This guide covers the 2025-26 income year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026), with returns lodged in 2026. Tax residents, non-residents and people with foreign income face different obligations, so confirm your own status first.
We'll cover residency, current thresholds, deductions, offsets and the reconciliation steps that catch most people out: PAYG withholding, HELP repayments and Medicare amounts.
Key Takeaways
- Australia has no "single filing status" or general dependant exemption, so lodge an individual return.
- Claim only personal spending you can connect to income and prove.
- Check super contributions, private health cover, study loans and side income before lodging.
- Spouse, de facto or supported-person details can still affect Medicare and health-insurance calculations.
What "Single With No Dependants" Means in Australia
The phrase comes mostly from US tax language. In Australia, the ATO's 2026 instructions treat your return as an individual return, with separate questions about spouse income. You don't pick a filing status or claim a standard dependant allowance.
Relationship, residency and dependants are different tests
Three tests often get mixed up:
- Relationship status: a spouse includes marriage, registered relationships and de facto couples living together on a genuine domestic basis.
- Residency: the ATO uses the resides, domicile, 183-day and Commonwealth superannuation tests. Most working holiday makers are foreign residents for tax purposes.
- Dependant status: defined separately for Medicare levy reductions, the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) and private health insurance.
An unmarried person can still have a de facto partner who must be reported for some ATO calculations.
Don't assume "no dependants"
If you support a child, parent, partner or relative, whether they count depends on the specific test.
- For the MLS, maintained resident spouses, children under 21 and full-time students aged 21 to 24 can count
- Private health insurance dependency is wider: the ATO's example covers adult student children on a parent's policy until 32
- That wider PHI rule does not extend MLS dependency
Tax Basics Every Single Taxpayer Should Check for 2026
Resident tax rates
For 2025-26, resident rates (excluding Medicare) are, per the ATO resident rates:
| Taxable income | Tax |
|---|---|
| $0 – $18,200 | Nil |
| $18,201 – $45,000 | 16c per $1 over $18,200 |
| $45,001 – $135,000 | $4,288 + 30c per $1 over $45,000 |
| $135,001 – $190,000 | $31,288 + 37c per $1 over $135,000 |
| $190,001+ | $51,638 + 45c per $1 over $190,000 |
These are marginal rates. Only the dollars inside each band are taxed at that band's rate. Foreign residents pay 30% up to $135,000, with no tax-free threshold and no Medicare levy.
PAYG withholding
Your employer withholds tax through the year, and your return reconciles it against your actual liability. A refund or a bill doesn't prove withholding was right or wrong.
Multiple jobs are a common trap. Only one payer applies the tax-free threshold. In an ATO example, a person earning $60,000 had $8,320 withheld and still owed $1,568.
Medicare levy and surcharge
The levy is 2%. For 2025-26, the ordinary single low-income thresholds are $28,011 and $35,013.
The MLS applies to singles without appropriate hospital cover:
- Up to $101,000: 0%
- $101,001 to $118,000: 1%
- $118,001 to $158,000: 1.25%
- $158,001 and above: 1.5%
Qualifying cover needs a registered insurer and an excess of $750 or less on a single policy. Extras-only cover doesn't count.
Study loan repayments
HELP, VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and AASL share the same 2025-26 schedule, as set out on the ATO repayment page:
- Repayment income up to $67,000: nil
- $67,001 to $125,000: 15c per $1 over $67,000
- $125,001 to $179,285: $8,700 + 17c per $1 over $125,000
- $179,286 and above: 10% of total repayment income
Repayment income can differ from taxable income because of add-backs, so check the final assessment against what your employer withheld.
Super planning
The 2025-26 concessional cap is $30,000. Carry-forward needs a total super balance under $500,000 at the prior 30 June, plus unused caps from up to five earlier years.
To claim a personal contribution as a deduction, lodge a valid notice of intent with your fund by the earlier of lodging your return or 30 June 2027, and get the fund's acknowledgement.
Salary sacrifice must be arranged before you earn the pay, not retrospectively over accrued salary or bonuses.
Year-end review
Changes during the year can make withholding less accurate. Look for:
- A new job or multiple employers
- Unpaid leave or large bonuses
- A side business
- A change in private health cover
Deductions and Tax Offsets Singles Without Dependants May Miss
Deductions and Tax Offsets That Singles Without Dependants May Miss
The three tests
Every work-related claim must be:
- Spent by you personally, without reimbursement
- Directly connected to earning your income
- Backed by records
Private portions are excluded. Even claims of $300 or less need calculation records.
Working from home
For 2025-26, the fixed rate method is 70c per hour. You need records of actual hours for the full year and evidence of the expenses it covers. The ATO's example of 843 hours produces a $590 deduction.
The rate covers phone, internet, energy and consumables, so you can't claim those separately. Equipment such as a desk or chair can be claimed on top. The actual cost method needs expense evidence, apportionment, and either full-year hours or a representative four-week diary.
Common work expenses
- Professional memberships and subscriptions tied to your work
- Tools used for work (immediate deduction versus depreciation depends on asset rules)
- Protective or occupation-specific clothing and uniforms, not ordinary clothes
- Travel between work duties, but not ordinary commuting
- Self-education connected to your current job, not a career change
Other claims
- Tax-agent fees, in the year you pay them
- Gifts to deductible gift recipients, with receipts and generally no benefit received
- Income-protection premiums, but not life or trauma cover, or premiums paid inside super
- Interest on money borrowed to invest, proportionately
HELP repayments are not deductible, and share brokerage is not a dividend deduction.
Offsets and concessions
Offsets reduce tax payable rather than taxable income. Singles often miss these:
- Low income tax offset: income-tested and non-refundable
- SAPTO: maximum $2,230 for eligible singles, shading out from $34,919 and cutting out at $52,759
- Private health insurance rebate: turns on complying cover, Medicare eligibility, income and the oldest insured person's age
Dividends and attached franking credits are assessable, with a matching credit subject to entitlement rules.
Don't assume US benefits apply in Australia. There is no Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, dependent-care credit or student-loan-interest deduction.
Special Income Situations That Can Change the Return
Side hustles and ABN income
The ATO looks for repeated activity and an intention to make a profit. Hobby losses are excluded. Sole traders declare business income and deductions personally, even when income falls below the tax-free threshold.
Personal services income applies when more than 50% of your income is a reward for personal effort or skills. Check current ATO guidance on GST registration and PAYG instalments for your turnover.
Investments and crypto
Declare interest, dividends and managed fund distributions. Also report capital gains events. Individuals get a 50% discount on eligible gains, unless the asset was bought and sold within 12 months. Selling, swapping, gifting or spending crypto can trigger a gain or loss, so keep acquisition records.
Foreign income
Residents declare assessable foreign income even if taxed overseas, with exceptions for temporary residents. Convert income, deductions and foreign tax to AUD. The foreign income tax offset is non-refundable:
- Above $1,000 of foreign tax, calculate your entitlement or claim only $1,000
- Any excess is not carried forward
Employment changes
For 2025-26, key employment termination figures include:
- Genuine redundancy tax-free limit: $13,100 plus $6,552 per completed year of service
- Life-benefit employment termination payments: $260,000 cap
Bonuses and commissions are salary income. Employee share scheme discounts can be taxed upfront or at a deferred taxing point.
Most pre-fill data arrives by late July, but timing varies. Check it against employer and provider records.
If you run a business, your personal return is only part of the picture. GST, payroll and bookkeeping obligations sit alongside it.
2026 Australian Tax Return Checklist for Singles With No Dependants
Gather your records
- ATO pre-fill information and income statements
- Bank interest, dividend and managed fund statements
- Private health insurance statement
- Study loan details
- Super contribution evidence
- Donation receipts
- Work expense records
Check pre-fill and deadlines
Look for missing, duplicated or wrong entries. Pre-fill doesn't remove your duty to report all income or keep evidence.
Key 2026 dates:
- Self-lodgement closes at 11:59 pm on Monday 2 November 2026
- New-client authority for a registered tax agent is due 31 October 2026
- Eligible individuals using an agent may have program dates as late as 15 May 2027
Keep records generally for five years after lodgement, and longer for CGT and depreciation.
Reconcile before and after lodging
Compare your assessment against:
- Tax withheld and PAYG instalments
- Study loan repayments
- Medicare amounts, offsets and foreign tax credits
If your circumstances changed, update your payroll withholding or instalments for next year.
When to Seek Professional Australian Tax Help
Get advice if you have:
- Self-employment or freelance income
- Foreign income or a residency change
- Investments or cryptocurrency
- Employee share schemes
- A rental property
- Complex deductions or HELP/study loan issues
- An ATO review
If you are a sole trader, freelancer or owner whose personal return links to business or cross-border activity, VJM Global supports Australian businesses with accounting, tax compliance and advisory services. The firm has served 250+ Australian businesses.
It is not an individual tax agent for personal returns, so use a registered tax agent for the return itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I claim if I am single with no dependants?
Claim only eligible deductions, offsets and expenses supported by ATO rules and your records. Being single with no dependants creates no standalone exemption or automatic credit.
What happens if I claim 0 dependants?
Australia generally has no US-style dependant allowance on an individual return. Spouse or dependant details can still affect Medicare, private health insurance or benefit calculations.
What does filing as single with no dependants mean?
It usually describes someone not claiming a dependant. Australian tax is calculated from residency, income, deductions, offsets and personal circumstances, not a filing-status choice.
