Australia · MLS & PHI Rebate 2026-27
Check your income tier, whether you're liable for the Medicare levy surcharge, and your private health insurance rebate percentage.
Breakdown
Enter your income to see your tier and liability.
The Medicare levy surcharge is separate from, and on top of, the standard 2% Medicare levy most taxpayers pay. It only applies if your income is above the relevant threshold for your filing status and you don't hold an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover for the period. It exists to encourage higher-income earners to take pressure off the public hospital system by taking out private cover, rather than to raise general revenue.
Extras or ancillary-only policies (dental, optical, physio) don't count, no matter how comprehensive. You need private patient hospital cover with an excess of $750 or less for singles, or $1,500 or less for couples and families. Partial-year cover only avoids the surcharge for the days you actually held it; the surcharge is prorated for the rest of the year if you take out cover partway through.
The rebate is a government contribution toward your premium, income and age-tested, and normally applied automatically by your insurer as a reduced premium rather than something you claim separately. It's a completely separate calculation from the MLS: you can be liable for the MLS and still receive a (reduced) rebate on your premium, or hold cover, avoid the MLS, and still see your rebate percentage drop to zero if your income is high enough.
| Tier | Single | Family | MLS rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | ≤$105,000 | ≤$210,000 | 0% |
| Tier 1 | $105,001–$123,000 | $210,001–$246,000 | 1.0% |
| Tier 2 | $123,001–$164,000 | $246,001–$328,000 | 1.25% |
| Tier 3 | $164,001+ | $328,001+ | 1.5% |
Family thresholds increase by $1,500 for each dependent child after the first (a family's first child doesn't add anything; the second, third and so on each add $1,500 to every boundary).
| Age of oldest insured | Base | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 65 | 24.118% | 16.079% | 8.038% | 0% |
| 65–69 | 28.139% | 20.098% | 12.058% | 0% |
| 70+ | 32.158% | 24.118% | 16.079% | 0% |
A single taxpayer earning $130,000 with no hospital cover sits in Tier 2 ($123,001–$164,000): MLS payable = $130,000 × 1.25% = $1,625 a year. If they took out hospital cover with a $500 excess for the full year instead, MLS drops to $0, and (if under 65) they'd still receive a 8.038% rebate on their premium since their income places them in Tier 2 for rebate purposes too. The cost of cover needs to be weighed against the $1,625 saved, not assumed to be a clean win either way.
A couple with two dependent children and combined income of $255,000, no hospital cover: the family base threshold of $210,000 increases by $1,500 for the second child, giving an adjusted scale of $211,500 / $247,500 / $329,500. At $255,000 they fall in Tier 1 ($211,500–$247,500)... except $255,000 is actually above $247,500, placing them in Tier 2 instead, so MLS payable = $255,000 × 1.25% = $3,187.50. This is exactly the kind of boundary case where getting the dependent-child adjustment right, not just the base threshold, changes which rate actually applies.
"Income for surcharge purposes" isn't simply your taxable income: it also adds back reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, and total net investment losses, among other items. Someone salary packaging heavily (a novated lease, for example) can find their MLS income is meaningfully higher than their taxable income alone would suggest, which can tip them into a higher tier than expected. This calculator asks for the final MLS-purposes figure directly; work that figure out first, ideally with your tax agent or the ATO's own Medicare levy surcharge guidance, before relying on the tier shown here.
This calculator estimates MLS and rebate eligibility only; it doesn't calculate your base income tax or the standard 2% Medicare levy. Use the Income Tax Calculator for those, then add any MLS liability from here on top if it applies to you. If you're weighing up a novated lease around the same time, check the Novated Lease & Car FBT Calculator first: the reportable fringe benefit amount from a lease is exactly the kind of item that can push your MLS income into a higher tier.