Income tests: an overview

Introduction

From 1 July 2009, the introduction of income tests changed the way we work out your income for some government benefits and obligations administered by us and other government organisations.

The income tests do not alter the income tax thresholds or the way your assessable income is calculated. However, they may affect the amount of tax you are liable to pay.

We use five income tests to calculate tax offsets, deductions, obligations, and concessions:

• adjusted taxable income (ATI)
• rebate income
• income for surcharge purposes
• income requirement (non-commercial losses)
• income test amount (employee share schemes).

Other income tests are applied to:

• Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) repayment and Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) repayments
• super-related concessions
• mature age worker tax offset
• payments administered by the Australian Government Department of Human Services including child support and family assistance.

	If you do not complete all the required questions in your tax return correctly we may incorrectly: pay you a benefit assess you for other liabilities.
	For more information about how to complete the income tests labels on your tax return, refer to Income tests.