As the latest financial year comes to an end, new statistics from the ATO show it isn’t easy to crack the elusive $200,000 mark.
The average Australian earns a little over $60,000 according to new figures. And, if you want to sit amongst the top 10 earners list, you will need to set your career aspirations high.
The latest statistics from the Australian Taxation Office reveal that the average taxable income for 2018/19 was $62,549. The issue of gender pay gap has once again been highlighted with the figures showing the average man earned $73,219 compared with $51,382 for women.
There was also a wide gap between genders for the average superannuation account balances. The average balance for males was $162,275 compared with $128,068 for females. The overall average was $143,979.
Medical occupations head the list of top earners with four of the top five working within the industry.
Surgeons on average earn a taxable income of $394,303, followed by anaesthetists on $386,065 and ‘internal medicine specialists’ on $304,752.
These careers are followed by financial dealers on $275,984, then psychiatrists on $235,558.
Engineers, legal professionals and CEOs round out the list.
Keep in mind it’s not easy to reach these income levels with only 510,000 Australians out of 14.7 million individuals reporting a taxable income of $180,000 or more.
The figures come as Australians prepare to file their latest tax returns.
According to the ATO, most Australians do their tax return through a tax agent, with 66.8 per cent choosing this method in 2018/19 compared to 32.1 per cent who did it themselves through myTax.
The average net tax paid was $19,344 – $23,366 by males and $14,687 by females. Around 6.1 million people, or 41.7 per cent of taxpayers, pay 30 per cent of Australia’s taxes, while only the 3.5 per cent of people who earn above $180,000 contribute 31.5 per cent of taxes.
Work-related expenses topped the list of tax deductions in 2018/19 with 8.9 million people receiving a $2331 rebate, followed by just under six million people receiving an average $332 for professional management of their tax affairs.
How do Sunshine Coast incomes compare?
Data from the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics Census (2016) reports that there were 163,202 people in the labour force in the Sunshine Coast statistical area.
Of these 52 per cent were employed full time, 36.1 per cent were employed part-time and 7.1 per cent were unemployed.
Eight-and-a-half per cent of the population earned an income of $1,750 ($91,000 per year) or more per week in 2016, while 8.1 per cent at in the $52,000 to $64,900 per year bracket.
The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over was $612 and $1478 for total family income.
Of the employed people in Sunshine Coast, 4.2% worked in hospitals (except psychiatric hospitals), 3.3 per cent in cafes and restaurants, 2.7 per cent in aged care residential services, 2.7 per cent in supermarket/grocery stores and 2.4 per cent in primary education.
Source: http://profile.id.com.au/sunshine-coast/
Be warned: ATO on lookout for work-related expenses
With the end of the financial year on the horizon and at a time when Australians start considering their tax returns, the tax office is warning it will be taking particular note of work-related expenses.
Around 8.5 million people claimed nearly $19.4 billion in work-related expenses in their 2020 tax returns.
Australian Taxation Office assistant commissioner Tim Loh says the COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s work habits, so he expects their work-related expenses will reflect this.
“We know many people started working from home during COVID-19, so a jump in these claims is expected,” Mr Loh says.
“But, if you are working at home, we would not expect to see claims for travelling between worksites, laundering uniforms or business trips.”
The ATO’s data analytics will be on the lookout for unusually high claims, particularly where someone’s deductions are much higher than others with a similar job and income.
“We will also look closely at anyone with significant working from home expenses, that maintains or increases their claims for things like car, travel or clothing expenses,” Mr Loh says.
“You can’t simply copy and paste the previous year’s claims without evidence.”
A “temporary shortcut method” for working from home expenses is available for the full 2020/21 financial year.
This allows an all-inclusive rate of 80 cents per hour for every hour people work from home, rather than needing to separately calculate costs for specific expenses.
“All you need to do is multiply the hours worked at home by 80 cents, keeping a record such as a timesheet, roster or diary entry that shows the hours your worked,” the ATO says.
However, this is only a temporary measure, and for those wanting to claim part of an expense over $300 – such as a desk or computer – in future years, they will need to keep a copy of their receipt.
Tax Snapshot
If the 14.7 million individuals who lodged tax returns for the 2018–19 income year were represented as 100 people:
- 51 men and 49 women lodged tax returns – 20 of those were from Queensland
- 29Â people claimed a deduction for a donation they’d made to charity
- 5Â people declared capital gains
- 15 people earned rental income – 9 had a net rental loss, 6 had a net rental profit
- 80Â people received a refund
- 13Â people owed tax
- 7Â balanced perfectly.
- 10 people operated a business in their own name – 8 made a profit, two made a loss.
Source: ATO
Did you know?
The deadline for lodging a tax return is October 31. However, because that date is a Sunday, this year you have until November 1.
