The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) expects to be processing the new low and middle income tax offsets for taxpayers by the end of this week, depositing payments in the banks of people who had already lodged their 2018-19 tax returns.
In a statement, the ATO said taxpayers who were yet to lodge their returns would have any offset they were entitled to taken into account during the normal processing of their return.
“The amount of the offset you may be entitled to, and the amount of any refund, will differ for everyone depending on individual circumstances such as your income level and how much tax you have paid throughout the year,” the ATO said.
Minister for Finance, Senator Mathias Cormann said he estimated that more than 10 million Australians would receive tax relief.
“Middle income earners with an income up to $126,000 will receive up to $1,080, or $2,160 for dual income couples,” Senator Cormann said.
“The Bill has also locked in the benefits of low and middle income tax relief by increasing the top threshold of the 19c in the dollar tax bracket from $41,000 to $45,000 and by increasing the low income tax offset from $645 to $700 in 2022-23.”
He said that in combination with the legislated removal of the 37 per cent tax bracket in 2024-25, the Government was delivering structural reform to the tax system by reducing the 32.5¢ tax rate in the dollar to 30¢ in the dollar.
