Tax Refund Calculator

Enter what you earned and what was already withheld, and see whether the ATO owes you or you owe them, worked out line by line.

This one is about tax time specifically. Our income tax calculator answers how much tax you owe on any income, and our salary calculator shows what lands in your account each pay cycle. This one reconciles the two: what your employer withheld across the year against what you actually owe, which is all a refund has ever been.

Your details

Gross salary and wagesThe gross figure from your income statement in myGov, before tax

Tax withheldAlso on your income statement, the total your employer sent to the ATO

Other incomeSide hustle, bank interest, rent, dividends. Anything with no tax already taken out.

Deductions you'll claimWork expenses, self-education, donations, tax agent fee from last year

Tax residency

I had private hospital cover all yearWithout it, the Medicare levy surcharge may applyI have a HECS-HELP debtYour compulsory repayment is settled through your return

Estimated refund

$1,920

Tax you actually owe

$17,080

Tax already withheld

$19,000

Taxable income

$83,000

How your estimated refund or bill is worked out
Gross income	$85,000
Less deductions	$2,000
Taxable income	$83,000
Income tax	$15,420
Medicare levy	$1,660
Total you owe	$17,080
Less tax already withheld	$19,000
Your refund	$1,920

Your deductions added $640 to the result

Without them you would be looking at $1,280 back. Which is the honest way to think about deductions: you spent the money, this is the fraction of it the tax system gives back at your rate.

A refund is your own money coming back

Your employer withheld 22.4% of your gross pay, slightly more than you owed. A big refund feels great but it means you lent the ATO money all year for nothing. It is not free money, it is your own, returned late and without interest.

Uses 2026-27 rates, the low income tax offset, the Medicare levy and its low income shade-in, and HECS-HELP thresholds. It does not model the private health insurance rebate, spouse and dependant thresholds, other offsets, or franking credits, all of which can move the final number.

How to use this calculator

1. Log in, choose the ATO, then Employment and income statement. You need two numbers from it: gross income and total tax withheld. Wait until it says Tax ready.
2. Side hustle earnings, bank interest, rent, dividends. This is the single most common reason a refund turns into a bill, so do not leave it out to make the number look nicer.
3. The ATO can ask for evidence up to five years later, and being fairly sure you spent it is not a record. Claim what you genuinely spent earning your income.
4. The table shows every step from gross income down to the refund, including the low income tax offset and the Medicare levy, so you can see exactly where the number comes from.

How a refund is actually calculated, and why it is not free money

All year your employer withholds PAYG tax from each pay and sends it to the ATO on your behalf, based on an estimate of what you will earn across the full year. That estimate is almost never exact. When you lodge, the ATO works out your real liability and compares it to what was already handed over. More withheld than owed is a refund. Less is a bill.

Take a $70,000 salary for 2026-27, resident, no deductions. Income tax comes to $11,520 and the Medicare levy adds $1,400, so the real liability is $12,920. If your employer withheld $13,700 you get $780 back. That $780 was never a gift, it was your money sitting with the ATO all year earning you nothing. A big refund feels wonderful and technically means your withholding was badly calibrated. The mathematically ideal result is close to zero either way.

Where to find your figures in myGov

Paper payment summaries are long gone. Log into myGov, select the ATO, then go to Employment and then Income statement. Your employer has to finalise it by 14 July each year, and once it is marked Tax ready the ATO pre-fills those figures into myTax automatically.

Two numbers matter for this calculator: gross income and total tax withheld. If you had several jobs, add up each statement. And resist the urge to lodge on 1 July. If you lodge before your statements are Tax ready and the figures later differ from what your employer reports, the ATO amends your return and can sit on your refund while it sorts it out. Late July is the sensible window.

The deductions most Australians miss

A deduction reduces your taxable income, so it saves you your marginal rate on the amount claimed rather than the whole amount. In the 30% bracket, $1,000 claimed saves about $320 once the 2% Medicare levy is counted. Worth claiming, never worth spending money purely to claim.

Commonly missed Australian tax deductions and their 2026-27 rates
Deduction	How it works
Working from home	70c an hour under the fixed rate method, covering power, internet, phone and stationery. You need a record of the hours.
Car expenses	91c per kilometre for 2026-27, capped at 5,000 work kilometres, so a maximum of $4,550.
Union and professional fees	Fully deductible where the membership relates to your work.
Income protection premiums	Deductible when you pay the policy yourself outside super. Premiums inside super are not.
Self-education	Deductible if the course relates to the job you have now, not the one you are trying to move into.
Tools and equipment	Items under $300 used for work can be claimed outright, more expensive items are depreciated.

The ATO sets the working from home and cents per kilometre rates each year, so confirm both at ato.gov.au before you lodge. Our full list of deductions you can claim goes further.

Why some people get a bill instead

A bill almost always means not enough was withheld along the way. The usual suspects: income with no tax taken out at all, like ABN work, interest, dividends or rent. The Medicare levy surcharge, which applies to singles earning above $105,000 without private hospital cover, at 1% to 1.5% on top of the standard levy. A HECS-HELP debt, where compulsory repayments start once your repayment income passes $69,528 for 2026-27 and get settled through your return.

None of those are surprises if you see them coming, which is the whole argument for running the numbers in about March rather than in October when the deadline is breathing down your neck. Toggle the private cover and HECS switches in the calculator to see what each one does to your result.

The second job and tax-free threshold trap

The first $18,200 you earn each year is tax-free, and you can only claim that threshold with one employer. When you start a second job you fill in a Tax File Number declaration, and on that one you answer no to the tax-free threshold question. Tick yes at both and both employers withhold as though you earn far less than you do, and the shortfall lands in one lump at tax time.

The same thing catches casuals whose hours climb through the year after their withholding was set when they were earning much less. It is not a penalty and it is not extra tax, it is the same tax arriving all at once instead of fortnightly. If your circumstances change mid-year, lodge a new declaration with your employer.

When refunds are paid, and how long they take

Most returns lodged online through myTax are processed within about two weeks. Paper returns take up to ten. Refunds are paid straight into whichever bank account you nominate, so if your return is finalised and nothing has arrived after a few days, check the account details the ATO has on file before you ring them.

The deadline for lodging yourself is 31 October. Going through a registered tax agent buys you considerably more time, but only if you are on their books before 31 October, which catches people out every year. Our guide to lodging your tax return walks through the whole process.

FAQ

How does this tax refund calculator work?

You enter your gross income, the tax withheld by your employer, any income with no tax taken out, and your deductions. It applies the 2026-27 brackets, the low income tax offset, the Medicare levy and any HECS-HELP repayment to work out your real liability, then subtracts what was already withheld. The difference is your refund or your bill.

How much tax would I get back on a $50,000 income?

On $50,000 for 2026-27 with no deductions, income tax is $5,520, the low income tax offset takes $250 off, and the Medicare levy adds $1,000, so you owe $6,270. If your employer withheld $7,000 you would get about $730 back. Put your own withheld figure in for an answer that means something.

Is a tax refund free money?

No, it is your own money coming back after sitting with the ATO for up to a year without earning you anything. A large refund means your withholding was set too high, not that you won something. Getting close to zero in either direction is the efficient outcome, even though it feels far less satisfying in July.

Can I get a refund if I earned under the tax-free threshold?

Yes, and you should lodge to get it. If you worked part of the year and your employer withheld tax based on a full-year projection, but your total income came in under $18,200, all of that withheld tax comes back to you. Plenty of students and seasonal workers never lodge and quietly leave it with the ATO.

Do deductions always increase my refund?

Legitimate ones do, but by your marginal rate rather than the full amount. Claim $1,000 in the 30% bracket and you save about $320 once the Medicare levy is counted, not $1,000. The calculator shows the exact effect by running your whole return with and without your deductions.

Why did I get a bill when I got a refund last year?

Usually because something changed. New untaxed income, crossing the Medicare levy surcharge threshold at $105,000 without private cover, crossing the HECS-HELP repayment threshold at $69,528, or a second job where both employers applied the tax-free threshold. Toggle those switches in the calculator and you will usually find the culprit.

When can I lodge my tax return?

From 1 July, but you probably should not. Employers have until 14 July to finalise income statements, and lodging before yours is marked Tax ready risks the ATO amending your return and delaying the refund. Late July, once the pre-fill data is complete, is the sweet spot.

How long does the ATO take to pay a refund?

Most online lodgements are processed in about two weeks, paper returns take up to ten. You can watch the status in myGov under Manage tax returns or in the ATO app. If it says finalised and nothing has landed, the usual cause is out of date bank details rather than a problem with the return.

Do I pay tax on my tax refund?

No. It is a return of tax you already paid, so it is not income and is not taxed again. The only exception is interest the ATO sometimes pays on a delayed refund, which is assessable in the year you receive it.

What is the difference between an offset and a deduction?

A deduction reduces your taxable income before the tax is worked out. An offset reduces the tax bill itself afterwards. The low income tax offset, worth up to $700 and phasing out at $66,667, is an offset, which is why it is worth more per dollar than a deduction of the same size.

What happens if I leave income out of my return?

The ATO cross-checks against data from employers, banks, share registries and the platforms most side hustles run on, so it usually surfaces. Amending it yourself through myGov before they contact you generally means a much smaller penalty than being found out afterwards.

What is the lodgement deadline?

31 October if you lodge yourself. A registered tax agent can get you considerably longer, sometimes into the following May, but only if you are on their client list before 31 October. Lodging late without a good reason attracts a failure to lodge penalty.

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