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James Coyle
James has over 35 years experience in financial services with particular expertise in two of the key components of retirement finance - Superannuation and the Age Pension. He is passionate about providing the guidance and support that can help older Australians enjoy their best possible retirement. He lives in regional Victoria surrounded by dogs and chooks.
my wife and i are aged pensioners i earn 17.440 per annum do i get taxed
Hi Raymond, thanks for reaching out! The Age Pension does form part of your taxable income. However, if it is your only source of retirement income, you will pay no tax. This does not mean you do not have to lodge a Tax Return though. Everyone should submit either a Tax Return or a Non-Lodgement Advice to the ATO so please speak with your accountant/tax agent to clarify which is best for you.
We are a couple who emigrated from NZ some years ago. We are in receipt of NZ Superannuation which is taxed at source & we receive the net amount.
In addition we receive a small fortnightly top up pension from Aust Old Age pension to bring our income up to what Aust Pensioners receive of $137 each fortnightly.( varies with exchange rate) We have no other income. nor investments.Because of this we understand we don’t need to lodge a tax return in Australia. However if we had an ABN No then we would have to. It would be helpful if you could include pensioners like us in your comments I. Your future reports. Thank you.
Hi Iris and John, thanks for joining the conversation! Whilst you may not be obligated to lodge a Tax Return we do highly recommend you consider it or complete a Non-Lodgement Advice instead. We are not tax experts though so best to speak with you tax agent/accountant.
hi i recieve part age pension which varys as my wife works casual average 2 days per week as supply teacher im 70 yrs she is 63yrs she pays tax i dont have any other income do i need to lodge tax return or maybe no lodgement notice thanking you john stone
Hi John, thanks for asking an important question! We recommend contacting your accountant/tax agent to confirm what is best for you specifically but in general is a good idea to always complete a Tax Return or Non-Lodgement Advice each financial year.
If I migrated to AU in November do I declare all income from that date to end of June? How does this affect my tax free threshold? I receive some NZ govt super by arrangement with Centrelink. Considering the share market losses recently (and all my other income is from investments) should I apply for a reassessment?
Hi Rosemary, thanks for seeking clarity. Centrelink assess all income you earn whether it be in Australia or foreign so yes you need to declare everything. Regarding a reassessment, we suggest people consider updating the values of their income/assets with Centrelink regularly to ensure they are getting as accurate a pension as possible. This does mean that you need to provide Centrelink with new bank statements and other supporting documents (depends on what assets/income you have) as proof of the new balances though.
I am using my Superannuation fund to provide an annual income stream of $2,222 per fortnight. I also receive a small fortnightly payment of $76 from Centrelink.
Do I have to pay tax?
Hi Sandra, thanks for reaching out! It is best for you to speak with a tax specialist as there are many areas that need to be considered to determine whether you have to pay tax or not. We can only help inform you on the impacts of doing/not doing a tax return regarding Centrelink entitlements.
Hi I retire 1 July 2022. I will be getting my final payment on Friday 1 July or after. I will do my tax return for FYE 2022 asap. When I apply for a part pension (if eligible) I will need to supply my income tax return because we have a non operating Family Trust and would like to get the CSHC. Is Centrelink going to use my 2022 ITR to assess eligibility for the pension and/or the CSHC? Hope that makes sense !
Hi Peter, thanks for giving it your best shot, I think I understand what you are asking so here it goes! Firstly you will only need to apply for Age Pension (AP) OR CSHC, never both. The Age Pension provides a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) which includes all the benefits of a CSHC plus more. In terms of how you prove your employment situation, it is a similar process either way.
So long as you have a separation certificate or equivalent to show that you have retired and will not receive any further income from employment, Centrelink will not hold the previous income earned against you. In your case, whether you apply for AP or CSHC Centrelink will ask you to provide your Tax Return and Notice of Assessment so yes they will see your previous earnings but as I said, the separation certificate lets them know that what is shown on the Tax Return is not indicative of what you will earn moving forward.
Therefore you should pass the income assessment for the Age Pension but there is the assets test that also needs to be met. In case you don’t meet the assets test to receive Age Pension you can feel confident that you will pass the income test for CSHC so you have that in your back pocket.