Two years in a row.. wife's return seems low

King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 13:23

Okay so this year the wifey brought home $49300 out of $67350. She was taxed $18050. By the calculations at the ATO website (http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/asp/simpletaxcalc/main…) it says she should only be taxed $13,400 for that kind of salary.

When I put these figures in to the my.gov mytax return, including a few deductions, it gives us an estimated return of $49.27. Without deductions, she owes the tax man $200

My only explanation would be that she has a HECS debt but the mytax website doesn't display how it is factoring this in. Can anyone explain what's going on? Last year was pretty much the same. I think she got like $1.70 back?

I don't really want to splash out $150 on an accountant just to have them say "yep, it's the HECS debt".

Advice please!

Financial

Comments

  • tanoshiiki on 29/08/2014 - 13:27
    +1

    Sounds like HECS.

    Use this to manually calculate the HECS repayment https://www.ato.gov.au/rates/help-repayment-thresholds-and-r…

    • King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 13:32

      So would it be 5% of your gross income or 5% of your HECS debt?

      It seems they're taking 5% of her gross income, i.e. $3360, or even more.

      • tanoshiiki on 29/08/2014 - 13:41
        +1

        % of HRI, which HRI is

        Taxable income plus any total net investment loss (which includes net rental losses), total reportable fringe benefits amounts, reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income.

        Employers don't know much your HECS is.

  • coolhead on 29/08/2014 - 13:31
    +2

    Not sure about HECS but I think to increase your refund U can put a deduction of $299 for work related expense. If this is less than $300 then you don't need receipts…
    Disclaimer: I am not a tax agent & this is just an opinion

    • King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 13:33

      Thanks, she has over $300 in deductions and receipts/paperwork to back it up.

    • Waldo000000 on 30/08/2014 - 17:11

      Claiming a deduction for expenses you didn't incur is fraud. "You don't need receipts" is code for "it's not a crime if you don't get caught".

  • toniyellow on 29/08/2014 - 13:35
    +1

    She can call the ATO hotline and find out the balance of HECS and how much she repaid this year. She needs her TFN and some ID to call.

    Or she can find out online if she still has the ID number associated with it. If she accrued it a while ago she probably doesn't. https://app.heims.deewr.gov.au/myuniassist/Forms/Logon.aspx

    • King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 13:38

      Yeah I'm currently on the phone to ATO sorting out my HECS debt, then I'm going to do hers :)

  • modsec802 on 29/08/2014 - 13:46
    +4

    It would be that you didn't take the medicare levy into account (the simple tax calculator doesn't).
    It's 1.5% last FY and 2% from this year onwards.
    Also, if you don't have private health insurance and earn over a certain amount as a couple you'll both be liable for the medicare levy surcharge.

    • King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 13:52

      We're not in that bracket yet. We both make about the same amount. Only just bought a house this year :)

      • modsec802 on 29/08/2014 - 13:55
        +2

        Still the 1.5% medicare levy is for everyone so would be about $1010 on top of the $13,400, so that plus HECS explains it.
        The PAYG system is designed so if someone earns the same amount all year then their employer should deduct just enough tax so they won't be liable to pay additional (or get any back).
        Only deductions or variances in working (eg unpaid leave) will result in a refund.

        • King Steuart on 29/08/2014 - 14:06
          +1

          Oh okay, wow I really need to learn more about medicare. I doubt I've claimed $1000 in medicare bills in the past decade!

        • modsec802 on 29/08/2014 - 14:19
          +2

          @Putnum: just wait until you have kids

        • Waldo000000 on 30/08/2014 - 17:13

          @Putnum: Medicare is not something you "claim". Think public hospitals.

        • King Steuart on 30/08/2014 - 23:48

          @Waldo000000: I wasn't referring to it as a tax claim. More a Medicare claim.

    • tanoshiiki on 29/08/2014 - 14:02
      +1

      Wow, the Simple Tax Calculator is too simplified!

      I thought there used to be another calculator that did include medicare and HECS.

  • Smulder on 29/08/2014 - 14:36
    +1

    Use this calculator instead. Divide the annual income by 4 and select quarterly pay period.

    You can select HELP debt using this one, and it includes medicare levy.

    It shows the amount of tax withheld was approximately correct for her salary.

  • spiff on 29/08/2014 - 15:14
    +2

    I use this calculator. Clearly shows how much HECS you pay and how much PAYG tax you pay. Also has a note below about how much medicare levy you're liable for.

    http://www.paycalculator.com.au/

    But basically everyone that juicedpixels said above is accurate. My partner got caught out on this and had to pay back $900 because of the medicare levy.

    • adn on 29/08/2014 - 20:12

      i use this site too.

  • spersephone on 30/08/2014 - 08:50

    If you use etax, you should be able to see very clearly where it goes and how it's calculated.

  • Boshait on 30/08/2014 - 11:05
    +2

    You should learn the difference between a tax return and a tax refund.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/08/2014 - 14:47

    Not sure if this will help, but the Low Income Tax Offset was reduced two years ago.

  • retiredfeline on 30/08/2014 - 15:49
    +4

    When I saw the title I thought wow now OzBargainers are thinking about the ROI of a wife! :)

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