Medicare Levy Calculator 2026-27
The Medicare levy is 2% of taxable income, charged on top of income tax to help fund Medicare. On the 2025-26 thresholds, the latest the ATO has published, a single person pays nothing at or below $28,011, a reduced levy that shades in at 10c a dollar up to $35,013, and the full 2% above that. Seniors and pensioners, families and some people who are exempt pay less or nothing. Enter your taxable income to see the levy, the reduction and the band you sit in.
Your details
Taxable income for the year, after deductions. Not your gross wage.
Medicare levy payable
$198.90
- Taxable income
- $30,000
- Where it sits
- Shade-in band, $28,011 to $35,013: 10c a dollar above $28,011
- Full levy at 2%
- $600.00
- Reduction
- $401.10
- Medicare levy payable
- $198.90
- Share of taxable income
- 0.7%
- Per fortnight
- $7.65
- Single thresholds
- $28,011 to $35,013
Inside the shade-in band each extra dollar of taxable income adds 10c of levy, five times the 2% rate, until the reduction runs out at $35,013 and the levy is 2% of the whole income. The Medicare levy surcharge is a separate charge for higher incomes without private hospital cover, and is not included here. The 2026-27 thresholds are the 2025-26 figures carried forward, as the ATO has not published 2026-27 figures.
Worked examples, with the arithmetic.
The same sums the tool runs, on real figures. Every number below is computed by the tested engine from the published rates, so the prose and the tool can never disagree.
What Medicare levy is payable on a taxable income of $29,000?
$29,000 - $28,011 lower threshold = $989 $989 x 10c = $98.90 full levy, $29,000 x 2% = $580.00 levy payable, the lower = $98.90
$98.90 for 2025-26, the ATO's own figure for its Angie example: single, no dependants, not entitled to SAPTO and not exempt. The income sits inside the shade-in band, $28,011 to $35,013, so the levy is 10c for each dollar above the lower threshold instead of 2% of the whole income, which would have been $580.00.
And on $76,000 of income with $1,000 of deductions?
$76,000 - $1,000 deductions = $75,000 taxable income $75,000 x 2% = $1,500.00
$1,500.00, the ATO's Matthew example. The levy is charged on taxable income, so deductions reduce it, and above $35,013 no reduction applies: it is 2% of every dollar, $57.69 a fortnight.
What if a single senior entitled to SAPTO has a taxable income of $50,000?
SAPTO single thresholds = $44,268 to $55,335 $50,000 - $44,268 = $5,732 $5,732 x 10c = $573.20
$573.20 in 2025-26, against $1,000.00 for someone on the same income who is not entitled to the seniors and pensioners tax offset. The SAPTO thresholds are higher, $44,268 and $55,335, and the levy shades in at the same 10c a dollar.
Does a couple on $52,000 between them, with one child, pay the levy?
family lower threshold = $47,238 + 1 child x $4,338 = $51,576 family income $52,000 = below it: no levy
No. The partner earning $40,000 is above the single upper threshold, so the family test applies, and $52,000 of family taxable income is at or below the $51,576 family threshold for one child in 2025-26. The ATO's rule is that no Medicare levy is payable then, on either income.
What do the levy and the surcharge cost on $110,000 with no hospital cover?
Medicare levy, $110,000 x 2% = $2,200.00 surcharge, $110,000 x 1.0% = $1,100.00 together = $3,300.00
$3,300.00 for a single person in 2026-27: $2,200.00 of Medicare levy, which private health insurance does not change, and $1,100.00 of surcharge, which an appropriate hospital policy held for the full year removes.
Is this accurate, and how does it work?
The method is published rather than described. Nothing here is a black box, and the limits are listed as plainly as the workings.
- 1Start from taxable income. The levy is 2% of taxable income, which is assessable income less deductions, not gross pay. The ATO's own example is $76,000 of income with $1,000 of deductions: $75,000 of taxable income and a levy of $1,500. Income tax is worked out separately on the same figure, the way the Income Tax Calculator does it.
- 2Find your single thresholds. For 2025-26 the ATO publishes two pairs: $28,011 and $35,013 for most people, and $44,268 and $55,335 for a person entitled to the seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO). At or below the lower threshold no levy is payable.
- 3Shade it in at 10c a dollar. Between the two thresholds the levy is 10c for each dollar above the lower one, and never more than 2% of the whole income. The 10c line meets the 2% line at 1.25 times the lower threshold, which is where the ATO sets the upper one. On $29,000 that is $98.90, the figure in the ATO's own worked example.
- 4Test family income if your own is above the single band. With a spouse, or sole care of a dependent child, a person whose own taxable income is above the single upper threshold is tested on family taxable income instead: no levy at or below $47,238 ($61,623 with SAPTO), plus $4,338 for each dependent child, and a reduced levy up to $59,047 ($77,028), plus $5,423 a child. The ATO works out a reduction inside that band when you lodge and publishes no formula for it, so the calculator shows the band rather than a figure.
- 5Treat exemptions and the surcharge separately. An exemption removes the levy for the days it covers, and the ATO assesses it from the category you claim in your tax return. The Medicare levy surcharge is a different charge again, on higher incomes without private hospital cover, worked out on the Medicare Levy Surcharge Calculator. Neither is part of the figure above.
Medicare levy thresholds.
At or below the lower threshold no levy is payable. Between the two the levy is reduced, and above the upper threshold it is the full 2%. The family thresholds apply only to a person whose own taxable income is above the single upper threshold and who has a spouse, or sole care of a dependent child. The ATO has not published 2026-27 figures, so the 2026-27 column repeats the 2025-26 figures and is marked *.
| Who | 2025-26: lower, upper | 2026-27 *: lower, upper | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $28,011 | $35,013 | $28,011 | $35,013 |
| Single, entitled to SAPTO | $44,268 | $55,335 | $44,268 | $55,335 |
| Family | $47,238 | $59,047 | $47,238 | $59,047 |
| Family, entitled to SAPTO | $61,623 | $77,028 | $61,623 | $77,028 |
| Add for each dependent child | $4,338 | $5,423 | $4,338 | $5,423 |
The ATO notes that SAPTO for a single person stops once rebate income reaches $52,759, and that where SAPTO runs out before the family upper threshold the non-SAPTO family thresholds apply instead.
Medicare levy by taxable income, 2025-26.
A single person with no SAPTO entitlement and no exemption, on the 2025-26 thresholds. The share of income climbs through the shade-in band and settles at 2%. $29,000 is the ATO’s Angie example and $75,000 its Matthew example.
| Taxable income | Medicare levy | Share of income | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $0.00 | 0.00% | No levy |
| $28,011 | $0.00 | 0.00% | No levy |
| $29,000 | $98.90 | 0.34% | Shade-in, 10c a dollar |
| $30,000 | $198.90 | 0.66% | Shade-in, 10c a dollar |
| $32,000 | $398.90 | 1.25% | Shade-in, 10c a dollar |
| $35,013 | $700.20 | 2.00% | Shade-in, 10c a dollar |
| $40,000 | $800.00 | 2.00% | Full 2% |
| $60,000 | $1,200.00 | 2.00% | Full 2% |
| $75,000 | $1,500.00 | 2.00% | Full 2% |
| $100,000 | $2,000.00 | 2.00% | Full 2% |
Medicare levy or Medicare levy surcharge.
Two different charges with similar names. The ATO calls the surcharge “a separate levy to the Medicare levy”, and someone can pay both in the same year.
| Medicare levy | Medicare levy surcharge | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 2% | 1%, 1.25%, 1.5% by tier |
| Charged on | Taxable income | Income for surcharge purposes: taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses and reportable super contributions |
| Who pays | Almost every resident taxpayer above the low-income thresholds | Singles above $105,000 and families above $210,000 in 2026-27 without appropriate private hospital cover |
| Private hospital cover | Changes nothing | Removes it, if held for the full year |
| Low incomes | Nil, then shaded in at 10c a dollar | Not charged below the first tier |
Whether the surcharge applies, and what each tier costs, is on the Medicare Levy Surcharge Calculator.
Who is exempt from the Medicare levy.
An exemption is different from the low-income reduction: it turns on who you are, not what you earn. The ATO groups it into three categories, each claimed in your tax return.
Category 1, medical
A blind pensioner, or someone entitled to full free medical treatment for all conditions under Defence Force arrangements or to full free medical treatment for all conditions under a Veterans' Affairs Gold Card.
Full with no dependants, or where every dependant is exempt or pays the levy. Half where at least one dependant, such as a spouse, is neither.
Category 2, foreign resident
A foreign resident for tax purposes.
Full for the whole year if a foreign resident all year. For part of a year, only where you had no dependants or every dependant was also exempt.
Category 3, not entitled to Medicare benefits
A temporary resident for Medicare purposes with a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia, or a member of a diplomatic mission or consular post.
Full for the period the statement covers, only where you had no dependants or every dependant, spouse included, was also exempt.
An employee with a medical exemption can have it reflected in each pay on a Medicare levy variation declaration, which moves the pay to scale 5 for a full exemption or scale 6 for a half one. The Tax Withheld Calculator works out both.
What this does not cover.
- The reduced levy inside the family band is not worked out. The ATO publishes the thresholds and says it calculates the reduction when you lodge, but publishes no formula for it, so the calculator names the band and the most the levy can be.
- Exemptions are not applied. A full or half exemption, or one for part of the year, is assessed from the category and the number of days you claim in your tax return.
- SAPTO entitlement is taken from the switch, not tested. Entitlement turns on age or pension, residency and rebate income, and the ATO notes that a spouse can be eligible for SAPTO without receiving it. Whether you are entitled, and to how much, is on the SAPTO Calculator.
- The 2026-27 thresholds are the 2025-26 figures carried forward until the ATO publishes. The rate and thresholds come from the ATO pages cited below, retrieved on the dates shown.
- The Medicare levy surcharge is left out. Whether it applies, and what it costs, is on the Medicare Levy Surcharge Calculator.
Where these figures come from.
- ATO, Medicare levy, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-08-13. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ATO, Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-09-02. Not yet published for 2026-27: this is the prior year’s figure carried forward and labelled as such, never estimated. It is corrected as soon as the ATO publishes.
- ATO, Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners, seniors and pensioners, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Not yet published for 2026-27: this is the prior year’s figure carried forward and labelled as such, never estimated. It is corrected as soon as the ATO publishes.
- ATO, Medicare levy reduction, family income, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Not yet published for 2026-27: this is the prior year’s figure carried forward and labelled as such, never estimated. It is corrected as soon as the ATO publishes.
- ATO, Medical exemption from the Medicare levy, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-22. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
- ATO, Schedule 1, scales 5 and 6 for a Medicare levy exemption, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-17. Retrieved 2026-09-19.
- ATO, Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-22. Retrieved 2026-09-11.
- ATO, What is the Medicare levy?, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ATO, Medicare levy exemption, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ATO, Foreign residents Medicare levy exemption, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-05-01. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ATO, Not entitled to Medicare benefits, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-22. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
Every rate this site uses is listed on the Methodology page.
Common questions.
How much is the Medicare levy in 2026-27?
2% of taxable income, the same rate as in 2025-26. On $60,000 that is $1,200 for the year, about $46.15 a fortnight. Low incomes pay less or nothing: for a single person the levy is nil at or below $28,011 and shades in to $35,013. Those thresholds are the 2025-26 figures, carried forward because the ATO has not yet published 2026-27 ones. Its return instructions show them rising each year.
What is the Medicare levy low-income threshold?
$28,011 for a single person in 2025-26, the most recent year the ATO has published. At or below it you pay no levy, and between it and $35,013 the levy is reduced. A person entitled to the seniors and pensioners tax offset has higher thresholds, $44,268 and $55,335, and a family is tested at $47,238 and $59,047, plus $4,338 and $5,423 for each dependent child.
How does the Medicare levy reduction work?
It is automatic: the ATO works it out when you lodge, and there is nothing to claim. Inside the shade-in band the levy is 10c for each dollar of taxable income above the lower threshold, so on $32,000 a single person pays $398.90 rather than $640.00. The catch is the rate on the next dollar: 10c of levy on top of income tax, five times the usual 2%, until the reduction runs out at $35,013. The reduction is applied when your return is assessed; Tax Return Deadline 2026 sets out when a 2025-26 return is due.
Who is exempt from the Medicare levy?
The ATO lists three groups. Category 1 is medical: a blind pensioner, or someone entitled to full free medical treatment for all conditions under Defence Force arrangements or a Veterans' Affairs Gold Card, with a full exemption where there are no dependants or every dependant is exempt or pays the levy, and a half exemption where at least one dependant, such as a spouse, is neither. Category 2 is a foreign resident for tax purposes. Category 3 is a person not entitled to Medicare benefits, shown by a Medicare Entitlement Statement. For categories 2 and 3 the exemption covers a period only where you had no dependants or every dependant, spouse included, was also exempt. You claim it in your tax return.
How do I get a Medicare levy exemption certificate?
For the not-entitled-to-Medicare exemption, the document is a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia, applied for through myGov from 1 July. The ATO says it can take up to 8 weeks and that you must have it before you lodge. Holding one does not settle the question on its own: the ATO's example is a 482 visa holder whose spouse was entitled to Medicare benefits, and who therefore cannot claim the exemption.
Does private health insurance reduce the Medicare levy?
No. Hospital cover has no effect on the 2% levy. What it removes is the Medicare levy surcharge, a separate charge of 1% to 1.5% on singles with income for surcharge purposes above $105,000 in 2026-27 who hold no appropriate hospital policy. Someone on $110,000 without cover pays both: $2,200 of levy and $1,100 of surcharge.
Is the Medicare levy taken out of my pay?
Yes, as part of the tax withheld. The ATO states that the ordinary withholding scales incorporate the Medicare levy, so it is not a separate line on most payslips. The final figure is settled when you lodge: the levy is worked out on the whole year's taxable income, and anything over- or under-withheld comes back or is owed then. The Tax Withheld Calculator shows what each pay carries.
Related pages.
- Medicare Levy Surcharge CalculatorWork out whether the Medicare levy surcharge applies to you and what it costs, with the 2026-27 single and family thresholds.
- Income Tax CalculatorWork out income tax, the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset on any salary for 2026-27, with the bracket-by-bracket working shown.
- Low Income Tax OffsetWork out your low income tax offset for 2026-27. Up to $700, tapering to nil at $66,667, with the tax it saves and why most of it arrives at tax time.
- Tax Return CalculatorEstimate your 2025-26 tax refund or bill from your myGov income statement, with income tax, the offset, Medicare levy, surcharge and HELP shown line by line.
- Tax Withheld CalculatorWork out the PAYG tax withheld from a weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay on the ATO 2026-27 formulas, with the working and the tax owed when you lodge.
- Tax-Free ThresholdThe tax-free threshold is $18,200 for 2026-27. See the tax withheld from each pay with and without it, who should claim it, and what claiming it twice costs.
Every calculator on this site is listed on the Wage Calculator page.