Tax Savings Optimiser
Enter your income and situation to get personalised, actionable strategies to reduce your Australian income tax — for FY 2026-27, FY 2025-26 and FY 2024-25.
Your Situation
Work from home
Tools, uniforms, self-education, union fees, etc.
We found 3 strategies that could save you
$4,127/year
Current tax: $20,600 (21.7% effective rate) on $95,000 income
You are in the $45,001–$135,000 bracket (30%). Marginal rate: 30.0%.
Recommended Strategies
Before vs After Optimisation
Not Applicable
Important Disclaimer
These are general strategies for educational purposes only. Savings shown are estimates based on the information you've provided. Your actual tax savings may differ. This is not personal financial advice — consult a registered tax agent or financial adviser before implementing any strategy. Tax laws and thresholds change regularly.
Tax Savings Optimiser: Reduce Your Australian Income Tax
How it works
This optimiser analyses your income, current deductions, and personal situation to identify legitimate strategies that could reduce your tax bill. It runs multiple tax calculations behind the scenes — one for your current situation, and then variations with each strategy applied — to calculate the exact dollar impact of each recommendation.
Every strategy suggested is based on current ATO rules and thresholds. The optimiser considers seven key areas: salary sacrifice into super, work-from-home deductions, private health insurance vs the Medicare Levy Surcharge, government super co-contributions, unclaimed work-related expenses, spouse super contributions, and negative gearing (informational only).
Strategies are ranked by annual saving and categorised by risk level. "No risk" strategies (like claiming legitimate deductions) have zero downside. "Low risk" strategies require some record-keeping or upfront cost. "Medium risk" strategies (like negative gearing) involve significant financial decisions and should only be considered with professional advice.
When to use this calculator
- You want to know if you're paying more tax than necessary on your current salary
- You're considering salary sacrificing into super but aren't sure of the benefit
- You want to check whether private health insurance would save you money vs paying the MLS
- You work from home and aren't sure if you're claiming the deduction correctly
- You're on a lower income and want to check if you're eligible for the government co-contribution
- You want to see the combined effect of multiple tax-saving strategies applied together
- You're preparing your tax return and want to make sure you're not missing deductions
Key concepts
- Marginal vs effective tax rate
- Your marginal rate is the tax on your last dollar of income — it determines how much each deduction saves you. Your effective rate is the overall percentage of your income that goes to tax. A $1,000 deduction at a 37% marginal rate saves $370 in tax, regardless of your effective rate. This is why deductions are more valuable for higher-income earners.
- Concessional contributions cap
- The FY 2026-27 concessional contributions cap is $32,500. It includes employer SG, salary sacrifice and deductible personal contributions. If an employer pays $12,000 SG on a $100,000 salary and there are no other concessional contributions, $20,500 of the standard cap remains.
- Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)
- An additional 1%–1.5% charge that can apply without complying private hospital cover. The FY 2026-27 base single threshold is $105,000. MLS uses income for surcharge purposes and cover days, not simply the taxable-income figure shown on a payslip.
- Government co-contribution
- A government super top-up for eligible lower-income earners who make personal after-tax contributions. In FY 2026-27 the lower and upper income thresholds are $49,293 and $64,293, with a maximum co-contribution of $500 and a 50% matching rate, subject to all eligibility tests.
Example: Sarah, $95,000 salary, no current optimisation
Sarah earns $95,000/year, has no private health insurance, doesn't salary sacrifice, and works from home 2 days a week. She hasn't claimed any deductions. Here's what the optimiser finds:
1. Salary sacrifice Her employer pays 12% SG = $11,400. The FY 2026-27 concessional cap is $32,500, leaving $21,100 before allowing for any other concessional contributions. The optimiser models a sacrifice within that room and subtracts estimated 15% contributions tax from the tax saving. Salary sacrifice does not reduce HELP repayment income or MLS income for surcharge purposes.
2. Work-from-home deduction Working 16 hours/week from home for 48 weeks = 768 hours × $0.70 = $538 under the current fixed-rate method, provided Sarah meets the record-keeping and eligibility rules.
3. Private health insurance: save ~$0 (below MLS threshold) At $95,000 gross income, she's below the $105,000 FY 2026-27 base single threshold in this simplified example, so no surcharge applies. The live result shows the combined estimate rather than relying on a fixed worked-example total.
Tax Savings Optimiser FAQ
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