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Individuals statistics

Last updated 18 April 2022

The Individuals section includes statistics on most labels and calculations from the Individuals tax return as well as some superannuation account information.

Prior to the 2018–19 financial year, the member contribution statement (MCS) was an annual statement that was lodged with us. It reported contributions received for each member account during the financial year and the year-end superannuation account balance.

From 2018–19 onwards, for funds that are not self-managed super funds (SMSF), the MCS has been replaced by two types of event-based reporting:

  • The member account attributes service (MAAS) – reports changes to member accounts
  • The member account transaction service (MATS) – reports account contributions or balances.

SMSFs continue to report MCS information as part of their annual return.

Individuals summary tables and charts

Table 3: Individuals – median and average key items, by sex, 2017–18 and 2018–19 income years

 

2017–18

2018–19

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Average taxable income ($)

71,917

49,922

61,217

73,218

51,382

62,549

Median taxable income ($)

54,252

39,058

45,882

55,829

40,547

47,492

Average net tax ($)

23,241

14,582

19,248

23,365

14,687

19,344

Median net tax ($)

14,036

8,699

11,266

13,801

8,405

11,024

Average superannuation account balance ($)

153,288

120,185

134,770

162,275

128,068

143,979

Median superannuation account balance ($)

53,810

41,776

45,235

57,883

45,118

49,413

Download data from the 2012–13 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Chart 4: Individuals – top–10 postcodes, by average taxable income

Chart 4 shows top 10 postcodes in Australia, ranked by average taxable income of individuals, for the 2018–19 income year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2010–11 income year.

Download data from the 2010–11 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 5: Individuals – top 10 occupations, by average taxable income

Chart 5 shows top 10 occupations in Australia, ranked by average taxable income of individuals, for the 2018–19 income year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2010–11 income year.

Download data from the 2010–11 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Table 4a: Individuals – single people with private health insurance (PHI), by income tier and age, 2018–19 income year

Single people

Tier 0:
$90,000 or less

Tier 1:
$90,001 to $105,000

Tier 2:
$105,001 to $140,000

Tier 3:
$140,001 or more

Less than 65 years of age

1,236,726

162,200

203,593

163,028

65 to 69 years

96,009

6,229

7,589

7,761

70 years or more

186,677

6,636

9,606

17,550

Unspecified

251

5

3

291

Dependent child for PHI rebate purposes

391,310

3,193

2,373

3,718

Table 4b: Individuals – members of a couple with PHI, by income tier and age, 2018–19 income year

Members of a couple

Tier 0:
$180,000 or less

Tier 1:
$180,001 to $210,000

Tier 2:
$210,001 to $280,000

Tier 3:
$280,001 or more

Less than 65 years of age

3,026,962

484,671

588,142

520,208

65 to 69 years

348,063

17,925

22,839

25,032

70 years or more

485,565

13,811

18,959

28,220

Unspecified

80,306

11,754

13,003

8,498

In these tables, Income tier is determined by income for surcharge purposes.

Download data from the 2013–14 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Chart 6: Individuals – net tax, by tax bracket, 2018–19 income year

Chart 6 shows the distribution of individuals and net tax, across the different tax brackets, for the 2018–19 income year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2010–11 income year.

Download data from the 2010–11 income year at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Table 5: Individuals – Selected income items, 2017–18 to 2018–19 income years

Income item

2017–18

2018–19

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Salary or wages

11,231,834

61,451

51,126

11,551,273

63,085

52,732

Gross interest

7,843,912

1,216

80

8,215,961

1,177

64

Dividends – franked amount

2,823,648

8,743

557

2,834,906

9,656

568

Dividends – franking credit

2,816,409

3,634

240

2,827,899

4,009

245

Allowances, earnings, tips, director’s fees etc.

2,544,800

3,676

424

2,666,000

3,539

417

Net rent

2,229,520

−1,623

−1,443

2,244,857

−1,352

−1,238

Partnerships and trusts – net non-primary production amount

1,812,314

32,367

5,533

1,831,599

33,046

5,577

Net income or loss from business – non-primary production

1,273,294

27,296

12,551

1,353,290

26,874

12,332

Dividends – unfranked amount

1,070,313

903

58

966,323

1,077

78

Australian Government allowances and payments like Newstart, Youth Allowance and Austudy payment

952,584

6,312

5,572

933,806

6,451

5,637

Assessable foreign source income

782,341

123,257

395

795,712

8,582

400

Net capital gain

774,298

30,794

2,290

744,478

26,446

1,689

Australian Government pensions and allowances

638,670

11,691

12,249

663,999

12,019

12,575

Other net foreign source income

646,731

3,743

204

656,391

4,216

199

Total income or loss

14,288,292

63,904

48,036

14,677,545

65,148

49,480

In this table:

  • Total income or loss components don't add to the total number of individuals because individuals may declare more than one type of income
  • some components of total income are not listed
  • the count, average and median for total income or loss are calculated, including zeros.

Download data from the 2007–08 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Table 6: Individuals – Selected deductions, 2017–18 to 2018–19 income years

Deduction item

2017–18

2018–19

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Work-related expenses

8,950,205

2,424

1,116

8,888,020

2,331

1,045

Other expenses included in managing your tax affairs

5,971,242

333

175

5,951,011

332

176

Gifts or donations

4,430,597

846

115

4,210,270

933

120

Other deductions

714,428

2,994

1,639

673,191

3,109

1,706

Personal superannuation contributions

356,012

14,307

15,000

436,952

13,395

12,500

Dividend deductions

268,107

3,523

612

298,450

3,091

404

Low value pool deduction

294,757

445

178

274,055

420

172

Interest charged by ATO

213,386

1,419

220

233,659

1,464

262

Interest deductions

222,174

2,982

152

185,078

3,404

184

Total deductions

14,288,292

2,576

679

14,677,545

2,498

600

In this table:

  • Other deductions is a label on the tax return and does not include all other deductions from the tax return not listed
  • Total deductions components don't add to the total number of individuals claiming deductions because individuals may claim more than one type of deduction
  • some components of total deductions are not listed
  • the calculations for count, average and medians for total deductions include zeros.

Download data from the 2002–03 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Table 7: Individuals – Selected tax offsets and levies, 2017–18 to 2018–19 income years

Offset/levy

2017–18

2018–19

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Medicare levy

9,884,855

1,588

1,226

10,168,264

1,622

1,264

Low and middle income tax offset

na

na

na

9,931,612

747

954

Low income tax offset

6,747,465

310

353

6,768,009

307

347

Small business income tax offset

981,516

433

286

998,974

440

295

Seniors and pensioners tax offset

613,297

1,183

1,172

624,458

1,182

1,167

Foreign income tax offset

590,625

1,835

40

591,696

1,868

45

Zone or overseas forces tax offset

475,160

319

132

459,137

315

132

Commonwealth of Australia benefits and payments tax offset

435,565

656

652

430,560

691

688

Employment termination payment tax offset

323,898

3,478

322

340,523

3,387

261

Medicare levy surcharge

274,844

1,290

1,027

328,574

1,264

1,027

Australian superannuation income stream tax offset

195,988

3,151

2,630

181,999

3,294

2,794

Download data from the 2002–03 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Chart 7: Individuals – returns by lodgment type, 2018–19 income year

Chart 7 shows lodgment channel of 2018–19 individual income tax returns. 66.8% by agent, 32.1% by myTax, 1.1% other self-preparer. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data going back to the 2009–10 income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 8: Individuals – returns by sex, 2013–14 to 2018–19 income years

Chart 8 shows the gender of individuals lodging income tax returns for the last 5 income years. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data for the 2009–10 income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 9: Individuals – returns by state or territory, 2018–19 income year

Chart 9 shows individual returns lodged by state or territory for the 2018–19 income year. NSW 31.3%, VIC 25.6%, QLD 19.9%, WA 10.5%, SA 6.7%, TAS 2.1%, ACT 1.9%, NT 0.9%, Overseas 1.1% and Unknown <0.1%. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2009–10 income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 10: Individuals – rental income and deductions, 2013–14 to 2018–19 income years

Chart 10 shows rental income and deduction items, as well as net rental income, for individuals over the last 5 income years. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2009–10 income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Table 8: Individuals – interest in a rental property, by overall net rent outcome, 2017–18 to 2018–19 income years

Property interests (no.)

2017–18

2018–19

Net rent loss
(no.)

Net rent neutral/ profit
(no.)

Total individuals
(no.)

Net rent loss
(no.)

Net rent neutral/ profit
(no.)

Total individuals
(no.)

1

943,092

628,125

1,571,217

931,132

658,431

1,589,563

2

254,508

164,298

418,806

250,035

170,494

420,529

3

76,304

53,480

129,784

74,955

54,861

129,816

4

27,300

20,169

47,469

26,719

20,600

47,319

5

11,298

8,563

19,861

10,935

8,578

19,513

6 or more

11,613

9,143

20,756

11,226

9,208

20,434

Total

1,324,115

883,778

2,207,893

1,305,002

922,172

2,227,174

In this table, Property interests implies solely or jointly owned properties, including those bought or sold during the year.

Download data from the 1999–2000 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Table 9: Individuals – workplace giving programs, 2016–17 to 2018–19 income years

 

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

Total employees employed by workplace giving employers (no.)

3,553,057

3,825,871

4,230,951

Employees using workplace giving (no.)

173,466

181,456

201,237

Total donations given using workplace giving ($m)

36

38

43

Average donation ($)

208

210

215

Median donation ($)

78

75

75

In this table, individuals may be counted more than once if they changed jobs during the same income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

Chart 11: Individuals – gifts or donations, by state or territory, 2018–19 income year

Chart 11 shows the average and median deduction of individuals for gifts or donations, by state or territory, for the 2018–19 income year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2009–10 income year.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 12: Individuals – median super balance, by age and sex, 2018–19 financial year

Chart 12 shows the median superannuation balance of individuals by gender and age, for the 2018–19 financial year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2013–14 financial year.

In this chart, statistics include individuals with an account balance greater than zero.

Download data from the 2013–14 financial year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 13: Individuals – super balance, by state or territory and sex, 2018–19 financial years

Chart 13 shows the average and median superannuation balance of individuals by state or territory, for the 2018–19 financial year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2013–14 financial year.

In this chart, statistics include individuals with an account balance greater than zero.

Download data from the 2013–14 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Table 10: Individuals – super balance, by taxable income range, 2017–18 to 2018–19 financial years

Taxable income

2017–18

2018–19

Individuals
(no.)

Average account balance
($)

Median account balance
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average account balance
($)

Median account balance
($)

Less than or equal to $18,200

2,011,743

127,314

18,316

1,979,605

131,629

19,394

$18,201 to $37,000

2,749,551

90,979

19,565

2,695,562

93,957

19,380

$37,001 to $87,000

5,540,992

116,091

57,059

na

na

na

$37,001 to $90,000

na

na

na

5,902,727

121,119

58,841

$87,001 to $180,000

2,245,603

245,938

146,247

na

na

na

$90,001 to $180,000

na

na

na

2,244,478

257,695

154,606

$180,000 or more

458,366

592,065

298,476

487,380

608,285

313,803

No tax return

3,937,557

77,690

12,059

3,670,006

91,799

15,464

Total

16,943,812

134,770

45,235

16,979,758

143,910

49,413

In this table, only those with a superannuation account balance greater than 0 are included. The average and median are calculated excluding zeros.

Download data from the 2013–14 income year onward at Snapshot table 4External Link.

See also:

Individuals 100 people statistics

If the 14.7 million individuals who lodged tax returns for the 2018–19 income year were represented as 100 people, it would look like this.

We received tax returns from 51 males and 49 females from across Australia:

  • 31 from New South Wales
  • 26 from Victoria
  • 20 from Queensland
  • 11 from Western Australia
  • 7 from South Australia
  • 2 from Tasmania
  • 2 from the Australian Capital Territory
  • 1 from the Northern Territory
  • 1 from overseas or an unknown address.

We received tax returns from five different generations:

  • 10 from generation Z (born from 1996 to 2009)
  • 35 from generation Y (born from 1980 to 1995)
  • 31 from generation X (born from 1963 to 1979)
  • 19 from baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1962)
  • 4 from the silent generation (1945 or earlier).

People lodged their tax returns in different ways:

  • 67 through a tax agent
  • 32 using myTax
  • 1 by paper.

We received tax returns from people in all sorts of occupations:

  • 24 were blue collar workers
  • 39 were white collar workers
  • 16 came from the service sector
  • 21 didn't specify their occupation or had no occupation.

29 people claimed a deduction for a donation they'd made to charity.

5 people declared capital gains.

61 people claimed work-related expenses, of whom:

  • 20 claimed under $500
  • 10 claimed between $500 and $1,000
  • 31 claimed over $1,000.

15 people earned rental income:

  • 9 had a net rental loss
  • 6 had a net rental profit.

After we assessed the tax returns:

  • 80 people received a refund
  • 13 people owed tax
  • 7 balanced perfectly.

10 people operated a business in their own name, of whom:

  • 8 made a profit
  • 2 made a loss.

If we rank our 100 people by their taxable incomes:

  • people with the top 3 taxable incomes paid 29% of all net tax
  • the next 6 paid 19% of all net tax
  • the next 31 paid 40% of all net tax
  • the next 35 paid 12% of all net tax
  • the final 25 didn't pay any tax.

See also:

Individuals detailed tables

Table indexExternal Link: Detailed tables index

The table index lists the different items shown in the detailed tables and specifies in which table they appear.

Table 1External Link: Selected items for income years 1978–79 to 2018–19

Table 1A: Selected items from the individual tax return (including items calculated by us).

Table 1B: Counts, means and medians for most items for the 2013–14 to 2018–19 income years.

Table 2External Link: Selected items, by lodgment method, sex, taxable status, state or territory and age range, 2010–11 to 2018–19 income years

Table 2A: Selected items, by lodgment method, sex, taxable status, state or territory and age range.

Table 2B: Key items, by income year, lodgment method, sex, taxable status, state or territory and age range.

Table 3External Link: Selected items, by sex, taxable status, age range and taxable income range, 2010–11 to 2018–19 income years

Table 3A: Selected items, by sex, taxable status, age range and taxable income range.

Table 3B: Key items, by income year, sex, taxable status, age range and taxable income range.

Table 4External Link: Selected items, by sex, taxable status, state or territory and taxable income range, 2018–19 income year

Table 5External Link: Selected items, by sex, state or territory and broad industry, 2018–19 income year

Table 6External Link: Selected items, by taxable status, state or territory and postcode, 2018–19 income year

Table 6A: Selected items, by taxable status, state or territory and postcode.

Table 6B: Selected items, by state or territory and postcode.

Table 7External Link: Counts of individuals, by state or territory and postcode, by taxable income, age or occupation, 2018–19 income year

Table 7A: The number of individuals, by state or territory, postcode and taxable income range.

Table 7B: The number of individuals, by state or territory, postcode and age range.

Table 7C: The number of individuals, by state or territory, postcode and occupation major group.

Table 8External Link: Median and average taxable income by state or territory and postcode, 2003–04 and 2013–14 to 2018–19 income years

Table 9External Link: Selected items, by business industry code, 2018–19 income year

Table 10External Link: Selected items, by taxable income range and total income or loss range, 2010–11 to 2018–19 income years

Table 10A: Selected items, by taxable income range and total income range.

Table 10B: Key items, by income year, taxable income range and total income range.

Table 11External Link: Selected items, by residency status and lodgment method, 2018–19 income year

Table 12External Link: Selected items, by taxable status, residency status and taxable income range, 2018–19 income year

Table 13External Link: Selected items, by sex, age range, residency status and tax assessment range, 2018–19 income year

Table 14External Link: Selected items, by occupation, sex and taxable income range, 2010–11 to 2018–19 income years

Table 14A: Selected items, by occupation, sex and taxable income range.

Table 14B: Key items, by income year, occupation, sex and taxable income range.

Table 15External Link: Average and median taxable income, salary or wages, and total income, by occupation and sex, 2018–19 income year

Table 15A: Average and median taxable income, salary or wages, and total income, by occupation and sex.

Table 15B: Average and median taxable income, salary or wages, and total income, by occupation unit group and sex.

Table 15C: Average and median taxable income, salary or wages, and total income, by occupation sub-major group and sex.

Table 16External Link: Percentile distribution of taxable individuals, by taxable income and sex, 2018–19 income year

Table 16A: The totals for percentile distribution of taxable individuals, by taxable income and sex.

Table 16B: The medians and averages for percentile distribution of taxable individuals, by taxable income and sex.

Table 17External Link: Selected items, by entity size and broad industry, 2018–19 income year

Table 18External Link: Selected deductions, by deduction claimed range and either state or territory or occupation and sex, 2018–19 income year

Table 18A: Selected deductions, by deduction type, deduction claimed range and state or territory.

Pivot table 18A lets you show Selected deductions, by deduction type, deduction claimed range and state or territory.

Table 18B: Work related expense deductions, by deduction type, deduction claimed range, occupation and sex.

Table 19External Link: 100 People statistics, for 2008–09 and 2012–13 to 2018–19 income years

Table 20External Link: Superannuation fund contributions to APRA funds, for 2010–11 to 2018–19 financial years

Table 20A: Contributions to APRA funds for 2010–11 to 2018–19 financial years.

Table 20B: Average and median contributions to APRA funds for 2012–13 to 2018–19 financial years.

Table 21External Link: Superannuation contributions to self-managed superannuation funds, for 2010–11 to 2018–19 financial years

Table 21A: Contributions to self-managed superannuation funds for the 2010–11 to 2018–19 financial years.

Table 21B: Average and median contributions to self-managed superannuation funds for the 2012–13 to 2018–19 financial years.

Table 22External Link: Superannuation contributions, by total superannuation member accounts balance range, taxable income range and age range, 2018–19 financial year

Table 23External Link: Superannuation contributions, by age range, sex and taxable income range, 2018–19 financial year

Table 24External Link: Superannuation contributions, by state or territory, sex and age range, 2018–19 financial year

Table 25External Link: Selected items, by postcode, 2018–19 income or financial year

We show the count of individuals, the average and median amounts of key items, as well as the proportion of individuals claiming these items, by postcode.

Table 26External Link: Rental property schedule items, by state or territory of property and net rent position, 2012–13 to 2018–19 income years

Table 27External Link: Number of individuals with interests in a rental property, by number of property interests, 1999–2000 to 2018–19 income years

Table 27A: Number of individuals by number of property interests and net rent position.

Table 27B: Number of individuals by number of property interests and taxable income range.

Table 27C: Number of individuals by number of property interests and state or territory.

Table 27D: Number of individuals by number of property interests and age.

See also:

Individuals postcode maps

Postcode level data for the 2018–19 income year is available on NationalMapThis link opens in a new window.

NationalMap allows you to see and explore spatial data. The image below is an example of the median taxable income or loss map.

Map of Australia with postcode areas coloured according to median taxable income or loss.

© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2019. This product is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcodeExternal Link

You can zoom in and click on a postcode area to show all statistics for that area. You can use the tool to map the average and median values of the following items:

  • taxable income or loss
  • salary and wages
  • net rent
  • total income or loss
  • total deductions
  • total business income
  • total business expenses
  • net tax
  • total super member accounts balance.

You can also compare the proportion of individuals claiming some of these items by postcode. Similar data is available for the 2011–12 to 2017–18 income years.

See also:

Individuals sample files

If you want to undertake modelling or research, we have a series of sample files of individual tax return information. The files are de-identified to protect the identities of individual taxpayers.

The files for income years 2003–04 to 2010–11 are a 1% sample.

From 2011–12 onwards, the files are 2% of sample records.

The items in the sample file are listed in the Individuals sample file indexExternal Link.

To request access to our individual sample files, email taxstats@ato.gov.au

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