Private health insurance rebate calculator 2026–27

Work out your rebate for 2026–27

Enter your income for surcharge purposes for the 2026–27 financial year, your family status and the premium you pay. The calculator finds your tier, applies the rate for the oldest person on the policy and takes any Lifetime Health Cover loading out first, because the rebate never applies to it. Everything runs in your browser, and every figure it produces also appears in the tables below.

How much is the rebate worth in dollars in 2026–27?

Each figure is the rebate on a stated A$2,400 a year premium with no Lifetime Health Cover loading, for premiums paid from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2027, using the ATO’s rates checked on 8 October 2026.

Each step from the base tier to Tier 2 costs about A$193 a year on this premium, at every age. Crossing into Tier 3 removes the rebate entirely: a single on A$164,001 gets nothing back.

Which income tier are you in for 2026–27?

The tier is set by income for surcharge purposes, from the ATO’s page updated 22 June 2026. The family threshold rises by A$1,500 for each dependent child after the first, which the calculator applies.

A single on A$120,000 was in Tier 2 for 2025–26 and is in Tier 1 for 2026–27, because the thresholds rose. On the A$2,400 example that is A$385.90 back instead of about A$194.

What were the rates before 1 April 2026?

The percentages fall a little each 1 April. For premiums paid from 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, the ATO’s rates were:

On the A$2,400 example, the under-65 base-tier rebate fell from A$582.91 to A$578.83. The Department’s circular sets the 2026 Rebate Adjustment Factor at 0.993, against a 4.41% average premium rise.

How is the private health insurance rebate calculated?

In four steps, which the calculator follows and you can redo by hand:

1. Find the tier. Compare your income for surcharge purposes for 2026–27 with the table above, using the family column if you had a spouse or dependent child on 30 June.
2. Find the rate. Read across to the row for the oldest person covered by the policy.
3. Remove any loading. Divide the premium by 1 plus the loading. A A$2,640 premium with a 10% loading has a base of A$2,400.
4. Apply the rate to the base only. The rebate is the base premium times the rate.

Income for surcharge purposes is not just taxable income. The ATO adds reportable fringe benefits, total net investment losses and reportable super contributions, for you and any spouse. A salary-packaged car or a large personal super contribution can move someone up a tier.

What happens if you claim the wrong rebate tier?

You settle up at tax time. PrivateHealth.gov.au notes that “If you nominate a lower tier than your actual income, you will receive a higher rebate than your income entitlements”, and the ATO states: “If you claim too much private health insurance rebate as a premium reduction, we recover the amount as a tax liability.” It shows on the notice of assessment as an excess private health insurance refund or reduction.

The reverse also works: a rebate you were owed but did not take “becomes payable to you as a refundable tax offset when we assess your tax return.” PrivateHealth.gov.au adds that “There are no additional penalties for estimating your income incorrectly.” The cost of guessing low is a bill in July, not a fine.

What changes for people over 65 on 1 April 2027?

If Parliament passes it, the higher rates for older Australians end. The Department’s July 2026 fact sheet: “From 1 April 2027, older Australians will receive the same rebate rate as other people in the same income tier, subject to legislation passing Parliament.” It also sets the adjustment factor at 1 for that date, so the under-65 rates of 24.118%, 16.079% and 8.038% would apply to everyone.

Plain Cover arithmetic on the Department’s Table 2 rates, last verified 8 October 2026. The Department puts the average extra cost for those affected at A$252 a year. Plain Cover could not confirm the bill’s progress at the Parliament website on 8 October 2026, and the ATO says the official rates from 1 April 2027 “will become available in March 2027”.

Worked example: a couple, one of them over 65

Margaret, 67, and Tom, 64, family income for surcharge purposes A$230,000 in 2026–27, hospital and extras premium A$4,400 a year, which includes a 10% Lifetime Health Cover loading on the policy.

• Family Tier 1, because A$230,000 sits between A$210,001 and A$246,000.
• The oldest person is 67, so the rate is the 65 to 69, Tier 1 rate of 20.098%.
• The base premium is A$4,400 ÷ 1.10 = A$4,000. The A$400 loading gets no rebate.
• Rebate: 20.098% × A$4,000 = A$803.92. They pay A$3,596.08.
• If the 2027 change passes, the rate falls to 16.079%, the rebate to A$643.16, and they pay A$160.76 more a year.

Premium reduction or tax offset: which is better?

Neither gives more money. The ATO describes two ways to receive the rebate: “through your private health insurance provider” as a lower premium, or “when you lodge your tax return – as a refundable tax offset.” The amount is the same; only the timing changes.

Taking it as a premium reduction means paying less each month and settling any difference at tax time. Taking it as an offset means paying the full premium now and receiving the rebate with your refund. The ATO adds that you claim the rebate in the income year in which premiums are paid, so a premium prepaid before 1 April is rebated at the rate in force when it was paid.

How do I check the maths against the ATO?

The ATO publishes its own private health insurance rebate calculator, which returns your percentage. It “can’t calculate or claim your PHI amount”, which is the step this page adds. If our percentage and the ATO’s disagree, the ATO’s is the one that counts. Tell us and we will correct this page and record it in the changelog. The tiers and their history are explained in the rebate guide, and the surcharge calculator sets the rebate against the tax it can help avoid.