Practical guides and updates to help you with tax, super and money in Australia.
Still preparing your 2025-26 return? Check the weekend deadline, tax agent rules, late-lodgement consequences and records for claims.
Read articleCompare rent with gross household income, convert weekly rent to monthly and check the other costs that shape a rental budget.
Read articleAge Pensioners and recipients of other listed government payments are exempt from the new 30% top-up on defined capital gains — but not the rest of the reform.
Read articleAssets bought before 20 September 1985 have always been exempt from capital gains tax.
Read articleProperty investors get both halves of the 2027 reform, and they are not independent.
Read articleThe reform collapses many parcels into one cost base for the new rules, while making every original purchase date matter more for the old ones.
Read articleThe general 50% CGT discount ends for growth after 30 June 2027, though earlier growth and some assets can keep it. A fact about the law, not a signal to act.
Read articleIndexation isn't a like-for-like swap for the 50% discount — it depends on inflation over the holding period and your marginal rate.
Read articleNegative gearing is quarantined for established dwellings bought after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026. Grandfathering keeps most existing investors clear.
Read articleFrom 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced with CPI indexation plus a 30% minimum tax, and negative gearing is quarantined for some property.
Read articleLong service leave is set state by state, not nationally. The accrual rate is almost identical everywhere, but when you can access it varies a lot.
Read articleMost first-year sole traders are not on PAYG instalments at all, so the whole year's tax can land as one lump sum. Here is how to avoid the shock.
Read articleSole traders pay individual marginal rates on business profit, not a business rate.
Read articleBoth GST-free and input-taxed supplies have no GST at the checkout, and they are completely different for the supplier.
Read articleCan you get Child Care Subsidy and Family Tax Benefit at the same time? Yes.
Read articleThe real quarterly BAS deadlines for 2026-27, including the December quarter that is not due on 28 February, plus how to work out the GST you owe.
Read articleThe Child Care Subsidy activity test changed in January 2026. Here is the two-step test that replaced the four-tier ladder, and how couples are assessed.
Read articleMost online hourly-to-salary converters assume a 40-hour week, and Australian full-time work is 38 ordinary hours. That is the obvious error.
Read articleFour Australian families at real incomes, run through the CCS income test, the hourly rate cap and the subsidised hours, with each estimated gap fee.
Read articleThe answer changes as the car ages, and most comparisons get it wrong because they treat operating costs as cash costs.
Read articleA lot of commentary says you will need to elect into the 1 July 2027 cost-base reset.
Read articleEligible electric cars can be exempt from fringe benefits tax. This article explains the exemption and selected income-test effects.
Read articleThe national minimum wage rose to $26.44 an hour from 1 July 2026. What changed, what it means weekly and annually and how award rates were affected.
Read articleCasual loading adds 25% to your base rate to help compensate for most paid leave and other entitlements casuals do not receive.
Read articleEvening, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday penalty rates by award, with 2026-27 multipliers for retail, hospitality, restaurant and fast food.
Read articleThe government matches 50c per dollar of after-tax super, up to $500. The taper means that above the lower threshold, contributing more earns nothing.
Read articleMost comparisons say the two save roughly the same interest. They save exactly the same, to the cent — so the decision turns on access, tax and fees.
Read articleThe usual comparison has two options and one answer: they are the same, so pick on cash flow.
Read articleYour HECS-HELP debt is indexed every 1 June. A year of PAYG withheld from your pay is not sitting on your loan when that happens — here is why.
Read articleDivision 293 charges an extra 15% on some concessional super once you pass $250,000.
Read articleFranking credits stop your dividends being taxed twice. A 25%-taxed company attaches a smaller credit than a 30% one, and brief holdings disqualify you.
Read articleNegative gearing lets an investment loss reduce your taxable income. Here is how it works, a worked example and the risks behind the tax break.
Read articleThe average full-time salary in Australia is about $106,700, but the typical worker earns far less.
Read articleSalary packaging pays for some things from pre-tax income. See how little of a novated lease is actually pre-tax, and why your employer's type matters.
Read articleStage 3 started on 1 July 2024, and the lowest rate has been cut twice since.
Read articleYour bonus is not taxed at a special higher rate. Here is why so much tax comes out and how much of your bonus you really keep.
Read articleWorked from home this year? Here is how the 70c-per-hour fixed rate method compares with the actual cost method, and how to claim the most you can.
Read articleIf you use your car for work, the method you choose decides your refund.
Read articleA deduction is worth more at $50,000 than at $100,000, and one dollar of income at $101,001 can cost you $1,010.
Read articleThere is no special second job tax rate in Australia. Your income is combined and taxed at your marginal rate, and your TFN declaration decides the rest.
Read articleAustralia's 2026-27 tax brackets run from 0% under $18,200 to 45% above $190,000. Your marginal rate is only part of what sets your take-home pay.
Read articleA $90,000 salary leaves about $71,000 in your pocket in 2026-27. Here is every deduction that gets you there: income tax, Medicare levy and student loans.
Read articleStamp duty runs from nothing for an eligible first home buyer to well over $100,000 on a prestige property. Here is what you will pay in every state.
Read articleSalary sacrifice redirects pre-tax salary into super, where it is taxed at 15% rather than your marginal rate. Here is when that leaves you better off.
Read articleThe real cost of moving to Australia in 2026: visa fees, flights, shipping, rental bond and the weeks of living costs before your first payslip lands.
Read articleWhat the RBA's 2026 rate decisions mean for your repayments, with the numbers on how much a rise or a cut changes what you pay each month.
Read articleAbove $101,000 as a single in 2025-26 with no eligible private hospital cover, you pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge on top of the standard Medicare levy.
Read articleBenchmark your super against the typical balance for your age, and see what you would actually need for a comfortable retirement at 67.
Read articleThe 2025-26 HELP formula starts at $67,000. Lower bands are marginal; the top band uses total income and debt limits apply.
Read articleThe First Home Owner Grant pays up to $50,000 toward your first home, but the amounts and price caps differ in every state. Here is what each one offers.
Read articleWork out CGT in four steps: sale price minus cost base, apply the 50% discount if you held the asset over 12 months, then add the rest to your income.
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