Low Income Supplement

You may be eligible for the Low Income Supplement if:

• your adjusted taxable income is below:
  • $30 000 (for singles without a dependent child)
  • $45 000 (for couples without a dependent child)
  • $60 000 (for singles and couples with a dependent child)
• you were not required to pay tax in the assessment year or your assessed tax payable is less than $300 in the assessment year. Assessed tax payable is displayed on your tax Notice of Assessment which you should receive from the Australian Taxation Office.
• you were an Australian Resident at all times during the assessment year, have been in Australia for at least 39 weeks of the assessment year and are residing in Australia on the date of claim
• you were not subject to a newly arrived resident’s waiting period at any time during the assessment year
• there were no more than 39 weeks in the assessment year where you received a pension or benefit from the Australian Government
• you have not been a dependent child of another person for more than 25 weeks of the assessment year and no person was eligible for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) in respect of you for more than 25 weeks of the year
• there were no more than 39 weeks in the assessment year where you received or were eligible for FTB, and
• you have not been in prison and/or a psychiatric institution for more than 25 weeks of the assessment year and are not in prison and/or a psychiatric institution at the time of the claim.

For the purpose of the Low Income Supplement, assessments of tax and income requirements are made against the previous financial year to the one where the supplement is being claimed. For claims submitted in the 2012/2013 financial year, the assessment year is the 2011/2012 financial year.

Change to the Low Income Supplement from 1 January 2013

From 1 January 2013 some Family Tax Benefit (FTB) recipients will be eligible for the Low Income Supplement.

If you are currently ineligible for the Low Income Supplement because you received FTB for more than 39 weeks in the assessment year but otherwise meet all the other eligibility criteria, you may be able to claim the Low Income Supplement from 1 January 2013. To be eligible, both you and your partner (if you have one) will need to have an assessed tax payable of less than $300.

Information about how to claim will be available closer to 1 January 2013.

Your adjusted taxable income for Low Income Supplement or Low Income Family Supplement purposes is the sum of your and your partner’s (if you have one):

• taxable income for the assessment year
• adjusted fringe benefits total for the assessment year
• foreign income for the assessment year
• total net investment loss for the assessment year
• tax free pension or benefit for the assessment year
• reportable superannuation contributions (within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 ) for the assessment year, and
• Super Income Stream Benefits (as per the Income Tax Assessment Act) for the assessment year

less your deductible child maintenance paid for the assessment year.

Before claiming the Low Income Supplement or Low Income Family Supplement you should test your eligibility using the self-assessment tool.

Read more about the self-assessment tool

To complete a claim for the Low Income Supplement or Low Income Family Supplement you will need to provide Proof of Identity and evidence of your and/or your partner's (if you have one) taxable and non-taxable income, and assessed tax payable for the 2011-12 financial year.

Read more about the documents you need to submit to support your Low Income Supplement and Low Income Family Supplement claim

A claim for the 2011-12 financial year must be submitted by 30 June 2013.

Read more about claiming