How Does Private Health Insurance Affect My Tax Return?

There are two things in life that are certain – death and taxes. And funnily enough, there’s insurance that can help in both of those situations (get it – Billy Explores can also help you compare life insurance?) But how can Billy Explores help me with my taxes we hear you say? Well, read on dear reader!  The Australian Government has a lot of support for citizens and residents when it comes to private health insurance in Australia, and it all helps when it comes to tax time! The majority of life insurance policies in Australia will have the below applied to them.

Australian Government Private Health Insurance Support

The Australian Government recognised that making private health insurance more accessible for Australians should always be a priority. Consequently, the Australian government created the private health insurance rebate to help everyday Australians manage the costs of private health insurance and make it more affordable to them. They’ve also initiated the medicare levy and Lifetime Health Cover loading to help even more at tax time.

What is the Private Health Insurance Rebate?

The private health insurance rebate is a subsidy available to the majority of Australians with private health cover and was introduced by the government to make private health cover more accessible. You are able to receive it in two different ways.

Firstly, you can directly receive the rebate from your health insurance provider. This means they will reduce your monthly premiums by the amount of the rebate, and you won’t have to do anything further.

Otherwise, you can pay the full premium throughout the year and then claim the rebate amount as part of your annual income tax return. The amount will be the same regardless of which option you choose.

Is My Private Health Insurance Rebate Affected By My Income?

Yes – just like any Government benefit, your eligibility is assessed according to your income. Your income does affect the amount of private health insurance rebate you can claim. This is sometimes called means testing or income testing.

Your income will put you into one of four tiers detailed below.

Private Health Insurance Rebate Income Thresholds

The table below shows income thresholds for the 2022-2023 financial year.

	Base tier	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Single	$90,000 or less	$90,001 – $105,000	$105,001 – $140,000	$140,001 or more
Family	$180,000 or less	$180,001 – $210,000	$210,001 – $280,000	$280,001 or more

We’ll go into more detail below, however as an illustration the Base tier will entitle you to the highest rebate amount. In contrast, if you’re in Tier 3, you won’t be entitled to any rebate.

Government Rebate Amounts

The table below highlights the percentage of rebate you can claim, due to your income tier. As you can see, your age also affects the amount of private health insurance rebate you can claim. Above all, you’ll notice a percentage is used instead of a fixed amount. As a result, this provides a fair and equitable system for all levels of health cover.

These percentages are current for the period from 1 April 2018 – 30 June 2018.

	Base tier	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Under 65 yrs	25.415%	16.943%	8.471%	0%
65–69 yrs	29.651%	21.180%	12.707%	0%
70 yrs or over	33.887%	25.415%	16.943%	0%

Is the Private Health Insurance Rebate Different with Dependent Children?

It certainly is! If you’ve got dependent children, it may affect your income tier because the income tiers are raised by $1,500 for each child after the first child. This applies to both singles and family thresholds.

The ATO website defines a dependent child as a ‘Medicare levy surcharge dependent child’ which usually means:

• A child under the age of 21
• A child aged between 21-25 who is a full-time student.

In addition to the rules above, it should be noted that dependent children who are covered by private health insurance are not income tested. They are not determined to share a cost of the policy, hence any income they have is not counted towards the income test for family cover.

What Other Benefits are Associated with Private Health?

Above all, it’s not just the private health insurance rebate that saves you money. Aside from the obvious benefits of having private health insurance, there’s also tax benefits too.

Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)

If you earn over $90,000 (the figure jumps to $180,000 for couples), you’re also required to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). This initiative basically helps to support Medicare as Australia’s public health system.

The amount you pay is between 1% and 1.5%, so it can be a considerable amount. If you’re earning $90,000 a year, consequently the MLS would be around $900.

Do you want the good news, if you have held private hospital cover for the whole financial year, you certainly don’t have to pay the surcharge. That’s right, you’re exempt because you’re less reliant on public health! So really, if you earn over $90,000 per year, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get hospital cover. Think of it like saving $900 each year, and even more importantly you get hospital cover as well!

Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) Loading

While not really a tax as such, the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading can also cost you money. If you haven’t taken out private hospital cover by the age of 31, you’ll be penalised when you finally do get cover.

The initiative is designed to encourage Australians to take out hospital cover before the age of 30, hence taking pressure off the public system. Each year after your 31^st birthday that you wait to get cover, it will cost you 2% more which is 2% for each year. So, if you turned 30 and waited 8 years to get hospital cover, your premiums will cost 16% more. Furthermore, the loading stays with you for another 10 years.

If you take out hospital cover before your 31^st birthday, you’re exempt from the loading. Because of this you’ll always be able to get the best price on offer by your health fund.

How Do I Claim the Private Health Insurance Rebate?

You can claim the rebate in two different ways, and certainly neither of them are difficult.

Direct from health fund: You can let your insurer know what your income is, and consequently they will apply the rebate for you. Hence the rebate will be deducted from your monthly premiums.

At tax time: If you don’t claim your rebate from a health fund, you can certainly include the details in your tax return. Likewise, the money will come back to you as part of your entire tax return.

Compare Health Insurance Providers?

If you’re not looking to save on your tax return, then why not do a health insurance comparison and compare health insurance providers through Billy Explores! Get your current health insurance policy out, see what extras cover you have then get comparing!

We think there is no better way to save both time and effort comparing health insurance plans. The private health insurance rebate is great, but everyone can always save more! Billy Explores is your friendly health insurance expert, and he wants to get the best value health insurance for you. Let Billy compare health insurance deals for you from our panel of providers, and see how much you can potentially save!