not even considered because I’m not yet deemed “financially independent”? And as far as my understanding goes, I’m not eligible for it as a student either because I don’t receive any other benefits?
Hi Nikki
Assuming the proposed payment goes through unaltered, your entitlement to the bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. Now, after you have done your tax, the ATO send you something called a Notice of Assessment (if you opted for a cheque refund, the cheque would be attached to the bottom of this paper they sent you).
A quick way to check is to look at the Notice of Assessment and do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side:
A + O – G
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits)
If the result provides a figure greater than zero then you will receive the payout.
Without knowing your actual income details, that’s the best I can tell you at the moment. Basically, according to the Rudd Government package announced earlier this week, any tax payer who had a tax or Medicare liability after rebates and imputation credits were applied, would be eligible for the $950 pay out (upper income thresholds applied).
Hi Nikki,
Adding to Christie’s comment, if you are not receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy or Abstudy you will not be eligible for the $950 training & learning bonus either.
I am afraid that you are one of the people who slip through the cracks when the Government make these kind of bonus payments. Your family are over the asset threshhold to make you ineligible for Youth Allowance, so you have to work to provide some income but possibly have not earnt enough to have had to pay tax… thus wouldn’t be eligible for the Working Australian payment.
Could you please tell me if I am eligible – My husband last year ended up with no refund/no tax payable as we have negative gearing, and he only has his super pension.
I ended up with rebate of $2000 due to negative gearing even though I paid oodles of tax. throughout the year.
Are we considered under the $80,000 as we did not earn that much even with our rental income.
Hi Mary,
For the $950 Tax Bonus, you must have had a tax liability in order to be eligible for the payout. Unfortunately, if your husband had a zero tax liability, as the proposal stands at the moment, he would not be eligible for the tax bonus.
You mentioned that you received a “rebate” of $2000… if you actually meant refund of $2000 and you had paid more than $2000 in tax throughout the year, then it would appear that you did have a tax liability (use the calculation mentioned in my comment to Nikki using your 2008 Notice of Assessment to work out your eligibility). If so, then you would be eligible for the $950 payment.
Depending on your circumstances, however, you or your husband might find that you qualify for some of the other proposed payments.
Hi
i am a casual employee, and i heard that the tax payout was only to those who earned 11k+
is this true?
I got all my tax back that i paid last yr as i only earned something like 6k
please help
Paul
Hi Paul,
I’m afraid that what you have basically heard works out to be true. You have to have a tax liablility after offsets (rebates) have been applied. With the Low Income Offset, this effectively means that you have to earn over $11,000 before you are eligible for the Working Australian Tax Bonus.
However, if you are doing Uni or TAFE and are also receiving a Youth Allowance or Austudy/Abstudy, then you may be eligible for the $950 Training & Learning Bonus.
could you tell me if I am eligible for $950 my husband works and last year he earned over $100k and and had to pay a tax bill ,I work casual and earned $6000 we have 3 school aged children could you please help us
Hi Richelle,
You had to have had a tax liability during 2007/08 in order to be eligible for the Working Australian Tax Bonus. If you earned just $6,000 (assuming you had no other income), you would be at the tax-free threshold and not qualify for this particular bonus.
With three children, however, you may be entitled to other proposed payments. From what I have read, I assume you are entitled to some Family Tax Benefit Part B. This would open up the $950 Single Income Family Bonus to your household.
In addition, if you receive Family Tax Benefit Part A, you would also qualify for the Back to School Bonus for all eligible children. This amounts to a generous $950 per child.
hello, i am only 18 and began formal work last year in mid july. i earn well under 100 000 and pay a lot of tax. Because of the time i started last year i am unsure of how it all works concerning tax returns as i have not yet/ever/can apply. do you think there is a way i can receive the bonus? help thanks for your time
Hi Amy,
The bonus is based on your 2008 taxable income so if you didn’t begin work until July 2008 then I’m afraid that you won’t be eligible for the Working Australian bonus (unless you had other income in the 2007 – 2008 year that created a tax liability).
If you are currently doing any TAFE or Uni courses and you receive Youth Allowance, Austudy or Abstudy, then you may be eligible for the Training & Learning Bonus (this is dependant on the type of course). However if you are currently in the workforce then you probably are not receiving any of those allowances.
Hi, can you help me out with something.
I havent done my 06-07 and 07-08 tax, it’s going to be done this week, i have earned less than $80,000 in both years, does this mean i have until June 30 this year to lodge both of them, or because i didnt do 06/07 or 07/08 does that mean i’ve lost my chance?
thanks heaps.
Hi Sam,
As long as you lodge both your 2007 and your 2008 Income Tax Returns by 30th June 2009, you will receive the $950 bonus (depending on the Senate of course).
To clarify, the information from the Treasury seems to imply that it is only your 2008 Income Tax Return that needs to be lodged by 30th June 2009, but I would suggest that you get both years lodged anyway.
Hi,
I’m not an australian resident but i’m eligible for everything else,would i be eligible for this payment then?
Hi Ali,
You must be an Australian resident for tax purposes in order to qualify for the working Australian tax bonus. The fact that you say you qualify for everything else, makes me wonder whether you might, in fact, be a resident for tax purposes (this is a little different to being a resident in general).
The ATO use several tests to satisfy the ‘resident for tax purposes’ criteria. The first of these is the resides test. If you satisfy this test, you won’t need to apply any others. Secondary tests include the domicile test, the 183 day rule and the superannuation test.
The ATO have an online Determination of Residency questionaire you could use to help work out your residency status for tax purposes.
Hi, is it true that you only get one tax payment per couple/family? We are a couple with no children and we both earned $52,000 each. Would we be eligible for $950 each?
Hi Emma,
The Working Australian Tax Bonus is payable to individual taxpayers. Assuming you each qualify, both your partner and yourself can receive the payment.
Some of the proposed payments are only per household, though, such as the single income family bonus. With so many proposed payments all of the same amount, it’s no wonder there is some confusion!
Hi i was wondering if i would get the bonus im a single mum and work full time but i get a part pension would i qualify……… i did a tax return last year and got refunded 2,989
Hi El,
The surest way to calculate your eligibility for the Tax Bonus is to look at your 2007/08 Notice of Assessment from the Tax Office (that’s the letter they send you after they have processed your tax refund). Do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side:
A + O – G
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits)
If the result provides a figure greater than zero then you will receive the working australian tax bonus. It’s possible that the pensioner tax offset (if claimed) might have reduced your tax liability to the point where you would not meet the criteria for this particular bonus but I can’t say without knowing more. You should be able to work it out following those few steps above. Give me a yell if you need help and I’ll email you an example to follow.
Being a sole parent on a part-pension, you should qualify for a couple of the other $950 bonus payments aimed at recipients of FTB-A and FTB-B regardless. These would be the Single Income Family Bonus ($950 for household) and the Back to School Bonus ($950 per qualifying child).
what about any dividend franking credits and also the credit for Payg instalments raised: do they come under G( Tax offsets and other credits)?
thank you for any clarification.
Hi Joy
I responded to your post further down but I’ll answer here too in case anyone else is wondering and sees this.
Franking credits are included in label G on your NOA already as they are a refundable tax offset.
Credit for PAYG installments raised (label F) is not included in label G but is not relevant for this calculation either.
Hope that helps.
Will my daughter receive the $950 or will I receive it for her? circs are:
She earned casual income, but received back all her tax paid in her TNA. (A+O-G= zero). She studied tertiary part time last year, but will be a full time student with casual income this year.
I received FTB parts A & B for her until 31/12/08, when it dropped back to just FTB part A because she turned 18 in Aug 08. I still receive FTB part A for her, as her income will be below the threshold (($12000 odd) for eligibility for 08/09.
She does not currently receive Austudy , Abstudy or Youth Allce as my income means FTB is better option. We will be reviewing this at the end of this financial year, but currently my income means Youth Allce would be minimal, and then probably reduced to nil by her income.
Will either of us get the $950 for her?
Hi Sue,
From the limited details we have available to us on these proposed payments, I would have to say that you would likely receive a back to school $950 payment for your daughter as you are in receipt of FTB-A.
From what you have told me, your daughter won’t qualify for the tax bonus as her tax liabilty was nil. She will also miss out on the Category 1 Training & Learning bonus as she isn’t receiving a qualifying payment such as Youth Allowance. She would also miss the Category 2 Education Entry Payment for several reasons.
You, however, being entitled to FTB-A for a child who is aged 4-18 (inclusive) at 3 Feb, should meet the criteria for the Back to School Bonus for her.
Hi,
im19yearsoldandiclaimedataxreturnlastyearandionlyrecievedabout$1000.Iamnowworkingatemporarytoviewpermjobwhichipaytaxandsuperisdeductedfrommygrosssalaryandiameligbleforcentrelinkbenefitsbutdonotrecieveany.ihaverecievedyouthallowanceasastudentandyouthallowanceasajobseekerinthepast2yearssoimunsurewhetherornotiameligbleforthe950bonus.canyouhelpmeplease?
Hi Amanda,
With regard to the tax bonus, please see the the above responses to determine your eligibility. This payment is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax return.
Now, with regard to any other payments, it’s a little difficult to tell without knowing if you are also studying while you are working and whether or not your parents get payments for you or if you are independent. It doesn’t matter what you intend to do with regard to your job later on, the important thing is what your situation was as at 3 Februray, 2009 when the proposals were announced.
If you can give me a bit more info, I might be able to assist.
ThankYou`for`your`reply`Christie-`ok`well`on`the`3rd`of`feb,I`was`in`the`2nd`day`of`my`temp`role.`My`mum“in`sydney`gets`centrelink`payments`as`a`single`parent`and`is`on`disability`allowance`and`i`am`not`currently`studing`-only`full`time`temporary`work-so`mon`to`fri`9am-5pm.However`my`mum`does`not`recieve`any`payments`for`me.and`i`did““`claim`tax`in`the`07/08`financial`year.which`would`have`been`last`year.i`only“recieved`$1090`in`tax,for`the`last`financial`year.
does`this`information`help`assess`my`eligibility?
Hi Amanda,
Unfortunately for yourself, I don’t believe you would qualify for the majority of payments. With regard to the Working Australians tax bonus, when you say you ‘only received $1090 in tax’, do you mean that was your total income from working?
If that was your total income – and you were therefore under the tax-free threshold – you would not get the tax bonus either as you should have received all your tax back.
Find the letter the Tax Office sent you after they processed your last tax return (called a Notice of Assessment). I know I have suggested this tip before in comments, but at the risk of repeating myself, I think it will be helpful for you to look at the Notice of Assessment and do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side:
A + O – G
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits).
If the result is more than zero then you will receive the working australians tax bonus (now $900 and not $950).
If you have lost your letter or simply can’t work it out from what I have suggested and you used a tax agent to lodge your return, I’d give them a call. Your agent should be able to tell you within a few seconds whether or not you will qualify based on return (now all the agents will hate me for suggesting clients do that…. sorry guys!
).
Can someone be eligible for the ‘Tax Bonus for Working Australians’ and the ‘Training and Learning bonus’? Are they separate payments?
I earned about $20,000 last financial year, due to 7 day a week work in the 07-08 summer holidays. Then I started back up with full-time uni and my income dropped dramatically. I received and still do, independent youth allowance and earn well under the quota (so still receive fortnightly payments).
My 07-08 tax return showed I payed tax on my total income (my rebate didn’t offset the taxation I had paid), and I paid the Medicare levy.
I can’t find an answer to this question anywhere!
Hi Sophie,
Yes, you can receive both. The Tax Bonus is paid via the ATO based on your 07/08 income tax return. The Training & Learning Bonus is administered by Centrelink and paid according to your situation and the benefits you currently receive.
If the propsed payments pass the senate next Thursday, you would not need to apply for either of these payments as they should both be paid automatically if you qualify.
My question is similar to the one Sophie asked previously.
It has been impossible to find so far what a person who both worked and earned above the threshold and also receives youth allowance would get if these payments are passed. Could you perhaps explain the details on what actually is needed in these areas to be eligible?
I earned $16,500 last financial year and paid tax on that, yet also received youth allowance as the line of business that I work in is quite sporadic.
Hi Kyle,
I think I will create a new post to expand on the Training and Learning Bonus details as they may get lost here.
As far as I am aware, an individual cannot receive both the back-to-school bonus and the training and learning bonus but should be eligible for both the tax bonus and the training and learning bonus if they qualify for each. A more detailed response on that coming soon…….
hi
Hi i don’t understand at all my husband earned about $50000 last year while i worked casual and earned about $40000 we have 1 child but he is not at school. Do i get the payout or not? Thankyou for your help.
He Megan,
I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact the Household Stimulus Package is actually a combination of five different payments aimed at a range of different people.
It’s quite possible that your both your husband and yourself would be entitled to the Working Australians Tax Bonus (that would be $900 each based on your income brackets should you qualify).
The surest way to calculate your eligibility for the Tax Bonus is to look at your 2007/08 Notice of Assessment from the Tax Office (that’s the letter they send you after they have processed your tax refund). Do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side:
A + O – G
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits)
If the result provides a figure greater than zero then you will receive the working australian tax bonus.
Hi there,
Are eligable working Australians still going to receive the payment? There hasn’t been much more said about it.
Thankyou
Hi Annie
As you probably know by now, the senate passed the legislation late this morning after it failed to go through yesterday.
There have been some small changes to the amounts and expected payment dates (I will update the blog with information as soon as I have confirmation of the specifics).
Basically, the full $950 Working Australians payment is now $900. For those earning between $80,000 and $90,000 it has been cut from $650 to $600 and for those with a taxable income between $90,000 and $100,000 it had dropped from $300 to $250.
Hi was hoping you could help me out?I have looked at my other halfs notice of assessment.He has no “G” is that the PAYG?He has A O E L.I hope that make sense. Also he owes money on this years return.Does that mean he will not get anything?He Earned $65000 .
Hi Serena,
This link is to a worked example Notice of Assessment http://www.lewistaxation.com.au/taxbonuseligibility.pdf
For your partner, you would use tax on taxable income (A) plus medicare levy (O). Label G is for tax offsets. If he had none, you can ignore that label.
The fact that money is owed on this years tax return is not, in itself, going to affect his entitlement. You’ll be pleased to know that the bonus will not be used to offset a taxpayer’s tax liability (of course, you could decide to use it for that yourself if you choose to).
With a $65,000 taxable income, the bonus payment for an eligible taxpayer would amount to $900.
I hope that helps. If I’ve just confused you more, please let me know.
Hi there, just want to know that my cousin’s Notice of Assessment does not have O (medicare levy). She had taxable income of $17,850. Her NOA shows A ,E and G. She has received low tax offset of $750. So does that means her medicare levy is zero. 2007/08 was her first lodgement year.is she eligible to receive $900 workers bonus tax payment. Thanks
Hi Karan
The medicare low-income thresholds are higher than the tax-free thresholds so that can often knock out the medicare levy for some people who are still required to pay tax. It depends a bit on how many kids, etc..
With regard to your cousin, my response depends a bit on whether or not she is a single parent. I’ll assume not.
With a taxable income of $17,850 and only a low income offset of $750, there should still be a tax liability, even without medicare. See my previous post to Serena as the steps will be the same – just use zero for label O.
Hi there,
Last year I worked full time and paid quite a lot of tax in the 07/08 year. I have since gone back to study full time and am now a recipient of austudy. Can you please confirm if I will be eligible for 2 payments?
1) Tax Bonus for Working Australians
and
2) Training and Learning bonus
I hope so!
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris,
If you meet the criteria for both of these payments then you will receive them both.
Working Australians will come from the Tax Office to the same bank account/address as provided in your 07/08 tax return. Learning and Training is administered by Centrelink and will be paid into the bank account you elected for Centrelink payments.
For the working australians tax bonus see my response to Serena above with a link to the worked example to check your eligibility.
With regard to the Learning and Training Bonus (category 1), recipients of austudy qualify for the payment. The exception to this is if a student attracts the Government’s back to school bonus (they are not eligible for both a back to school and the learning and training bonus).
FYI category 1 bonus payments are non-taxable and will not be treated as income for social security purposes.
Hi, I am wondering if I will receive the tax bonus or not.
My notice of assessment says the following:
Taxable income $11854
Tax on Taxable Income $878.10 A
Tax Offset and other credits $878.10 G
Balance of this assessment $0 L
Included in this offset is $214.97 entrepreneurs’ tax offset
Label G includes $658.63 Low Income Tax Offset
Am very confused…Thanks
Hi Anne,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it doesn’t sound as if you will qualify for the working australians tax bonus. In order to get the bonus payment, you must have had a tax liabilty in the 2007/08 income year.
Between LITO (low income tax offset) and ETO (entrepreneurs tax offset), your tax liability was reduced to nothing. This means you would have either received back any tax you had already paid or not been required to pay any at all. I won’t torment you by telling you just how close you were to getting it.
The positive side is that you paid no tax that year!
Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it
Yes, oh well too bad I wont get it.
I cant revise my tax return and remove my entrepreneurs tax bonus can I?
You are very welcome.
Technically, you can amend your tax return. The problem is that you would need to provide a reason to do so. I’m not sure the Tax Office will understand why you want to change your return to NOT claim a tax offset you are entitled to. I can see that being a problem for you, especially in light of the bonus payments being a clear motivator for people trying to amend assessments. I have a feeling it will bite them in the behind.
my tax income for 2007 2008 was 40.000 do i get the 900 payment thanks and also my girlfriend is on a dsp pension does she get the back to school bonice she has a child 14 in high scool
Hi Peter,
A taxable income of $40,000 would entitle you to a $900 working australians tax bonus provided you had a tax liability (basically, that just means that at the end of the day you paid some tax after rebates and didn’t get it all back).
Have a look at your Notice of Assessment letter (that’s what the Tax Office sent you after they processed your return). If your Taxable Income (label A) plus Medicare (label O) minus Rebates and other credits (label G if there are any) is more then zero, you’ll get the bonus payment.
It’s worth pointing out that this money will be paid directly by the ATO into the bank account or to the address your tax assessment was sent to. If you have closed accounts, moved or if you used an tax agent and fee from refund, you might want to call the ATO to update these details ASAP to ensure you get the payment without any delays. There is a hotline for this set up by the ATO. The number is 1300 686 636.
For your girlfriend, does she receive some Family Tax Benefit part A for her 14-year old daughter? (I’m afraid I’m not curretly clued up on how disp. pension payments work with regard to FTB payments). If she does, the back to school payment will be paid automatically by Centrelink. In addition, if she is entitled to any Family Tax Benefit part B – I assume she would qualify – she would also be entitled to the Single Income Family Bonus.
I’d be interested to know about your girlfriend as her situation is similiar to another person who has asked me the same thing.
Give me a yell if I confused you more!
I have a small amount of Franking Credits; as well i have Credit for PAYG installments raised. Do these get clumped into G (tax offsets and other credits)?
in my past notice of assessment, i notice that Credit for PAYG installments has an ‘F’ next to it. Does that mean i can ignore it in your A+O-G qualifier?
I don’t know what letter Dividend Franking Credits would be – are they part of “G”.?
really appreciate your help in this. thank you joy
Hi Joy,
Franking credits are included in label G as they are a refundable tax offset.
Your PAYG installments raised (L) are not included with G but can be ignored for this calculation.
So take your tax on taxable income plus medicare and minus the total of your label G. If more than nil, you will receive the bonus provided you have lodged your 2007/08 tax return.
I hope that helps.
Could someone please shed some light on whether or not I’m applicable for the $900?
Taxable Income= $18032
A= $1804.80 DR
E= $2125.00 CR
G= $2306.80 CR (includes baby bonus entitlement of $502, base year 2004)
L= $2627.00 CR
FTB reconciliation credit amount= $1960.30 CR
Amount refundable= $4587.30 CR
Kind regards, Karen
Hi Karen,
Even without the baby bonus, your tax offsets would have wiped all of your liability. Unfortunately, this would disqualify you for the working australians tax bonus. Without knowing much more, I’d assume based on the figures that you were able to claim a Pensioner tax offset also perhaps??
If this is the case, although you would not qualify for the working australians tax bonus, you might still receive other bonus payments.
If you get FTB-B, you should receive a Single Income Family bonus payment. In addition, depending on the ages of your children, if you get FTB-A, you would likely also receive a back to school bonus for each of them. Let me know if you need more information about any of these payments.
ok i know if you do A+0-G if it is greater then zero you will get the 900 my assesment doesnt have O it is A,E,G,L … so does that mean i wont get it or it is worked out different for working mums by the look of it O is medicare levy i done that one my tax so im lost?!?
ok just read Karen’s so im guessing i wont get it
mines
tax income 22987
A= 2548.05dr
E= 1539.00CR
G= 3046.00CR
L= 2036.95CR
that includes baby bonus tax (502) and the end of yr supplements
and frind has asked
A= 3870.30DR
O= 463.51DR
E= 5560.00CR
G= 713.96CR
L= 1940.15cr
they are eligable??
Hi Amber,
It sounds like you have worked yours out already. As your tax offsets exceed the tax on your taxable income, you don’t qualify for this particular tax bonus payment. You may, however, qualify for some of the other bonus payments discussed on the blog depending on your circumstances.
Right again! Your friend sounds like they will get the working australians tax bonus in the amount of the full $900 (maybe they can take you out to lunch?).
thank you for your reply…. bummer but yes i should maybe you could help out with the others.. single mum part pension working 20hrs a week does that get the single income one?.. and how are they working out the back to school one… in WA kids go to 4 yr old kindy they start depending on their birthdays some go the year they turn 4 ( before june 30) and some the year they turn 5(after july1) now kindy isnt compolsary but most go the back to school is from 4-18yrs so does that mean some parents of kindy kids will get it some wont or kindy isnt able to even though they are 4yrs??.. hope that wasnt to confusing..
Hi Amber,
As a single parent, you should be receiving Family Tax Benefit Part B (FTB-B) and so would automatically get the single income family bonus. This payment is now $900 (originally planned to be $950) and is expected to be paid by Centrelink between 11-20 March.
You’re next question is somewhat trickier. According to information provided by the treasury, one would think the only criteria is that the child is of ‘school age’ (4-18 inclusive) and you are in receipt of FTB-A for them at 3 Feb 09. That’s a little too vague for me so I’m going to check further into this one and I’ll post more when I have some definate authoritive response for you.
Hi again, Amber.
Reading through the Household Stimulus Package Bill it sure looks like even preschoolers or children not enrolled this year will be eligible for the payment as long as they are 4 on February 3 and the parent receives FTB-A for them.
I’m still waiting on a response from a government department on this to confirm.
Hi Christie thank you for your replies and the time you have spent looking for answers… i was trying to read through the link there i couldnt make head nor tail of it..lol.. some parents seem to think they are just going to go of the school enrollments others just going any child over 4yrs so i think it really will be a wait and see deal with that bonus
An associate sent me an article from the Canberra Times which seemed to interpret the Bill as I have. They reported, “even preschoolers or children not enrolled this year will be eligible for the payment as long as they are four on February 3.”
I wouldn;t hold that as fact given the amount of confusion surrounding this particular question at the moment, but it does give preschool parents reason to hope.
Hi,
First off good on you for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions
My question is this:
I am an Australian citezin/resident but returned to Aus in May this year after being overseas.
I only started working in July 2008. But prior to June I did set up to small businesses (as a sole trader) of which I accrued no income but did outlay some (very little expenses).
When I went through the ATO : do I need to lodge requirements, it said I needed to lodge a non lodgement advice. If I do this will I be entilted to the 950$ bonus. (Since July I have been working full time but my salary is under 70K)
Cheers
Hi Barbara,
The Working Australian Tax Bonus is based solely on your 07/08 income tax assessment (this would incorporate the period from 1 July 2007 until 30 June 2008).
A non-lodgement advice is pretty much a notice to let the ATO know that you are not required to lodge a tax return that year. This is probably due to your income being below the tax-free threshold.
In order to qualify for the tax bonus, you must have had a tax liability for the 07/08 year. All that really means is that at the end of the day, you paid some tax that year which you didn’t get back at tax time. Without knowing about any other income you may have had, if you had no revenue from your business and only expenses, you would have made a loss and therefore, not have raised a tax liability.
The forumula for calculating the bonus is:
Tax on Taxable Income + Medicare Levy – Offsets and other credits
If the balance is more than nil, you would be entitled to the bonus as you would have paid tax that year.
If you fail to lodge a return before 30 June 2009 – or you are only required to put in a non-lodgement – you wouldn’t actually qualify for the tax bonus as you would not have paid any tax for the 2007/08 financial year. I hope that makes sense.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news for you.
hi, i am currently a university student on ‘independent youth allowance’, i was not eligible for last years cash bonuses as im independent, but im wondering if i will recieve this latest payment?? also i filed a tax return last year after earning approx $7000 from employment and $9000 from centrelink (which was considered as taxable although no tax was taken) will i be eligible for this payment as well, what i have heard as being called double dipping??? thanks casey.
Hi Casey,
How old were you on 3 Feb 2009?
18 years old…
Hi Casey,
With regard to the Working Australians Tax Bonus, you’ll need to check your 2007/08 Notice of Assessment to be sure, but it sounds like you should have had a tax liability for the year.
($17,000 taxable income – $6,000 tax-free threshold) x 15% marginal tax rate = $1,650 (item A). You should have been under the medicare levy income threshold so not had to pay that at all (item O) and received a low income tax offset of $750 (item G). Basically, if that’s what it was, it means you ultimately were required to pay a total of $900 in tax for the financial year. Does that sound about right to you? If so, you will qualify for the full $900 tax bonus.
Also, it sounds like you should get the category 1 Training & Learning bonus as you are a student who receives Youth Allowance. However, if you attract the Back to School bonus for your parents (ie. if they receive any FTB-A for you) you wouldn’t get the T&L bonus for yourself. I hope that makes some sense.
Tax Bonus ($900) will be paid by the ATO from early April. T&L bonus ($950) will be paid by Centrelink in the fortnight beginning 24 March 2009.
Did i need to pay a least 6k tax?
coz i got all my tax back, so does that
mean im not entilted to the bonus?
thank you
Hi Michelle,
You don’t need to have paid at least $6,000 in tax but you would need to have paid some tax for 2007/08 (even a few cents would qualify).
If you received all of your tax back, I’m afraid you wouldn’t qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus. Depending on your circumstances, perhaps you will qualify for one of the Centrelink-administered bonus payments instead?
Hi
thanks for your time.
I earn under $40000 and so does my husband and we have two school aged children.And we receive part A allowance. Does this mean we would receive $950 each plus the back to school of $950 for each child. And if so when would we expect these payments.
Thanks wendi
Hi Wendy,
Working Australians Tax Bonus: If you both qualify for the payment (see my previous responses to determine eligibility from your Notice of Assessment), both hubby and yourself will receive a $900 tax bonus payment. This is paid by the ATO with payments being made in stages from early April.
Back to School Bonus Payment: Yes, this is a generous $950 per eligible child you receive FTB-A for and will be on top of the tax bonus. This will be paid by Centrelink between 11 and 20 March 2009.
Hi there. As you said earlier to check eligibility just use this formula A+O-G. After applying that i am getting $900 balance but i got refund of $1000 last year. So would i be eligible to receive tax bonus payment? Thanks
Hi Karan,
You can disregard what you were actually refunded as that takes into consideration your witholding credits and other things not relevant for the bonus payment calculation.
So long as you meet the other eligibilty criteria and the tax on your taxable income (A) plus Medicare Levy (O) less Rebates (G) is more than zero, you will receive the tax bonus.
What you actually were refunded pretty much means nothing for the purpose of this calculation so you can safely ignore that.
Hello,
In regards to the $900 payment for taxpayers. I earned $85,000 last year but my wife stayed home to look after our grandchildren. Does that mean that we will receive $650 where a couple earning $50,000 each(combined income of $100,000) will receive $1,800?
If so, does that seem fair to you?
Hi John,
Obviously, it won’t work that way in every case depending on tax offsets used and other individual factors, but that is the general gist of it all.
Does it seem fair to me? Well, I promised Alan I would try to keep my personal opinions out of the blog (I’m incredibly opinionated. lol) but, no I think it stinks for households such as yours.
If your wife actually claimed some Family Tax Benefit for the grandkids, she will probably receive a bonus payment for the children from Centrelink. That is either going to be good news for you guys or another kick in the teeth as the other bonus payments your household might qualify for are only available to recipients of Family Tax Benefit, etc.
hi there..
im an apperents baker and was wondering if it is possiable to recive 2 payments? of because im also a low income earner…
sorry my question was this…
as a student is it possable to recive 2 pays as also im a low income earner
Hi Anthony,
Yes, it is possible to receive more than one bonus payment provided you qualify for each of them.
The $900 tax bonus is based on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. You must have had an adjusted tax liability for the year. If you look at your Notice of Assessment letter (that’s what the ATO send you after they process your tax return), you want to check that A+O-G is more than nil. Being low-income does not in itself make you eligible.
The calculation is this:
Tax on taxable income (A) plus Medicare (O) less Rebates and Other Credits (G). If the result is more than nil, you will receive the working australians tax bonus automatically. THis will be paiid by the ATO from early April.
As an apprentice, you would also be a candidate for the $950 Training and Learning bonus provided you were receiving on of the qualifying payments (Youth Allowance, Austudy, etc) at 3 Feb 2009. You would not receive the T&L bonus, however, if your parents receive the Back to School Bonus for you instead (ie. if they claim Family Tax Benefit Part A for you as a dependent). This payment is made by Centrelink between 24 March and 6 April 2009.
You can read more about each of these payments in their individual posts. I hope I haven’t confused you more.
Hi I think i dont get it either taxable income was $10415.
A 662.23DR
E 1140.00CR
G 662.25CR
L 1140.00CR.
And of course dont start tafe till the17th of March
Hi Anthony,
I’m afraid that you’ll miss out on the Working Australians Tax Bonus as you seem to have worked out yourself.
Even though you don’t start TAFE until March 17th, there is talk about an administrative scheme in the works to pay a $950 Learning & Training Bonus for students who start after 3 Feb and missed out on other payments.
Details are few and far between at this stage but it would appear an apprentice will qualify, providing you are also getting something like Youth Allowance or Austudy at the time. Don’t quote me on that yet, but I will be reporting details on the blog about the scheme as soon as they are released.
I have been seeking the same answers as everyone else on this site.
I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU for your time and effort in answering all of these questions, for the government only speaks in ministerial-speak waffle – lips are moving but nothing is understandable.
Steve
THANK YOU, Steve.
I really appreciate you saying so.
It will help me stay positive the next time it’s 3am and I want to go to bed but there are blog posts to respond to.
I’m just glad we can help in some way. There has certainly been a lot of confusion regarding the entitlement of all these different payments and, as you suggest, the info provided by government is often more gobbly-gook than anything useful for typical (non-gobbly-gook speaking) Australians.
hi there. Just thanking you for your help. now you can atleast understand what all political fuss is about.
You are very welcome, Karan.
It’s been good for me also in that I feel I am heading in the right direction with the blog…. even though it is way out of the range of typical ‘accounting’ news.
I’ve always been keen to make resources available which can offer some practical assistance to help and/or inform average Joe Taxpayer. It’s a slow process as I’m a number-nerd, not a web developer, so it’s a learn-as-I-go process to implement or redesign anything.
The more people utilise the blog and ask questions, the more it validates our hopes for it so really, you’ve all helped us too. So, thank you for the support.
Hi there,
I’m just wondering if i’m eligible for the bonus or not. Right now, I’m working, I have been working since last year late July. However, I did work for a little while the year before between 2007-2008. However I didn’t know how to lodge a tax return. Last year however, I found my group certificate for my current job and lodged a tax return in late September last year. I didn’t claim any money, as I had started at my current job after the Financial Year ended (June).
I’m just a bit confused, and wondering if I’m still able to be eligible for the bonus. I have still to lodge my tax return for the period between 08-09, however I won’t do that until the end of the current financial year.
Thanks in advance!
Hi again Aaron,
In order to receive the Working Australians Tax Bonus payment, you must have had an adjusted tax liability for the 2007/08 financial year.
Easy check:
If you lodged a return and earned under $11,000, it’s a sure bet you wouldn’t qualify.
Detailed instructions:
Take alook at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08 (this is the letter the ATO sent you after they processed the tax return you sent). There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided your offsets didn’t exceed your tax liabilities (ie. at the end of the day, you paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus. This is paid by the Tax Office from early April.
hi. im a single mother and dont work, my daughter is 7 months old. would i get anything? thank you for your time.
Hi Jade,
Based on the limited information you have provided, it sounds as if you would at least receive the Single Income Family Bonus. This is a $900 payment for families receiving Family Tax Benefit Part B (FTB-B). As a single parent, you should automatically receive this payment from Centrelink between 11 and 20 March 2009.
I hope that helps.
thank you very much. now i need to ask something for my mum
mum and dad get family tax benefit A and have a 12 year old at school.
they were a single income family untill last april then started up a business
can you please tell me if they are entitled to anything
thank you
Hi again, Jade.
As your parents are receiving FTB-A for a school-aged child, they should receive the $950 Back to School Bonus Payment (http://lewistaxation.com.au/blog/2009/02/back-to-school-bonus-the-basics). This will also be paid by Centrelink between the 11 and 20 March.
Receiving one the Centrelink bonus payments does not disqualify a person from also getting the tax bonus if they are eligible for it. If either of your parents lodged a 2007/08 income tax return and had an adjusted tax liability (see all the comments above on how to calculate this or post again to asjk me to explain it better), they will also recieve the tax bonus. If they qualify, this will be paid by the Tax Office starting in early April.
I hope that helps your mum.
Hi there i am just wondering if i am eligible for the tax bonus..
I done my 07-08 tax return last july…
I dont really understand how it works or if i am entitiled to anything..
Please let me know.
Thank you for your time.
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Do you still have the letter the Tax Office sent you after they processed your tax return? If so, and you need help working it out, you can email me privately (christie at lewistaxation.com.au) or post the figures for items A, O and G here. The calculation is Tax on Taxable Income (A) plus Medicare (O) less Rebates and Other Credits (G). Don’t let that scare you… they are all listed clearly on the letter. If the end result is more than nil, you’ll recdeive the tax bonus.
Basically, the tax bonus is paid to australians who paid tax in 2007/08. This means that after offsets, etc all of the tax that you may have had taken from any wages was not refunded to you in full. There must have been some tax paid at the end of the day.
I can tell you that if your taxable income was under $11,000, you would not receive it as the low income tax offset would have reduced your liability on this income to nil.
I’m not sure if that helps you or if it just confused you more. Feel free to post again or email, Samantha. I just need those few figures (from the item labels) to calculate it for you.
I am a 17 year old student and have a part time job. I have earned over $100 in the past tax year. Also paid tax. I was wondering if i am eligable for the pay out?
If i am what is the proceedure to recieve it.
Thanks, Kell
Hi Kellianne,
With regard to the Working Australians Tax Bonus, you must have lodged your 2007/08 income tax return and had an adjusted tax liability for the financial year.
In non-accountant speak, for you that just means that at the end of the year after your tax return was processed, you didn’t get all of your tax back. If you earned anything under $11,000 you would not qualify for the tax bonus. If your taxable income was above $11,000, see my previous comments as to how you can check the calculation to see if you will receive it in early April.
You don’t mention if you are living at home as a dependant and whether or not you (or your parents for you) receive any Government benefits. The reason I ask is that there are several bonus payments available under the Household Stimulus Package. You may not qualify for the tax bonus, but you (or your parents) could still be eligible for something like the Back to School Bonus.
The back to school bonus is $950 per eligible child and is paid by Centrelink in late March automatically. To see if you would qualify for any of the other bonus payments, browse the blog for each payments details or simply post again with more information and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
I am in a similar situation to Sue on February 10th.
My son turned 18 in January, is now a full time TAFE student living with me,
I am a working single parent, my income was around $52,000 last year, so I receive FTB A & B for that son.
He earned some money in part time jobs last year paid tax but got it all back, so he wont qualify in his own right.
I am expecting some payment for him through centrelink. Do I get single income family bonus + back to school bonus + my own $900 for being an eligible taxpayer, or just one payment or 2 payments.
Also My other son is a “New Apprentice”, earned a good wage, did pay some tax last year, thinks he wont get the bonus because he is an apprentice. Isnt receiving any income support apart from tool allowances and apprentice bonuses that he qualifies for under “New Apprentice Scheme”. It is all a bit confusing and we are all a bit uptight with the uncertainty as we all need the money. Thanks Vicki
Hi Vicki,
If you are receiving FTB A & B for your son living at home, you can receive two bonus payments from Centrelink for him.
Being a recipient of FTB-B will automatically qualify you for the Single Income Family bonus payent of $900 for the household. You should also be entitled to the Back to School bonus of $950 for him as it sounds as if he meets the requirements and you recieve FTB-A for him. Both of these will be paid automatically between the 11th and 20th March.
The Working Australians Tax Bonus is separate again and not affected by any other bonuses you might be entitled to. If you qualify for the tax bonus, you will receive it into the account (or to the address) you nominated on your 2007/08 income tax return. The ATO have announced they expect to start paying this in early April. Providing you qualify for it, that’s another $900.
In short, if you are eligible for all three of these payments, you can and will receive all three.
With regard to your son who is an apprentice, his eligibility for the tax bonus depends largely on his income tax assessment for 2007/08. I’m not really familiar with the New Apprentice Scheme to add much more regarding his eligibilty for various bonus payments at this stage. I will see what I can find out for him though and report back if anything useful comes to light.
Hi!
I’m not sure how much I earnt from my part-time jobs last year (I’m at uni), but I didn’t get all my tax dollars refunded to me at tax return time. Is this a good sign that I’ll be getting the $900 pay-out come April, please?
Regards and many thanks,
Alexa
Hi Alexa,
Well, that’s not much to go on but it’s a promising start. It’s important to note the reason you didn’t get all your tax back. If it is because you had a tax liability for 2007/08, you’re looking good for the tax bonus.
However, if it was due to a Commonwealth debt (for instance, it was taken to repay an overpayment or a previous year tax liability), the ATO still consider you received it all back.
Hope that helps.
I’m a fulltime student and I get youth allowance, but I was working and put in a tax return for 07/08.. does this mean I get both bonus’?
Hi Chrystal,
If you qualify for more than one bonus, such as the Training and Learning and the Tax Bonus, you will receive both of these.
Keep in mind that in order to qualify for the tax bonus, you need to have had an adjusted tax liability for the financial year.
Easy check:
If you lodged a return and earned under $11,000, it’s a sure bet you wouldn’t qualify.
Detailed instructions:
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08 (this is the letter the ATO sent you after they processed the tax return you sent). There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided your offsets didn’t exceed your tax liabilities (ie. at the end of the day, you paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus. This is paid by the Tax Office from early April.
All other bonus payments are made automatically by Centrelink.
I hope that helps.
i hope you can help me this is my queerie i am a single mother with three children and i am on a disabilty pension and receive part a and part b family payment my children are aged 7,13,16( my eldest turning 16) june 2008 when payment stoped she doesnt receive any payment and i dont get her child support payments that i am suposed to be receiving and she is a fulltime student,Am i entitled to the $950 education bonus for this child ? please help
Hi Julie-Ann,
I’m a little bit confused so I want to be sure I have the facts right. As I understand it, you receive FTB A and B for your 7 and 13 year old, but no longer receive and payments for Miss 16? In addition, she is a full time student and not receiving any income support in her own name?
Can l ask too?
l have a feeling the news isn’t good but thats just a reflection of my year at present.
l tried to use the ATO calc thingo but it won’t take my figures so l’m doing something wrong.
Taxable Income $14654
A $1298.10DR
E 41.00CR
G 1298.10CR
L 41.00 CR
Thats a mix from working two part time night jobs while trying to keep a (failed) business afloat.
l’m totally lost, the notice of Assessment says something about Deferred non-commercial business loss ($3110)
The business was running for that tax year, its now closed as of Jan this year (still wading out of trouble).
Good news or bad?
Hi Kay,
I hate to be the one to pass along bad news, but you won’t qualify for the Tax Bonus based on your figures. You must have had an adjusted tax liability for the 2007/08 financial year. You’ll note that your rebates cancel out your tax liability entirely (even without considering losses carried foward). This would be the result of a low income tax offset of $750 and at least one other offset or rebate. The offsets are great news at tax time, but seem to have been a two-edged sword with the new one-off tax bonus nobody anticipated.
I’m sorry to hear your business did not work out well for you. I hope you’ll be over the headache of it soon (getting out can be more stressful than getting in sometimes).
Remember, just because you do not qualify for the tax bonus, doesn’t mean you may not be eligible for one of the other bonus payments available through Centrelink.
Best of luck
Christie
Hey again.
Thank you for that. l sort of knew in the back of my mind that my luck was going to stay the same.
Doors have been closed since Jan but l have to continue paying the lease until the end of March. Unemployed at the moment, no other family at home.
Alas, not eligable for anything else.
Thems the breaks, hey?
Thankyou once again for taking the time to answer.
Hi there I am pretty sure I qualify but want to know if it is possible to qualify twice?
I am a full time student so I receive Youth Allowance as I declared ‘independent’. I also work casually and I checked my NOA of 2007-08 and I earned over $15,000. So am I eligible for both payments? Do I receive $1800 in April?
Hi Geri,
It is possible to receive more than one bonus payment, provided you are eligible for more than one.
Tax Bonus: You’ll be pleased to know that your eligibility for the Tax Bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. Having a taxable income over $15,000 is a start but does not in itself qualify you. You must have had an adjusted tax liability.
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08 again. There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided your offsets didn’t exceed your tax liabilities (ie. at the end of the day, you paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus. This is paid by the Tax Office from early April.
Training & Learning Bonus: The T&L bonus is based on your entitlement at 3 Feb 2009. This payment is administered by Centrelink and expected to be paid automatically to qualifying individuals (such as students on Youth Allowance) between 24 March to 6 April 2009.
You can receive both the Tax Bonus and the Training & Learning payment. However, if anyone is eligible for the Back to School Bonus payment for you (such as if your parents collect Famiy Tax Benefit A for you), you would not receive the T&L bonus as they would get the Back to School payment for you instead.
I hope that helps.
Hi,
I was just wanting to know if im elligable?
I live away from home and I recieve Youth Allowance (Indepandant Rate)
I’m currentlly in year 12 and I did have a casual job last year… but i only made like $5000.00 and got my tax back…
Do you think ill get it???
Hi Cruz,
Eligibility for the Working Australians Tax Bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. You must have had an adjusted tax liability. As you earned under the tax-free threshold and received all your tax back, you would not qualify for this particular bonus payment.
However, independent students on Youth Allowance should be eligible for the one-off Training & Learning bonus of $950. You should contact Centrelink to check about your particular situation. If you are eligible for the T&L bonus it will be paid automatically by Centrelink between 24 March and 6 April 2009.
Regards,
Christie
Hi there,
I’m seeking clarification for my son’s eligibility regarding the $950 bonus.
He turned 18 on 3/1/09
He started full time UNI on 27/1/09
Casual work at Woollies resulted in a 2007/8 tax year refund notice which indicated:
Income $5930
A = 0
E = 1029
L= 1029
(There were no O and G items)
Is he entitled to the bonus?
Many thanks for your trouble.
Ted
Hi Ted,
My apologies for the delay in responding; I’ve just been flat-out.
Item A refers to Tax on Taxable Income (his unadjusted tax liability). As your son did not have any tax liability as he was under the tax-free threshold, he will not qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus.
That said, now that he’s a full-time uni student, either you or he might be eligible for one of the education bonus payments from Centrelink. This will depend on what, if any, benefits were received at 3 Feb 2009 in relation to your son.
Hi,
My annual income is around $77,000. This is my wage, and has been miuns a few dollar’s every year for the last 8 years.
However, last financial year I gained special permission via APRA to access my ‘super’ due to hardship to pay for costs associated with the sudden and unexpected death of a dependent.
This has raised my “taxable income” over the $100,000. Will this mean I am now ruled out of eligibility?
I noticed there are many other reasons people access there super apart from the death of a dependent. Do you have any advice for those in similar circumstances (ie accessed super to help with overburden on morgage, Care for a person with a terminal illness, Assist with medical/transport costs due to serious illness etc).
Hi Kate,
It’s an unfortunate circumstance and one I will give some more thought to. Perhaps we can see if there is an avenue of appeal available to you, though I do not feel confident about this.
A family member of mine is actually in the same boat. Their income is usually under $60K but due to a series of tragic hardships, they were forced to draw from super and have now found themselves above the income threshold for the tax bonus.
I wish I had more to offer you than my sympathies. Leave it with me, though, and when things settle down with workload, I’ll see what I can find out.
Hey Christie,
An update as I persued this further for anyone else that it may effect… You can appeal decisions of ineligibility based on your 07/08 return being affected by an APRA “Compassionate Grounds” payment.
The best way to go about this is to take your APRA approval letter to your local FEDRAL member for Parliment and have them write to the federal Treasurer Wayne Swans office on your behalf.
He has the dicretionary power to reverse a decision in “certian circumstances” and thus far his office has indicated APRA payments on commpassionate grounds due to death of dependents and /or illness will qualify as exempt income provided that your normal income in previous years reflects that you would otherwise qualify.
This process will take longer (at the moment its anywhere up to 8 weeks for a decision)… but if your entitled its worth it.
Thank you so much for sharing this extra information, Kate. I know of several people who will be very appreciative to you for taking the time to come back and post this.
Good luck with the appeal process…. as you say, it’s a bit of a wait but well worth it if you are entitled to it!
Hi,
I’m a little confused as to whether I qualify for the bonus due to the seemingly conflicting evidence which applies to my case.
Last financial year I earnt approximately $14,000 as a result of casual employment, and paid tax.
This points to eligibility for the bonus.
However, I am still living at home and my parents earn over the threshold in order to eligible for the bonus themselves,
This points to ineligibility for the bonus.
I am currently a full-time student (and was last year) and received Youth Allowance, however, the payments have stopped due to the fact I have changed university course, and my new course is not supported my the scheme. This means that I was assessed as independent from my parents, my independence still stands, it’s just that my university course is not currently covered by the centrelink/youth allowance system.
Either way, this points in eligibility for the bonus.
Any help is very appreciated.
Hi Marcus,
I’ll see if I can help with the confusion (and hopefully not add to it). Keep in mind that the Household Stimulus Package is a combination of several different bonus payments – each with their own criteria.
Tax Bonus:
The Working Australian Tax Bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. It is an individual entitlement and will not consider your parents income or their personal eligibility for the tax bonus.
You say you earned around $14,000. This is a good start, but does not in itself qualify you. You must be an Australian resident for tax purposes, have lodged your tax return and have had an adjusted tax liability.
I’m assuming you have done your tax (if not, get it in now or you risk missing out on the bonus altogether!). Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08. This is the letter that the Tax Office sent to you when they had processed your tax return….if you opted for a cheque refund, the cheque would have been attached to the bottom of this letter.
There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided your tax offsets didn’t exceed your tax liabilities (ie. at the end of the day, you paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus.
This is paid by the Tax Office from early April into the account or to the address you nominated as your preference on your tax return. If these details need updating – if you have moved or changed bank accounts – call the ATO hotline number 1300 686 636 before 15 March.
Other Payments:
All other bonus payments are administered by centrelink and are determined by your entitlement to certain benefits at 3 Feb 2009. If you’d like to know more on these, give me a yell.
I hope that helps.
Hi this is probably a silly question but if my husband earned $120,000 and i earned $17,915 then am i correct in assuming that i will not be eligable for the tax bonus?
thanks
Hi Mel,
The only silly question is the one you don’t ask. Actually I think it’s a great question.
The Working Australians Tax Bonus is assessed individually and based solely on each individual taxpayers 2007/08 income tax assessment. This means that even if your hubby earned above the threshold and will not qualify for the tax bonus himself, you still can. In fact, he could earn a million dollars and you could still be eligible (figure the logic of that one out!).
The same criteria will apply to your eligibility as to any other individual taxpayer. You must have lodged your tax return, be a resident for tax purposes and have had an adjusted tax liabilty for the financial year.
Basically, if you paid some tax yourself which was not offset or fully refunded, you should still qualify. See my earlier comments on how to calculate your eligibility using your Notice of Assesment or check out the new Online Tax Bonus Eligibility Calculator.
Hi
I am wondering if I am entitled to the bonus. I realise that its simply a matter of A plus O minus G but I am in the process of moving house so I have a lot of stuff – including my notice of assessment for 2007/08 from the ATO – in boxes.
Over 2007/08, I was on a wage of approximately $58,800 gross for four months (I guess thats about $14,500 gross for the four months), was solely reliant on Newstart Allowance for four months ( about $4,000 net, taxable though no tax taken I think), and then worked for a further four months for a gross amount of somewhere between $13,000 and $15,000
I received a refund for 2007/08 of approximately $4000. As far as I am aware, I was not entitled to any offsets or credits and I did not pay the Medicare levy. I am pretty sure that the sum arrived at after A plus O minus G will be more than zero but Im just emailing to check if it looks like I will be eligible for the bonus.
Many thanks.
John.
Hi John,
Based solely on the information you have given, I’d anticipate that you would have had some tax liability and therefore should be eligible for the tax bonus.
As you are moving, it’s important you give the ATO a call to update your details. They will inform you if you are not going to receive the bonus when you ring to do this. The hotline number is 1300 686 636. You should try to give a ring before 15 March if you can as payments are being made from early April.
Hi Christie
Thank you so much form your prompt reply to my query. I will update my deatils with the ATO this afternoon.
Cheers
John.
Thanks Christie for your quick reply to my question
Hi there
Am just wondering if the $900 working australians tax bonus is paid as a lump sum????
Hi Belinda,
Yes, the tax bonus will be paid as a single lump sum payment.
Hi there,
Hoping u can shed some light on this q…tried googling the answer but no luck. My stepfather was self employed as a sole trader for the majority of 2007-2008 Financial year. He no longer continues this business but I am sure that he earned about $50K. The issue is that he still has a current t debt to the ATO. I think he should be eligible given that his tax liabilty was more than $0, but will he get the $900 tax bonus with a tax debt?
Also the Single income bonus for FTB B, is that applicable to all families on FTB B or just those where only one partner works. I receive the payment however also work part time last year….would i still get that one?
Thanks again..
Hi Jacqueline,
Your stepfather will be pleased to know that the Tax Office have stated that the Working Australians Tax Bonus will not be used to offset any other tax office debts. Providing your stepdad qualifies for the payment, he will receive the tax bonus for himself and it won’t just be applied to his ATO account (as would usually happen).
The single income family bonus is for all families on FTB-B, even if there is a secondary earner. The only real condition is that you were entitled to the benefit at 3 Feb 2009. How much you can earn as the second income depends a little on the number and ages of your children. I assume you get FTB-B now and qualify. If not and you’d like to know more about it, just give me a yell and I’ll post the income thresholds which apply.
I hope that helps to answer some of your questions.
Hi
In the year of 2007-2008 my wage/salary and tax return was less then $80,000. Can I receive the bonus payment.
As it states above:
A $950 bonus will be paid to taxpayers with taxable income up to and including $80,000. (My salary and wages were under that amount for the financial year of 2007 – 2008).
Eligibility
You are eligible to receive the payment if:
you have lodged or will lodge your 2007-08 income tax return before 30 June 2009 or by the deferred date granted by the Tax Office (I have done this).
your 2007-08 taxable income is not more than $100,000 (my taxable income was not more then $100,000)
your adjusted tax liability for 2007-08 is greater than nil, and (don’t really understand that question).
you are an Australian resident for tax purposes (or were an Australian resident at some stage during 2007-08). (Yes, I am)
If you can please let me know if I am entitled to this benefit I would appreciate it.
Thanking you in advance.
Toula Andreadis
Hi Toula
An adjusted tax laibility is simply the ATO’s fancy way of saying that you paid tax.
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08. This is the letter that the Tax Office sent to you when they had processed your tax return….if you opted for a cheque refund, the cheque would have been attached to the bottom of this letter.
There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (code A) + Medicare Levy (code O) – Rebates and Other Credits (code G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided your tax offsets didn’t exceed your tax liabilities (ie. at the end of the day, you paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus.
This is paid by the Tax Office from early April into the account or to the address you nominated as your preference on your tax return. If these details need updating – if you have moved or changed bank accounts – call the ATO hotline number 1300 686 636 before 15 March.
I hope that helps.
Hi during 07/08 i eanred between 12-15k a year.
Paid all the tax etc….but am currently on the Newstart Allowance throught Centrelink. Was wondering if im eligible for the $900 payout.
thanks for your time
Hi Cameron,
The Tax Bonus is based solely on your 07/08 tax assessment so your situation now will have no bearing. So long as you had an adjusted tax liability in the 2007/08 financial year, you will be eligible for the tax bonus.
This would really depend on what tax offsets you were able to claim in your return. If you just had the low income tax offset and no other rebates, you should scrape in with a taxable income above $11,000.
If you still have your Notice of Assessment letter from the Tax Office, take another look at it. If your tax on taxable income (item A) plus Medicare (item O) minus Rebates and other credits (item G) is more than nil, you will receive the working australians tax bonus.
I hope that helps.
Hi there just wanted to know if i get anything.
Single mum.
Get ftb b….lodged tax return in 07/08.My wage was $24,000 paid around $4,000 tax.Got back around $1800.
Also havea 5 year old boy that is in grade 1 at primary school.What would i be elegible to get.
By the way i got my refund through my bank and have misplaced my assesment and the ato phone lines are always busy.What do u think.Thanx in advance
Hi Lisa,
As a recipient of FTB-B, you will receive the $900 single income family bonus payment for the household. If you also receive FTB-A for your son, you will get an additional $950 back to school bonus payment for him.
Both of these payments will be made by centrelink within the next week.
With regard to the tax bonus, it’s a little difficult to say for sure without knowing more. If you were a sole parent when you did your tax, you probably have a pensioner rebate which can significantly pull down your tax liability.
I can tell you that tax on taxable income of $24,000 is $2,700 (item A). At the very least you would have received the low income tax offset of $750 (item G), reducing your tax liability to $1,950. If that’s the only offset/rebate you think you had, then you’ll definately qualify.
The ATO are difficult to get through to at the best of times. Have you tried the Tax Bonus hotline? The number to call is 1300 686 636.
So if i put in a tax return in only 08 but was still paying tax half the year through 07 am i still eligable?
Hi Benjamin,
The 2007/08 tax return will include all your income from 1 July 2007 until 30 June 2008. So even if you only worked for part of that time, you could still qualify if you meet all the criteria for the tax bonus.
Hi,
I was a sole trader and earned under 100k/ last financial year. I havent paid my tax bill yet. Am I still eligable for the $900 bonus?
Thanks.
Hi Tanya,
The good news is that you will still receive the bonus. The Tax Office have stated that the Working Australians Tax Bonus will not be used to offset any other tax office liabilities.
Hi,
I did not get a tax refund last year- i had a bill to pay to the taxation office.
i earnt over 15000.
i was also a student recieving youth allowance until november.
does this mean that i am eligible for both payments or no payments?
thankyou for your time.
Hi Emma,
If your tax bill was due to your 2007/08 income tax assessment (and not something like a previous year debt), it sounds as if you will qualify for the $900 working australians tax bonus.
As for the Training & Learning bonus, I’m afraid you would need to have been in a full-time course and receiving Youth Allowance at 3 Feb 2009 in order to qualify for that one.
Hi,
Im on youth allowance and I was do full time school until 2 weeks ago do I get the tax pay out??
Thank you.
Hi Krystal,
The Household Stimulus Package is a combination of several bonus payments – all with various criteria – and the tax bonus being just one of the $900 payments.
Eligibility for the tax bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. For this you would need to have lodged your tax return and had an adjusted tax liability (which means you earned above $11,000 and your tax offsets didn’t equal your tax liability).
Now, if you were on Youth Allowance at 3 Feb and considered a full-time student at that date, you might qualify for Centrelink’s Training & Learning bonus of $950 or, depending on your situation, the extended Education Entry Payment Supplement.
Your best bet would be to contact Centrelink to see if you will qualify for any of these bonus payments.
i was just wondering if my son was going to get the $900. his tax for last year was as follows (a) 1206.60 (e) 1929.00 (G) 750.00 i have read other comments and tried to work it i think i did work it that he does get it but i was to make sure.
thank you
Hi Sharon,
Yes, your son will qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus. This is going to be paid automatically by the ATO from early next month.
The payment will be made into the bank account or posted to the address your son nominated on his tax return. If bank account details need to be updated, you can call the automated hotline on 1300 686 636 (this should be done ASAP).
Regards,
Christie
What Happens If you only started working in the 08/09 Financial year I am a It Trainee Working for local goverment because i am 4 years out of school i earn too much to claim any sort of payment so i am a bit confused. am i going to get the payment or not ?? i did finish uni in the 07/08 tax period but i had no taxable earnings
Hi Luke
The Working Australians Tax Bonus is based solely on an individuals 2007/08 income tax assessment. Unfortunately, this is not good news for you.
I’m afraid that, even though you have taxable income to declare this financial year, for the purposes of the current tax bonus you will not qualify.
I hate telling people that…
I am overseas student and australian resident for tax purpose. I did my TAX return in 2008 and it was less than 10K.Will i be eligible for 900 bonus?
Hi Nitesh,
It depends a little bit on what your tax-free threshold was for the finacial year.
Generally, the answer would be no as you wouldn’t have earned enough to have a tax libaility. However, if you were only a resident for part of the year – and therefore your tax-free threshold was pro-rata – you could have had a tax liability and should therefore qualify for the bonus.
Without knowing the specifics, I cannot say for certain but hopefully, you’ll have a better idea based on what I’ve mentioned.
To check if you do qualify using your Notice of Assessment letter, see my comments.
Over the 2007/2008 finacial year i had a part time job i earnt over $900 but i only payed a dollar tax. If i do a tax return will i be eligible for the $950 bonus?
Hi Teagan,
I’m afraid you wouldn’t qualify for the bonus.
If you do a tax return, you will receive your $1 tax back. In order to be eligible for the tax bonus, you must have had a tax liability (ie. at the end of the day, you’ve paid tax after offsets and rebates). The tax-free threshold is $6,000 and the low income tax offset for 07/08 effectively brought this amount up to $11,000 before an individual is required to pay tax. If a person earned under this amount, they will be refunded any tax they have had witheld from income when they lodge their tax return.
The good news is you didn’t have to pay tax last financial year. The bad news is this means you will miss out on the tax bonus.
I was wondering i did in the year 07/08 i did claim tax but i was on newstart allownce for a full year before working does this include making it about the 11,000 to be eligible for the $900, i only worked for 3 weeks before tax time only claiming $225 and got it all back from work but didnt pay tax from newstart, i would just like to know if i will be getting this one off payment because i dont know if newstart and the job counts together, thankyou kindly
Hi Melanie,
Newstart Allowance is taxable income, just the same as your employment would have been. So, yes, they will add together for tax purposes.
You must have lodged your 2007/08 tax return to be considered for the tax bonus. Assuming you have done this, your Newstart should have been included with any other income on your return. Tax deductions, however, reduce your total income.
Income – Deductions = Taxable Income
To have any chance of receiving the bonus your taxable income would need to have been above $11,000. This figure takes into account the low income tax offset in 2007/08.
The surest way to calculate your eligibility for the Tax Bonus is to look at your 2007/08 Notice of Assessment from the Tax Office (that’s the letter they send you after they have processed your tax refund). Do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side: A + O – G.
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits)
If this comes to an amount more than nil, you had a tax liability and will qualify.
I expect you will not have an O label as you would be under the Medicare threshold so if your ‘tax on taxable income’ is more than ‘tax offsets and other credits’ you should automatically receive the bonus payment.
When i sent the email the page went blank did you get an inquiry from me?
07-08 fy 65949 earned 989 medicare 12773 tax assesed. retired sep 08 now on gov pension. do i qualify for anything.
regards
Hi Terry,
It’s a little difficult to tell without knowing exactly which tax offsets or rebates you were able to claim. For instance, if you had a lot of medical expenses or franking credits that year, it can reduce your ultimate tax liability.
Having said that, with an income around $65,000 you should still qualify.
The working australians tax bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. Even though you are on a gov pension today, if you had an adjusted tax liability in 2007/08 you will still automatically receive the bonus.
This is being paid between early April and late June, depending on how early you got your tax return in. The funds will be deposit into the account you nominated on your tax return, or else to the last postal address on file with the Tax Office.
Enjoy your retirement!
hi i’m on a dsp and was wondering how much if anything i will get? my daughter is in early intervention but is only 3 years old and my wife doesnt work she looks after both my daughter and me?
Hi i was wondering if someone could answer my question for me?
I lodged my 07/08 tax last year, but i am studing full time this year and am eliglble for the training and learning bonus, so i was wondering if i would recieve both payments.
Hi Ziggy,
The Working Australians Tax Bonus is completely separate to any Centrelink-administered payments and based solely on an individuals 2007/08 income tax assessment.
If you qualify for the tax bonus (you had an adjusted tax liability, etc), you will receive this bonus from the ATO regardless of whether or not you receive any other bonus payments.
Hi.hope you can help, am i eligible for the bonus i am in my last year of bankruptcy,and wondering if i will still get the 900,I work part time
thank you for your time Barb
Hi Barb
This was a tricky question which is why I was a little longer responding. LOL
Today the Tax Office confirmed the following:
“The tax bonus will be a direct payment to taxpayers through EFT or cheque. The tax bonus will not be used to offset a taxpayer’s tax liability and will not be available for other agency intercepts.”
I have to assume that if you are eligible for the tax bonus (have lodged your 07/08 tax return and had an adjusted tax liability, etc) you will receive the bonus directly. As such, your bankrupt status should have no bearing on eligibility nor be available to offset other debts.
Hey i have read through all the other posts but i still cant figure out wether i get the bonus or not. I finished school in 2007, started full time uni in 2008, and i have to wait the 18 months from when i finish school and earn the $18k to proove dependent so i can start getting youth allowance. I have still got 2 months until the 18 months is up but i have already earnt well over the $18k. Im 19, and lodged the 07/08 tax return but got all of my tax money back.
Thanks for any help
Hi Jarrod,
The tax bonus is based solely on your 07/08 income tax assessment.
As you received all of your tax back, there was no ‘adjusted tax liability’. I’m afraid this disqualifies you for the Working Australians Tax Bonus. In order to be eligible, you must have had some out-of-pocket tax.
I am a student and worked part-time last year. My tax return was like 100 bucks or so. However I didn’t lodge the income tax return since I was overseas at the moment and I’ve lost that sheet with all the tax details my employer gave to me. Is there any possibility the tax office will find out that I have acturally paid income tax last year and make me eligible for the bonus?
thanks heaps
HI Christine
I’m afraid that one of the criteria for the tax bonus is that you must lodge your 2007/08 tax return with the ATO before 30 June 2009.
Another important criteria is that you had an adjusted tax liability. In reality, for this to happen taxable income would need to have been above $11,000. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset in 2007/08. Most people with a taxable income under this amount would receive all of their tax back,. They would therefore not have had an adjusted tax liability and would not qualify for the tax bonus.
I wish I had better news for you.
hi there .just heard someone has lodged case against gov in relation to tax bonus that it is against the constitution. Can you put some light on this. If he wins the case what would happen. Would we still be getting bonus or not. Thanks
Hi Karen,
As a person with a keen interest in constitutional law, I will be watching this case closely. I’m sure the rest of Australia will be too, but for different reasons.
The case is brought by UNE law lecturer Bryan Pape and due to appear before the High Court March 30. The case highlights the old debate about whether the Commonwealth has been breaching the constitution by spending money on programs that can only validly be funded by the states.
The first question of fact will be whether or not the tax bonus is tied to taxation law or is it really a ‘gift’. This is important because it helps determine if the tax bonus is valid or not. In order to make it valid it must come under some head of power. The Commonwealth has only those powers specifically outlined in the constitution. All other matters (residual powers) fall to the individual states.
In theory, if Mr Pape proved a case in the High Court the tax bonus, as it stands today, would not be valid. The Australian Taxation Office has told the High Court that if it is to stop printing cheques it needs to be told by the close of business on April 2.
However, the states and territories are expected to join the hearing and intervene. Earlier this week it was reported that NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, was considering participating to prevent “unintended consequences” for the state. He was quoted as saying, “The NSW Government has absolutely no issue with the distribution of tax bonuses.”
I’ll keep you updated on the progress of this…
hi not sure if sent previous question correctly so apologise if already received i am retired with part australian pension but main pensions come from overseas and are taxable i lodge my return last year and paid tax, do i get the bonus or forfit it because i am retired thank you for the time and effort you have put in to helping everyone
Hi Shirley,
The actual make-up of your sources of income will not matter. Provided you meet the eligibity criteria for the tax bonus, you will still qualify for it.
I have edit the original post to include a link to an eligibilty calculator you might like to use.
Have a great day!
Hello i am 18 years old and i did my tax return i was on youth allowance last year and it stopped this year will i get the Tax rebate cose i was on youth allowance last year or do i have to be on it this year?
Hi Izaak
The Working Australian Tax Bonus is based solely on an individuals 2007/08 income tax assessment. one of the main qualifications eligibility is determined by is that there must have been an adjusted tax liability for the financial year. In ordinary terms, this simply means that after tax rebates you still paid some tax at the end of the day.
In reality, for this to happen taxable income would need to have been above $11,000. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset in 2007/08. In most cases, anyone with a taxable income under $11,000 would have received all of their tax back. If there is ultimately no tax paid, there is no adjusted tax liability and, unfortunately, no tax bonus.
In order to check to see if you might qualify, take a look at your 07/08 Notice of Assessment letter from the Tax Office. This is the letter that the Tax Office sent to you when they had processed your tax return….if you opted for a cheque refund, the cheque would have been attached to the bottom of this letter. There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the resulting amount is more than nil, you will automatically receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Hi,
I’m a full time student and I’ve already been notified that I’ll be recieving the learning and training type payment. My question relates to the other kind of bonus. I earnt about $20 000 last year and didn’t claim the tax free threshold on my casual job so I paid a lot of tax last year. But when I got my tax return back I didn’t get all my tax back. However, when I asked ATO why not they said it was because I hadn’t paid enough tax. So pretty much I was meant to get a bit over $1000 but only ended up getting $500 because of the tax debt I had. I also paid the medicare levy if that makes any difference! I’m not sure whether this means I qualify for the “tax bonus for working australians” as well as the learning and training bonus..
Any help would be great!
Thanks!
Hi Kendall,
I am going to assume you had a prior year tax debt or a compulsory HELP repayment to make as you didn’t actually state what this ‘tax debt’ relates to. Not to worry, it should not effect your eligibility for any bonus.
Your eligibilty for the tax bonus is based solely on your 2007/08 income tax assessment. The main thing is that you had an adjusted tax liability.
The surest way to calculate your eligibility for the Tax Bonus is to look at your 2007/08 Notice of Assessment from the Tax Office (that’s the letter they send you after they have processed your tax refund). Do the following calculation with the figures on the right hand side: A + O – G. No other labels matter for this calculation.
A (Tax on Taxable Income) + O (Medicare Levy) – G (Tax Offsets and Other Credits)
If this comes to an amount more than nil, you had a tax liability and will qualify. If you did not have more than a low income tax offset in label G, you should qualify quite easily.
Hi,
could you please help me out.
im not sure if i will receive the $900 payment.
on the paper my work gave me it showed i earnt $5,962.00, but once i lodged my tax return, the taxation department sends out a letter right.
and on that it said my taxable income was $6011.00 ( im guessing thats due to interests etc).
will i still get the payment?
Thanks
HI Casey,
It would help to know if you were under 18 at the time and if you had other income (such as from trust distributions or interest, etc).
The easiest way for you to check your eligibilty is to have that Notice of Assessment letter handy and click over to the ATO Tax Bonus Eligibilty Calculator. You can find it located at http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/axos.asp?CONTEXT=&KBS=ESB.xr4&go=ok
I am eligable for the centrelink payment for youth allowance and am recieving it tomorrow. I am also eligable for the tax bonus of $900 because I earnt under 80,000 last year. Will I get both or do I get only one of these payments??
Hi Ashlee
If you qualify for both of these payments, you will receive them both. The Centrelink-administered bonus payments and the tax bonus are completely separate and eligibilty for one does not affect entitlement to the other.
Please note that eligibility for the tax bonus is a little more than simply earning under $80,000. There must have also been an adjusted tax liability. See my response to kendall a couple of comments up for an explanation of this or simply visit the Tax Bonus Eligibilty Calculator linked to in my previous comment above to check your entitlement.
The Tax Bonus will be paid directly by the Tax Office beginning next week, with the first round of payments going to taxpayers who lodged their returns on time (prior to 31 Oct 2008). This will be paid into the account, or to the address, you nominated as your preference on your last tax return.
Hi, i am under 18 and have done my tax return for 07/08 will i recive any of this tax bonus ?? i am also a full time student.
thankyou, Samuel
Hi Samuel
If you qualify for the bonus, you will receive it. Basically, you would need to have had an adjusted tax liability. Also, being under 18, your income must have include some part of ‘excepted’ income (that’s money you earned and wasn’t just all from a trust distribution or interest).
In reality – if your income was from working – for this to happen taxable income would need to have been above $11,000. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset in 2007/08.
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08. This is the letter that the Tax Office sent to you when they had processed your tax return….if you opted for a cheque refund, the cheque would have been attached to the bottom of this letter. There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G. If the amount is more than nil, you will automatically receive the tax bonus payment.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
Provided tax on taxable income is the biggest figure there (ie. at the end of the day, you still paid some tax) you will automatically receive the tax bonus.
Hi, if i get all my tax returned on PY08-09, but if i apply amend my tax now, whether i can receive $900 bonus later?
Thank you
Vivien
Hi
taxable income $21,148,tax on taxable income $2272.20,tax withheld $2765,tax offsets $1112…i got a refund of $1,604 wich included baby bonus pro rata as my son was born in 03.I was on the old baby bonus system.The refund also includes child care rebate.
Do u think i am liable to get $900 tax bonus?
HI Lisa,
At a quick glance, I would say you should qualify for the tax bonus. Your Label A appears to exceed your Label G, so that typically indicates an adjusted tax liability which is what you want to see when you’re looking for the tax bonus.
Hello,
Firstly I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read my question.
My question is, am I eligible to get the tax bonus if I am not currently working. I stopped work at the end of 2008, however, I did work during the 2007-2008 period, I have done your calculation( A+O-G) by looking at my Notice of Assessment for the year ending 30 June 2008 and the result is an amount above nil.
Thanks and much appreciated.
Hi Sue,
The tax bonus is based solely on your 07/08 income tax assessment, so as long you had an adjusted tax liability for that financial year, it won’t matter how long you worked for or what your situation is today.
It sounds from your calculation that you will qualify. If you want to double-check, the ATO do have an online calculator you can use also. The link to access this is http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/axos.asp?CONTEXT=&KBS=ESB.xr4&go=ok
I hope that helps.
Hi,
I’m not too sure whether or not I qualify, and I lost my notice of assesment.
I’m not yet 18, studied full time last year and earned something in the area of $7500 from partime work and holiday work. On this alone, I know that I am ineligible. But I was also recieving youth allowance from around late July 07-January 09. I recieved the full payment for the majority of the 07-08 financial year, due to accumulated credit from my periods of not working/earning under limit per fortnight.
So in summary my net income for 2007-2008 financial year was: around $7500 from work, and around $8-9000 from youth allowance. Am I eligivle for the tax bonus?
Hi Dylan,
Naturally, it will depend a bit on what tax rebates you claimed. I can tell you that based on somethihng like $7500 from working and $8000 from Youth Allowance, you would still have a small adjusted tax liability (around $375) if you only received the Low Income Tax Offset and the Social Security Beneficiary Offset.
Obviously, if you had large medical expenses to claim or significant franking credits, your rebates would be higher and this might wipe out any tax liability.
I hope that helps.
Gday Christie,
first off let me thank you for taking the time to read my query
Just wondering if Id be eligible for the benefit? (earned 12133)
Taxable Income (A) is 919.95
PAYG witholding credits (E) – 1318
Tax offsets and other credits (E) – 750.00
Balance of this assessment (L) – 1148.05
so basically I got 1148.05 back.. not sure if i paid any tax. I’m not too great at this whole tax thing
Thanks in advance!
Hi Dave,
Good news!
You did pay tax… a total of $169.95. Not a bad price to pay for a $900 tax bonus.
Thankyou very much. that was a great help. If im am correct what your saying is enen if i only earned $6000 or there about and paid some amont of tax i will get the bonus?? thankyou Samuel.
So what your saying is that fi a got all the tax back at the end of it all i will not recivece the tax bonus?? samuel
Yes, that’s right. If you received all of your tax back then you would have had no adjusted tax liability and, therefore, no tax bonus.
Hi there, I submitted a return last year, however I only started working in Australia mid June. I was paying above threshold tax. Do I qualify for the bonus?
Hi Sam,
This will depend on a few things, including whether or not you were what the Tax Office call an Australian resident for tax purposes during the 2007-08 financial year.
Residency:
The ATO use several tests to satisfy the ‘resident for tax purposes’ criteria. The first of these is the resides test. If this test is satisfied, there is no need to apply any others. Secondary tests include the domicile test, the 183 day rule and the superannuation test.
The ATO have an online Determination of Residency questionaire you could use to help work out residency status for tax purposes.
As you have lodged your 2007/08 tax return, I expect this will be judged by whether or not you indicated your status as being a resident for tax purposes on the tax return. Assuming that you were a resident for tax puposes, eligiblity will then be the same as for any other taxpayer; there must have been an adjusted tax liability.
Adjusted Tax Liability:
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment for 2007/08. This is the letter that the Tax Office sent to you when they had processed your tax return. There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures. The calculation is simply A+O-G.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
If the resulting figure is an amount more than nil, you will automatically receive the tax bonus payment.
Hi,
You are doing a wonderful job here. I have question – my wife did not lodge tax returns last year as she did not work at all and her income was zero. Is she eligible for tax bonus?
Regards,
Hi Bhushan
I’m afraid that your wife will not be eligible for the tax bonus. In order to qualify she must have lodged her 2007/08 income tax return and earned enough to have generate a tax liability for the financial year.
I have been to the calculator and worked it out that way and it says that I am eligible for the bonus. What is confusing me however is the point that says I have to have paid tax for the year.
When I look at my notice of assessment:
Labal A: 1685.55
Label F: 2024.00
Label G: 750
Label L: 1088.45
Other amounts payable: 1088.45
Amount payable: 0.00
Where the other amount payable is an integrated client account: my ABN
Does this mean I don’t get a tax bonus because I didn’t pay any tax, or do I still get it because label F is not included in the calculation?
Please help
Thanks
Julian
Hi Julian
As far as the ATO are concerned, you did pay tax in the way of your PAYG instalments raised (Label F),
The tax on your taxable income was $1,685.55. You were entitled to the full low income tax offset of $750 which gives you an adjusted tax liability of $935.55.
It appears you had a tax debt of the PAYG instalments accrued in the amount of $2024.00. This acts as a credit for your personal income tax account and so this is why the balance of your assessment (label L) was [(2024-935.55) = 1088.45]. If you did not have an ICA account, the assessment balance would normally be refunded to you. In this case, the ATO have applied it against your ICA. Basically, you are paying your tax for 07/08 now via your ICA.
And after all my babbling on there, I forgot the most important part… yes, you will get the tax bonus!
I earned less than $6000 last year but lodged a tax return.
I am a part time student and am not entitled to centerlink payments because i work part time and go to school part time because i need the money.
am i entitled to the $900 bonus???
I erally hope so because i need the money and not just that, i worked really hard but couldnt have earnt more than 6000 because I was also at school.
thanks
Hi Sophie,
In order to receive the Working Australians Tax Bonus a person must have lodged their 2007/08 income tax return and had an adjusted tax liability, This simply means that, after tax rebates, they paid some tax for the financial year.
As you probably already know, being under the tax-free threshold, you are not going to qualify for the tax bonus as you did not pay tax.
I wish I had better news for you, Sophie.
Great! Thanks alot for that!. I would have used the formula that you posted up before but I noticed that I didnt have that medicare levy on my notice of assessment so I wasnt sure.
Thanks again, have a great day!
@Dave, I’m curious to know how people plan to spend their tax bonus payments.
What do you say, Dave…. how would you like to help me kick off the discussion here?
hey,
i earned around $6000 dollars last year as i had just come outta school and started working and when it came round to tax time ended up geting it all back.will i still get the tax bonus???
and also,will i get it for being an apprentice although i haven’t began tafe just yet.???
cheeeers : )
Hello Christie!
Im just wondering am i eligible for tax bonus
This is my NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT(For the year ending 30 June 2008)
Your Taxable Income is $11135
Tax on Taxable Income (A) $770.25 DR
PAYG withholding Credits (E) $1101.00 CR
Tax Offsets and Other Credits (G) $750 CR
Balance of this Assessment (L) $1080.75 CR
Im not really good with number and everything about tax.
I wish I have a good news
Cheers
Hi Julius
It seems that you have just scraped in by twenty bucks! It’s good news for you.
Im happy hearing goood news from you,Christie!
Thank you very much for all you information.
@Julius,
Help me out, Julius…. inquiring minds want to know (well, my inquiring mind anyway). Do you have any plans for the bonus payment yet?
Tell us about it (or cast a vote) in the post I’ve created here.
r they doing the tax package by postcode or alphabetically and what states have already received theirs
@sallly,
Hi Sally,
I’ve answered this a few times accross a couple of different posts today (easy to miss as there are so many tax bonus threads) so I’m going to be a bit slack and copy and paste one of my previous responses:
It’s not alphabetically! We have had bonus payments for clients jumping from C to Y and back up to A again in no real pattern.
The ATO have said that payments will be made in stages depending on when tax returns were lodged.
People who have received their 2007-08 notice of assessment before 27 March 2009 can expect to receive their payment between now and 16 May 2009.
Those who received their notice of assessment after 27 March 2009 can expect their tax bonus payment around four weeks after they received their notice of assessment.
I am convinced they are not strictly being processed according to lodgement dates as I have seen taxpayers who lodged within the last few months receive their bonus ahead of those who lodged July last year!
I guess the main thing is that they are being distributed and most people can expect to see their bonus before May 16. I’m curious… what do you have planned for your bonus?
Who knows…it may even be in your account tomorrow! (by the way, if you used a tax agent to lodge your return for you, they should be able to give you a date).
hello
i have heard many different theories so i not to sure if i am eligible.
i payed worked a couple of weeks last financial year, will receive about $70 tax back
also i have not done my tax yet.
i have heard that if you earned under $1100 last financial year that you are not eligible for the bonus?
am i eligible?
thanks
@gary,
Hi Gary,
First of all, you need to lodge your tax return. Better you have that $70 back in your pocket than the tax office keep hold of it!
What you have heard is basically right. In order to be eligible for the Tax Bonus you must have lodged your 07/08 tax return (or do so before June 30), be an Australian resident for tax purposes, earned under $100,00 and had an adjusted tax liability. This simply means you paid some tax for the financial year after rebates.
For most people, this would require a taxable income of at least $11,000. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset in 2007/08. Anyone who receives all of their tax back, would not have had an adjusted tax liability and would not qualify for the tax bonus.
Unfortunately, it sounds as if you will not be eligible for the $900 bonus. Don’t let that stop you from lodging your return. Etax is still available at the ATO website. $70 back is better than nothing.
Felt compelled to tell you what a breath of fresh air you are Christie Lewis. You have contributed so generously of your own time, to answer all these queries. I hope your good name will be foremost in the minds of readers of this blog when looking for taxation help in future years.
@Rox,
Thank you, Rox. I really appreciate that.
I think you just made my day.
Hi again christie,
I still waiting for tax bonus right now, but some of my friends already got it.
And they start shoping and pay their credit cards.
I just wondering why until now I still havent received yet?
Maybe something wrong with ATO system or may be some mistaken?
I dont know about that and just trying to found out the problem, or still keep waiting until 16th May.
Do you have any idea or suggestion for my jealousy?
Thank you Christie for your hard work to keep your blog up to date.
@Julius,
It’s not time to panic yet, Julius.
The ATO have set May 16 as the date most people should have received the payment by. The tax bonus is going out to over 7 million people… that’s a whole lot of payments to process.
I’m sensing that the anticipation is excruciating for a lot of people. I’ve already received mine (which is really annoying to those who haven’t). While you are waiting, maybe you can convince one of your newly cashed-up friends to take you out. You can take them out when yours comes through.
i dont really understand this whole thing! i earnt under 1100 but didnt get all of my tax back so that means that i actually paid tax. do i still get it?????
@brad,
Hi Brad,
Well, that depends on why you did you not receive all of your tax back.
If it were made up of non-excepted income (from interest or trust distribution, etc) and you are under-18, that money is taxed at the highest marginal rate and different rules apply when it comes to elgibilty for the tax bonus.
If you had a previous Government debt your refund could have been applied towards that (Centrelink overpayment, Child Support arrears, a compulsory HELP repayment, etc).
Or, more commonly, you’re under 18, did your own tax return and failed to fill in the under 18 adjustment correctly so you were taxed more than you should have been.
There are probably a few other reasons but these would be the most common. Do any of these sound like they could fit your situation? Knowing why will help determine whether or not you’ll qualify for the bonus.
i meant 11000 lol it was just under so im not really sure?
I’m so angry….i earnt $10 837. Thats $163 short of the $11 000 minimum, and i’m not entitled to this 900. Um hello……..i need it more than the rich people. it makes no sense to me at all. the poor people must stay poor. i can’t wait till i die……….
please explain it to me in plain simple english why i won’t get it !!! thankyou.
@David B,
Hi David,
I guess the most basic explanation would be that you must have paid tax in order to receive the tax bonus. That’s the short answer. The rest of this comment is just my rambling on about it (ie. the loooonng answer).
Simply put, most taxpayers who earned under $11,000 cannot qualify as they would not have paid tax (or any tax they had paid would be credit to them).
This is because the tax-free threshold is currently $6,000 and the low income tax offset (LITO) effectively bumped that figure up to $11,000 for the 07/08 financial year. With LITO, low income earners didn’t pay any tax until they reached the $11,000 mark at least. This threshold could be even higher if a taxpayer were able to claim other offsets also. We use $11,000 as a typical starting point but it can vary considerably depending upon each individual’s actual return.
For instance, some Centrelink recipients will also be entitled to a Social Security Beneficiary tax offset in their tax assessment and pensioners (including single parents) get a rather generous Pensioner tax offset. At tax time, this is great news for these people (they pay less, if any, tax and usually get a good refund) but it has certaintly been a double-edged sword now with the tax bonus in play.
On the other end, I know personally of at least two cases involving very low income earners who were forced to access their super early in order to meet desperate and immediate needs (this being significant medical/care expenses and subsequent funeral costs). Though they are no better off financially in any real sense, they do not qualify for the tax bonus as the early super payout has pushed them above the tax bonus upper limit for that year.
As regular readers probably suspect, I’m not a big fan of the household stimulus package overall, though I am thrilled for the many individuals who have benefit from it. Those who are running the show anticipated the stimulus package would reach around 80% of Australian families with at least one bonus payment. The package, despite its many shortcomings (and as much I object to it from both economic and sociological standpoints), has seemed to have accomplished its delivery goal.
I’m really curious to know if you managed to receive one of the Centrelink-administered bonuses or if you missed out on all of those aswell? I have no doubt that cold hard cash would be a lot more comforting than anything else right now. All I can really do is sympathise with your frustrations and remind you that if you ever need a place to vent, you know where to find us.
I did warn you everything after the first sentence was my rambling on.
@Christie,
I meant to mention that for the 08/09 financial year the low income tax offset (LITO) is moving up from $750 to a whopping $1,200. This means adult taxpayers eligible for the full LITO will not pay tax until their annual income exceeds $14,000 (up from $11,000).
This amount reduces by four cents in every dollar of taxable income above $30,000 until it erodes entirely at $60,000.
thanx for the prompt reply Christie. I didnt get anything from centrelink either. Don’t misunderstand, i did work during the last financial year as well as recieve centrelink benefits as well. sadly for 3 months i had zero income. i just can’t understand why the people who need the money wont get it. if i was paid up to 80 grand a year i wouldn’t need it would i. who worked it out. even pensioners got a payment late last year, and they earn more than me. i earn a whole $190 p/w. im now down to eating once every 3 or 4 days. see where i’m coming from. i need it more, at this moment, than the rich. i’m close to the edge…….
sorry i can rant as well……..lol
again thanx for getting back to me
That has to really stink for you…. especially when it seems like every man and his dog (or at least any household with a child) was receiving Centrelink bonuses.
I have to get home to bed soon else I’ll be a wreck in the morning (what kind of crazy woman is still half-working/half-procrastinating at this hour anyway), but I’d love to email you when I get a chance if you can handle more of my rambling. Feel free to post your email addy or send it to me privately at christie@lewistaxation.com.au. In the meantime, try to stay a decent distance away from ‘the edge’ and if venting helps, by all means, vent away. You should hear how some of my otherwise repectable friends reacted when I told them they missed out!
Hey Christie,
I’m very curious about the way they are doing the tax bonus payments.
Myself and My Partner both lodged our payments at the same time, and based at the same address, yet this morning [at 5am] She had received her tax bonus already, and I checked mine, and had not received mine yet… been checking every hour on the hour, but still nothing. and I’m starting to worry…
Any information would be a bonus.
@Nicholas T,
Hi Nicholas,
First of all, checking every hour is only prolonging your suffering (a watched pot and all that). It may be different for personal accounts, but when we receive payments for clients into our trust account (including the bonus payment), the ATO deposits are always processed just after midnight. If a payment is not showing by that time, it won’t be there any other time that day. Again, this might not be the case for tax bonus payments going directly to taxpayers but it’s worth keeping in mind.
No need to worry as you are not alone. We’ve seen similiar situations within our own client base where one partner has received their bonus and the other is still waiting, despite lodging them together.
In theory the tax bonus payments were meant to be distributed according to when a taxpayer lodged their return, ie. if you lodged on time, you’re in round one. (I’m not confident this is being strictly applied as we’ve experienced several exceptions come through this office but that’s another matter).
I wouldn’t panic yet. With the bonus going out to over 7 million people, even the first stage of payments is expected to last until May 16. I wish I could offer you a reasonable explanation of why you are waiting anxiously while your partner has their cash already. We are dealing with a Government Department here…. there probably is no reasonable explanation.
Rest assured, if you are entitled to the bonus, it will arrive eventually. Now, should the worse happen and May 16 comes while your money has not, then it’s action time. In that case, give us a yell and we’ll point you in the right direction.
Thanks Christine.
@Nicholas T,
Hi again, Nicholas.
I’m shocked to learn that there actually is a reasonable explanation. Please see my latest post here.
Hey you have probably already answered this question a few times, but i will ask it anyway. If i was employed as full time last year for the 07/08 tax lodge, but was under 18 at the time and living away from home are there any different rules that apply to me as far as this stimulus package is concerned?
@lucas,
Hi Lucas,
You can still qualify for the tax bonus. The only additional requirement for under 18′s is that you had some excepted income or were an excepted person. Typical excepted income would be money that you earned yourself. It sounds like that fits your situation as your income was from employment. Once that is satisfied, the same eligibilty applies as it does to any other taxpayer (ie. resident for tax purposes, under $100,000 taxable income and had an adjusted tax liability).
I hope that helps.
Just wondering if this makes me eligible for the $900?
Taxable Income – $16097
Tax on Taxable Income (A) – $ 1514.55
PAYG Withholding Credits (E) – $900
Tax Offsets and Other Credits (G) – $753
Balance of Assessment (L) – $138.45
Label O doesnt exist – $0.00
Am i Eligile
@Krystal McFarlane,
Hi Krystal,
Assuming you are over 18 (or your income was from working), it looks like you will automatically qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus based on the figures you have provided. This will be paid into the bank account or to the address you nominated as your preference on your 2007/08 income tax return.
I hope that helps.
I am currently a student claiming centrelink youth allowance, but I also work part time time. I recieved my $950 from centrelink on Feb 3. I was wondering if I will be recieving a payment from the ATO also? My taxable income for 2007-2008 was around about $26,000.
@Jasmine,
Hi Jasmine,
If you are also eligible for the Working Australians Tax Bonus you will also receive that one through the Tax Office too.
Take a look at your Notice of Assessment letter (that’s the letter the ATO sent you after they processed your tax return). There are assessment codes down the right-hand side of the letter corresponding with various figures.
The calculation is simply A+O-G.
Tax on Taxable Income (A) + Medicare Levy (O) – Rebates and Other Credits (G): if any of these items are missing, you can ignore them for this calculation.
If the calculation results in an amount greater than zero, you will automatically qualify for the tax bonus.
I hope that helps.
Just wondering when I did my tax return I was a @ highschool earning just a very small amount of money, If I got all my tax back i’m not able to get the payment correct?
Thanks
@James,
Hi James,
That’s right. In order to qualify, you must have had an adjusted tax liability. This means you need to have paid some tax for the financial year. If you received it all back, I’m afraid you’ll miss out on the tax bonus.
Who on earth comes up with these ridiculous and unfair formulas? Once again, it looks like those that really need it, aren’t eligible.
For example…..
My gross wages from last year was over $100,000 but because this was reduced by offsets to just under, I get $250.
However, my son who was a first year apprentice (awful wages as it is) for most of last financial year, had the misfortune of getting all his tax back, so doesnt get any of this bonus!
@Karen,
I hear you, Karen. It’s been a bit of a talking point around here lately too, especially as we’re seeing so much of this first-hand.
I guess the theory was that those on low incomes would have received some Centrelink bonus payment instead. Of course, most of those bonuses depend upon the person being in receipt of Centrelink benefits at 3 Feb. For the young ‘working poor’ such as apprentices, part-time students, etc. the fact that they have some employment income typically excludes them from a Centrelink entitlement…. hence no Centrelink bonus and no tax bonus.
Ultimately, the Working Australians Tax Bonus is based on having a tax liability. No tax paid = No tax liability = No tax bonus. I can understand that (it is a tax bonus after all), however….
[Ok, I'm going to get opinionated here] I do feel for those low income earners who have missed all bonus payments. It would seem to me that many who’ve missed out altogether are not just the wealthiest Australians at all; simply ordinary young Aussies struggling to build a future for themselves through hard work or further study…. shouldn’t that be something we encourage?
What are we telling the part-time worker/student trying to find the money for textbooks who gets nothing when her double-income middle class neighbours with 5 school-aged kids just hit the jackpot with over $5,650 in Centrelink bonuses and more to come with an additional two tax bonus payments.
What are we saying to the young apprentice who is working for the kind of money a lot of Aussies wouldn’t get out of bed for in the morning when they have friends who ‘earn’ more (considering bonus payments, Health Care Cards, Concessions, free courses, etc) by opting to simply stay on benefits?
I think we have one of the most generous social welfare systems in the world and I do not begrudge anyone who qualifies for assistance access to those resources. I do have great concern that as a society we have created a system which makes it less desirable to participate in apprenticeships, part-time employment or further study. In some ways, we almost penalise those who do (the recent Centrelink bonuses being a fine example). What scares me most is the sense of entitlement the system fosters and we’re hearing more and more.
IMHO It’s time we placed both some recognition and support where it’s deserved aswell as needed. [/steps down off soapbox]
Who do you contact if you are eligible and have not received anything?
@CJ,
Hi CJ,
You would contact the Tax Office on 1300 686 636, however you will probably find that they are unwilling to assist you until after 16 May has passed.
I wouldn’t panic just yet. We are still receiving tax bonus payments for clients turning up on a daily basis… they are being processed slowly but surely.
I arrived in Australia from NZ in December 2008 and erned just over $7000. The tax threshold is $6000 so why did I get ALL my tax back?
Hi Michelle,
As a general answer to your question, very few people would start paying tax at $7,000. Although the tax-free threshold is just $6,000, tax offsets (also called tax rebates) directly reduce any income tax liability. As an example, during 07/08 a taxpayer with no other offsets to claim could still earn $11,000 before paying tax due to the Low Income Tax Offset.
Other common offsets include franking credits, 20% Net Medical Expenses, Social Security Beneficiary Offset, Pensioner Tax Offset, Senior Australian Tax Offset, Mature Age Worker Tax Offset, etc.
With regard to your particular situation, I am not sure I understand the timing. You arrived in December 2008? Income earned in Australia after Dec 08 would be declared here on your 08/09 tax return. Usually, this wouldn’t be lodged until after the end of the current financial year, 30 June 2009. I’m not sure I understand (maybe it’s Monday-morning-itis). If you want to clarify the dates I’ll try again to wrap my head my head around it.
Hi ,
I was unsure on whether i was elegible to recieve the payout even though i had handed my tax return 2007/2008, I had rung the ATO to make sure that i was elegible to recieve and they had told me briefly that i am not because my assets exeed over the amount of tax in which i paid during that time , is this information correct ?
Hi James,
It took me a moment to figure that out but I think what they probably meant to tell you was that your offsets (not assets) exceed your tax. In Tax Office terms this means you had no adjusted tax liability. I’m afraid the ATO is correct.
In order to be eligible for the Working Australians Tax Bonus, you must have had an adjusted tax liability. This just means that you still paid some tax after offsets and other rebates. If no tax was ultimately paid for the financial year (something people are usually happy about) then it means you cannot qualify for the tax bonus.
I’m sorry it’s bad news for you, James.
Hi,
I lived in aussie on and off in 2007/2008/2009 and was a australian resident for tax purposes. I recived a cheque in the mail last year to my NZ address for my tax refund. I am living in NZ at present and wondering if i am still intitled to it?
Thanks Rachel
Hi Rachel,
Provided you meet the eligibity criteria for the tax bonus, you should still receive the tax bonus. This is what the Tax Office have to say: “If you were an Australian resident for tax purposes for the 2007–08 financial year, and you meet all the other eligibility criteria, you will receive the tax bonus payment. This applies even if you were here on a temporary resident visa.”
The bonus will be paid to the address you nominated on your tax return.
Firstly thanks for taking the time to answer my question – I am not good with the whole tax thing and a wondering if am eligible to receive the tax bonus –
taxable income is 13959
tax on taxable income A – 119.85DR
PAYG withholding credits – E 250.00CR
Tax offsets and other credits G 1193.85
Balance of this assessment L 2500.00Cr
Thank you.
Hi Chole,
I’ll just rip the band-aid off quickly and break the bad news right away – you will not qualify for the tax bonus.
I’m afraid that you do not appear to have an adjusted tax liability, Chole. This means that your tax offsets (label G) are equal to your tax on taxable income (label A). Because of this you received all of your tax back and so, technically, did not pay any tax for the financial year. Unfortunately this will disqualify you from receiving the tax bonus. I’m sorry it isn’t better news.
Hi im 18 and i have only started paying tax in March 2008. Would i be eligible for this bonus? or did i have to be paying tax in 2007 aswel?
just curious
Hi Sky,
You don’t need to have been paying tax in 2007 aswell but you do need to have earned enough for the whole financial year to generate a tax liability at the end of it.
The Working Australians Tax Bonus is based solely on an individual’s 2007/08 income tax assessment. It takes into consideration the period from 1 July 07 through to 30 June 08. It does not matter exactly when during that time you earned your income or had tax deducted so long as you meet the eligibilty criteria.
Basically, you need to be a resident for tax purposes, have lodged your 07/08 tax return (or do so before 30 June 2009), have earned under $100,000 and you must have had an adjusted tax liability for the 07/08 financial year.
An adjusted tax liability means that at the end of the day, you were out-of-pocket some tax after rebates and other offsets (ie. you did not get all of your tax back when you did your return). In reality for this to happen, a person would need to have earned at least $11,000. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset.
The forumula for checking your eligibility is:
Tax on Taxable Income(A) + Medicare Levy(O) – Offsets and other credits(G).
You can find this information on your Notice of Assesment… that’s the letter the Tax Office send out to you after they have calculated your tax return. If A+O-G comes to any amount more than nil, you would be entitled to the bonus.
I hope that helps.
Thank you anyway
Hey,
I have just filed my tax return for 08-09, I did it early through an accountant. I have already received the tax stimulus bonus for 07-08, but I was wondering if there is a bonus for this return as well?
The ATO website is unclear on this matter.
Please help!
Jo
Hi Jojo,
The Government is all out of Tax Bonuses.
There is currently no tax bonus planned in relation to the 2008-09 financial year.
For the benefit of visitors who see your post and might all want to lodge their return early, I should mention that Tax Office policy is to accept indivdual lodging before the end of the financial year in very limited circumstances; such as for people who are leaving the country and/or ceasing to be a resident for tax purposes.
Hello,
Can you tell me what “frank credit” actually is?
My taxable income in 07/08 was around $3000. But I didn’t get my bonus. I called ATO today, and they said I am unqualified because I have negative tax liability due to this frank credit and I have no idea what she is talking about.
Please help.
Hi Eric,
For most people, franking credits will usually be the result of dividends paid to them from shares they hold in a company. Dividends will normally be paid as fully-franked, partly-franked or unfranked. If they are fully or party franked the shareholder/taxpayer can claim the franking credit as a refundable tax offset.
I can almost hear you saying, “Great but what the heck is a franking credit?”
Dividends are essentially a distribution of profits to shareholders. If a dividend is franked it means that the company has already paid tax on that money at the company tax rate of 30%. The recipient can claim a credit for any tax already paid on the money.
I hope that helps explain franking credits a bit for you. If not, give me a yell and I’ll try to explain things better.
Just a question regarding the bonus payment, my wife and i still have not submitted our 2007 / 2008 tax returns we are putting them together as we speak we do use an accountant to finallise them so they will be dine soon, have we got any chance at getting the bonus payment or is it to late?
Hi Bradley,
I’m afraid that the deadline has passed in order for your wife and yourself to qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus. You need to have lodged on or before 30 June 2009 to get the tax bonus payment unless you were specifically given an extension from the Tax Office.
In some exceptional circumstances, your accountant may be able to negotiate something with regards to the bonus payment, but I’d consider this highly unlikely at this stage.
On the up-side, taking care of pevious year returns will help in other ways, especially considering Centrelink’s stance on tax return lodgements from January next year (FTB recipients can be cut-off from fortnightly payments until they and their partner bring tax returns up-to-date). If nothing else, it’s a relief off your mind and you are no longer a potential target for a $550 non-lodgement fine from the Tax Office. Hopefully, your returns will bring a nice tax refund with them aswell!
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