After spending the last couple of weeks answering literally hundreds of posts, calls and emails regarding the tax bonus, I have to admit that I am happy to see the ATO have finally made an online Tax Bonus Eligibilty Calculator available to the public.
Don’t get me wrong, I love responding to queries (it sure beats calculating all day). Why I am pleased is that clearly people are still confused by the many different payment criteria and government terminology recently thrown at us all.
The tax bonus calculator will help you to determine your eligibilty for this particular bonus payment and let you know how much you can expect to receive.
In order to use the online calculator you will need to have your notice of assessment for the 2007-08 income tax year handy. This is the letter the Tax Office sent you after they had finished processing your tax return.
You can access the Tax Office Tax Bonus Calculator by clicking the link. I haven’t tested it out yet…. would love to hear your feedback on it.
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
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi there,
I did use the calculator over there and it said I was not eligible. BUT as I discarded my paper copy of my final assessment I cannot recall what the exact figures were and only have my old e-tax file to work from – which doesn’t have the A, O and G labels.
Therefore, I was hoping you’d be able to tell me definitively about my eligibility for the bonus.
Total taxable income 2007/2008: $11,451
Medicare Levy/Surcharge: $0
Tax on taxable income: $817.65
Tax withheld (salary and wages): $1,054
Tax offsets USED: $750
Total tax offsets and credits subtracted: $1,804
Estimated refund: $986.35
Obviously my query hinges on the tax offset – if I subtract the low income offset used, then I’m eligible. If I subtract the total tax offsets and credits then I’m less than zero and not eligible.
Give it to me straight tax man, because this was my first tax return and I have next to no idea what I’m doing here simply because I discarded that bloody notice with the labels!
Thanks for your help in advance.:)
-Justin
Hi Justin,
I’m going to make a few assumptions; such as if you are under 18, your taxable income was earned by you and not the result of a trust distribution.
Label G does not include your witholding credits so it would just have your low income tax offset of $750 in there. We know that there is no Medicare payable as you are under the medicare low income threshold, so label O is nil. Based on the figures you’ve given, I’d estimate A= $817.65 [(11,451-6000) x 0.15].
Good news! It looks like you will scrape in for the $900 bonus by the $67.65 you ended up paying in tax.
I hope that helps.
Thanks Christie the Taxwoman!
I was over the age of 18 when I filed that tax return – 24 in fact. I didn’t file one the year before (I’m lazy), and the years before that I was overseas (still an Australian resident for tax purposes of course).
Anyhoo, thanks for the prompt answer – faster than calling the ATO I imagine!=)
-Justin
LOL. “Taxwoman!” I should get a cape… faster than the ATO, leaps tall buildings in a single bound…
Glad I could help another night owl.
Hi Christie,
I’ve yet to lodge an 07-08 return, but from a glance it looks like it will be made up of:
+ Centrelink Youth Allowance – $9141
+ Gross payments from work – $5184 [no tax withheld however]
Judging from the previous comments, it looks like this would be enough to get me over the line, can you confirm this/would the $900 even cover the amount owed to the ATO in this case?
Thankyou!!
Hi James,
Your assessment (and eligibilty for the tax bonus) will depend quite a bit on what deductions and tax offsets you are entitled to claim. I can tell you that based on the figures you provided, assuming deductions were reasonable and you only had the low income tax offset in your rebates, your tax liability would be just under $500. So, there is a tax liability – good news for getting the bonus!
If no witholding tax has been taken from your Youth Allowance or wages, you would owe this money to the Tax Office. Typically, you can enter into a payment arrangement to pay off this money. Regardless, you would still receive the tax bonus if you qualify (and it sounds like you probably will). The ATO have come out and said that they will not be applying the tax bonus to any outstanding debts and taxpayers who have a tax debt will still receive the bonus.
Taxpayers who lodged their tax returns in March 09 are expected to begin receiving the tax bonus from May 09…. the soooner you get that tax in, the sooner you’ll get that bonus. When the funds arrive, you might choose to pay off your Tax debt in full yourself and enjoy the extra $400 with peace of mind. It’s up to you then.
Hope that helps,
Christie
Hi Christie,
I was unable to use the Tax Bonus Calculator because I am not over the age of 18.
Could you please tell me if I am eligible for the bonus if it isn’t too much of a hassle?
These are the details on my 2007/2008 notice of amended assessment:
Taxable income: $10759
Tax on taxable income (A): $713.85DR
Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge (O): $0
Tax offsets and Otehr credits (G): $713.CR
Net Amount Refundable: $1411.10CR
I am an individual tax payer and I am an Australian resident.
Any information you are able to give me is extremely helpful and greatly appreciated!
Many Thanks,
Jordan.
@Jordan,
Hi Jordan,
Can you tell me if your income was from working (that your earned yourself) or was it made up of other sources such as a family trust distribution or interest?
I earned my income from working.
I also receive youth allowance, I’m not sure if that information is relevant though…
Just thought I should mention it incase.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me,
Jordan
@Jordan,
Hi again, Jordan.
I’m afraid it seems you will just miss out on the tax bonus. The low income tax rebate has offset all of your tax liability. Basically, that means that you did not pay any tax for 07/08 and so you won’t qualify for the tax bonus. I wish I had better news for you.
Well I am very dissapointed that I do not qualify. I am a single mum of 3 kids who earned a measly $23936 last year and because I got most of my tax back I dont get the $900. Well I didnt realise there was such beuracracy however its spelled out there. I am appalled nothing was mentioned on the news only you had to earn under $100 000. Well I earned way under that amount and yet I still dont qualify its wrong proplr just wrong.
@Fleur,
Hi Fleur,
I have to agree that the media has not been helpful (and left a lot of people disappointed). Everywhere you look in the papers, the only mention seems to be “if you earned under $100,000 you’ll get the tax bonus”. This is simply not the case at all.
I expect a lot of sole parents will miss out due to having claimed the pensioner Tax Offset (which is a big help with your tax obligation at the time but no help at all when it comes to this kind of unanticipated bonus payment).
Hi there,
I was unable to use the tax bonus calculator as I was under the age of 18 as at June 2008. However I turned 18 last October.
Could you please calculate whether or not I would be eligible for the government tax bonus?
2007/2008 Income Tax Return Details
Taxable Income – 9,240.00
Tax on Taxable Income – 486.00
Medicare Levy – 0.00
Medicare Levy Surcharge – 0.00
Tax Withheld – 868.00
Tax Offsets Used – 486.00
Amount Refundable – 868.00
My income was received from working full time and I am an Australian Resident.
Thank you for your help.
@Polly,
Hi Polly,
You’ve done an excellent job at providing all the right information (I love it when people are organised). I’m afraid that you will not be eligible for the Working Australians Tax Bonus, though. Let me explain why…
In order to qualify for the tax bonus you need to have what the ATO call an adjusted tax liability. What this means is that after applying rebates, etc you still paid some tax for the financial year. In your case, even though you earned the money yourself (important for under-18′s to qualify), you still received all of your tax back. This was no doubt the result of the low income tax offset.
For most taxpayers, taxable income would need to be at least $11,000 in order to get past the tax-free threshold, the low income tax offset and then have a chance of generating a tax liability.
I wish I had better news for you.
Please help – after reading all of the previous comments regarding eligibility – I am still confused as mine is different again – I am 16 years old (17 in June 2009).
My Taxable Income is $13,207
Tax on Taxable Income $1081.05DR
PAYG Withholding Credits $126.00CR
Tax Offsets and other credits $750.00CR
Amount payable/paid to the ATO $205.05DR
Whilst a percentage of my income I earned in my employment, I believe I was allocated income from my Family’s trust ( My Dad has a small business).
Please advise if you think I might be eligible for the $900 tax bonus ?
@Jordan-Lee,
Hi Jordan,
PROVIDED you do have some EXCEPTED INCOME (that’s money you earned yourself from working) you should still qualify for the Tax Bonus.
The ATO position is that under-18′s can qualify provided they received excepted assessable income and meet all the other eligiblity criteria. So, if some of the taxable income you declared on your return was excepted, you need only then have an adjusted tax liability. You do have this.
Ordinarily, your income from working probably would not be enough to qualify you and your distribution income would not count towards the tax bonus. The fact that you have them together creates a bit of an odd situation for the ATO. We have discussed this previously with them and they acknowledged it is a ‘loophole’ of sorts which the Commissioner does have discretion to make a determination upon. At this stage, however, the internal systems are not sophisticated enough to check all these anomalies so that’s good news for you!
In answer to your question, I think you will receive the tax bonus.
Hi i was wondering if i am eligible for the $900 tax bonus.
My taxable income is $9481
Tax on taxable income $522.15
Tax withheld $977
Tax Offsets $750
Tax Offsets used $522.15
Estimated Refund Due $977
Thank you for your help
Kieron
HI Kieron,
In order to be eligible for the tax bonus, you must have had an adjusted tax liability. This simply means you paid some tax for the financial year after rebates and other offsets.
As your tax offsets equal your tax liability, you received all of your tax back. Unfortunately this makes you ineligible for the $900 bonus.
The reality the media has failed to point out is that most Aussies would need to have earned at least $11,000 before they even have a hope of qualifying for the tax bonus. This figure takes into account the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset for 07/08.
I wish I had better news for you. :
If I’m reading these correctly (whch I’m probably not) the basic equation is tax offsets used subtracted from tax on taxable income? If the remaining amount is 0, you’re doomed, yes? If I’ve failed to grasp it, I’ll just provide my stuff and see if you can tell me if I’m eligible… if you’d be so kind.
Taxable Income: 12506.00
Tax on taxable income: 975.90
Medicare Levy surcharge: 0
Tax withheld – salary and wage type income: 138.00
Tax offsets used: 975.90
Total tax offsets and credits subtracted: 1113.90
Estimated Refund: 138.00
Thank you in advance, taxwoman.
Hey Aw man,
Well, ‘doomed’ wouldn’t be an offical tax position but, yes, that’s about right.
It’s not looking good, I’m afraid. You have no medicare to bump up your liabilities and your offsets have erode all tax liability.
This is usually good for taxpayers as it generally means a tax refund. Unfortunately at the moment it also means no tax bonus.
I wish I had better news for you, Aw man.
Thanks for the reply. It’s much appreciated even though I’m DOOMED! This is now an official tax position. Make a note of it.
Seriously though, thanks for taking the time to reply.
Duly noted. I can hardly wait to see the look I get when I summarise someone’s tax affairs as “Doomed!”*
*TM Doomed! is an offical tax position (c) Aw man 2009
Hi – I did the calculator and it says ineligible, but I just want to make sure. So the low income tax offset is $750 and the tax on taxable income (10611) was $691.65 with 0 medicare thingo. Because the tax was lower than the tax offset, is that the reason I don’t get the bonus???? ps over 18 etc, uni student and part time worker
Is this right???? what a bummer; really needed that $900 too
could you put me out of my misery (oh tax paid and refunded was $788)
That’s about right, Victoria. I’m afraid that if your tax offsets are equal to or more than your tax liability, you cannot qualify for the Working Australians Tax Bonus.
The reason for this is that technically you did not pay any tax (you would have received it all back). I won’t torture you further by telling you how close you were to qualifying.
It’s bad news but, on the bright side, at least you know and won’t be counting on it turning up.
Hi I was just wondering, I completed my tax return using eTax and the ATO automatically applies the Low Income offset. Because of this I miss out on the Bonus as the offset reduced my liability to zero.
My question is, what chance is there that I could successfully seek the ATO not to apply the low income tax offset to my return? Is it compulsory under law to have any applicable offsets applied? Could I seek an amendment to my tax return asking for the offset to be removed giving the reason that it indeed makes me financially worse off?
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