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Individuals

Last updated 30 March 2021

The Individuals section includes data on most of the labels and calculations from the tax return for individuals and the superannuation member contributions statement.

Individuals summary tables and charts

Table 3: Individuals – median and average key items, by sex, 2016–17 and 2017–18 income years

 

2016–17

2017–18

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Average taxable income ($)

69,278

48,118

59,014

71,917

49,922

61,217

Median taxable income ($)

52,376

37,908

44,382

54,252

39,058

45,882

Average net tax ($)

22,237

13,829

18,378

23,241

14,582

19,248

Median net tax ($)

13,324

8,219

10,676

14,036

8,699

11,266

Average superannuation account balance ($)

146,421

114,350

128,024

153,288

120,185

134,770

Median superannuation account balance ($)

50,239

38,781

41,731

53,810

41,776

45,235

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2012–13 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

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 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2010–11 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

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 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2010–11 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 4a: Individuals – single people with private health insurance, by income tier and age, 2017–18 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 (no.)

1,282,814

155,244

186,836

152,691

65 to 69 years (no.)

93,306

5,758

6,897

7,218

70 years or more (no.)

184,065

6,071

8,552

15,251

Unspecified (no.)

278

5

1

285

Dependent child for PHI rebate purposes (no.)

369,108

2,330

2,046

3,681

Table 4b Individuals – members of a couple with private health insurance, by income tier and age, 2017–18 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 (no.)

3,134,837

451,360

529,788

482,807

65 to 69 years (no.)

345,439

16,809

21,091

23,855

70 years or more (no.)

468,852

12,556

16,898

24,984

Unspecified (no.)

81,499

11,127

12,121

7,944

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

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2013–14 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 6: Individuals – net tax, by tax bracket, 2017–18 income year

Chart 6 shows the distribution of individuals and net tax, across the different tax brackets, for the 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2010–11 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 5: Individuals – selected income items, 2016–17 to 2017–18 income years

Income item

2016–17

2017–18

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Salary or wages

10,912,139

59,328

49,397

11,231,834

61,451

51,126

Gross interest

7,746,341

1,242

91

7,843,912

1,216

80

Dividends – franked amount

2,847,231

7,861

522

2,823,648

8,743

557

Dividends – franking credit

2,840,557

3,292

225

2,816,409

3,634

240

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

2,436,214

3,623

428

2,544,800

3,676

424

Net rent

2,179,107

−1,512

−1,427

2,229,520

−1,623

−1,443

Partnerships and trusts – net non-primary production amount

1,783,170

30,731

5,487

1,812,314

32,367

5,533

Net income or loss from business – non-primary production

1,223,272

26,680

12,329

1,273,294

27,296

12,551

Dividends – unfranked amount

1,066,285

928

63

1,070,313

903

58

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

972,823

6,188

5,462

952,584

6,312

5,572

Assessable foreign source income

730,016

8,130

450

782,341

123,257

395

Net capital gain

698,060

28,721

2,154

774,298

30,794

2,290

Other net foreign source income

623,824

3,538

173

646,731

3,743

204

Australian Government pensions and allowances

690,932

10,833

11,008

638,670

11,691

12,249

Total income or loss

13,870,745

61,781

46,576

14,288,292

63,904

48,036

In this table:

  • Total income or loss components do not add to the total number of taxpayers because taxpayers 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.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2007–08 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 6: Individuals – selected deductions, 2016–17 to 2017–18 income years

Deduction item

2016–17

2017–18

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Work-related expenses

8,840,669

2,487

1,122

8,950,205

2,424

1,116

Cost of managing tax affairs

6,102,730

375

171

n/a

n/a

n/a

Other expenses included in managing your tax affairs

n/a

n/a

n/a

5,971,242

333

175

Gifts or donations

4,522,137

770

110

4,430,597

846

115

Other deductions

725,387

2,882

1,596

714,428

2,994

1,639

Personal superannuation contributions

214,204

22,521

28,524

356,012

14,307

15,000

Low value pool deduction

302,435

458

182

294,757

445

178

Dividend deductions

258,528

3,658

717

268,107

3,523

612

Interest deductions

250,723

2,681

138

222,174

2,982

152

Interest charged by ATO

n/a

n/a

n/a

213,386

1,419

220

Total deductions

13,870,745

2,631

700

14,288,292

2,576

679

In this table:

  • Cost of managing tax affairs for 2017–18 onwards is reported at three labels rather than one. Two of the three are included in the 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 do not add to the total number of taxpayers claiming deductions because taxpayers may claim more than one type of deduction.
  • Some components of total deductions are not listed.
  • The count, average and median for total deductions are calculated including zeros.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2002–03 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 7: Individuals – selected tax offsets and levies, 2016–17 to 2017–18 income years

Offset/levy

2016–17

2017–18

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average
($)

Median
($)

Medicare levy

9,562,761

1,528

1,186

9,884,855

1,588

1,226

Low income tax offset

6,729,323

313

358

6,747,465

310

353

Small business income tax offset

905,405

428

282

981,516

433

286

Seniors and pensioners tax offset

613,419

1,181

1,173

613,297

1,183

1,172

Foreign income tax offset

570,083

1,679

34

590,625

1,835

40

Zone or overseas forces tax offset

480,455

319

133

475,160

319

132

Commonwealth of Australia benefits and payments tax offset

437,919

629

626

435,565

656

652

Employment termination payment tax offset

322,487

4,263

372

323,898

3,478

322

Medicare levy surcharge

196,807

1,308

1,027

274,844

1,290

1,027

Australian superannuation income stream tax offset

227,672

3,045

2,359

195,988

3,151

2,630

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2002–03 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 7: Individuals – returns by lodgment type, 2017–18 income year

Chart 7 shows lodgment channel of 2017–18 individual income tax returns. 69.8% by agent, 28.7% by myTax, 1.5% 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 8: Individuals – returns by sex, 2013–14 to 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 9: Individuals – returns by state/territory, 2016–17 income year

Chart 9 shows individual returns lodged by state or territory for the 2017–18 income year. NSW 31.4%, VIC 25.4%, QLD 19.9%, WA 10.6%, SA 6.8%, 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 10: Individuals – rental income and deductions, 2013–14 to 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 8: Individuals – interest in a rental property, by overall net rent outcome, 2016–17 to 2017–18 income years

Property interests (no.)

2016–17

2017–18

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

929,961

606,151

1,536,112

943,092

628,125

1,571,217

2

247,312

160,659

407,971

254,508

164,298

418,806

3

73,893

52,022

125,915

76,304

53,480

129,784

4

26,703

19,757

46,460

27,300

20,169

47,469

5

11,126

8,378

19,504

11,298

8,563

19,861

6 or more

11,349

9,008

20,357

11,613

9,143

20,756

Total

1,300,344

855,975

2,156,319

1,324,115

883,778

2,207,893

In this table, an interest in a property means the property may be solely or jointly owned, and includes properties bought or sold during the year.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 1999–2000 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 9: Individuals – workplace giving programs, 2015–16 to 2017–18 income years

 

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

Total employees employed by workplace giving employers (no.)

3,601,066

3,553,057

3,825,871

Employees using workplace giving (no.)

169,714

173,466

181,456

Total donations given using workplace giving ($m)

35

36

38

Average donation ($)

206

208

210

Median donation ($)

75

78

75

An individual may have worked for different organisations in the same income year. In this case, the number of employees can include the same individual more than once.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 11: Individuals – gifts or donations, by state/territory, 2017–18 income year

Chart 11 shows the average and median deduction of individuals for gifts or donations, by state or territory, for the 2017–18 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.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 12: Individuals – median super balance, by age and sex, 2017–18 financial year

Chart 12 shows the median superannuation balance of individuals by gender and age, for the 2017–18 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.

This data only includes individuals with an account balance greater than zero.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2013–14 financial year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 13: Individuals – super balance, by state/territory and sex, 2017–18 financial years

Chart 13 shows the average and median superannuation balance of individuals by state or territory, for the 2017–18 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.

This data only includes individuals with an account balance greater than zero.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2013–14 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Table 10: Individuals – super balance, by taxable income range, 2016–17 to 2017–18 financial years

Taxable income

2016–17

2017–18

Individuals
(no.)

Average account balance
($)

Median account balance
($)

Individuals
(no.)

Average account balance
($)

Median account balance
($)

Less than or equal to $18,200

2,025,162

122,506

17,468

2,011,743

127,314

18,316

$18,201 to $37,000

2,786,488

89,241

19,788

2,749,551

90,979

19,565

$37,001 to $87,000

5,399,194

114,316

56,159

5,540,992

116,091

57,059

$87,001 to $180,000

2,025,970

241,342

139,902

2,245,603

245,938

146,247

$180,000 or more

409,033

582,420

279,587

458,366

592,065

298,476

No tax return

4,028,609

72,752

10,237

3,937,557

77,690

12,059

Total

16,674,456

128,194

41,731

16,943,812

134,770

45,235

In this table:

  • Only individuals that had a member contribution statement with an account balance greater than zero were included in the calculation of averages and medians.
  • The sum of those with taxable income ranges does not equal the total shown in other tables. This is because some individuals lodge tax returns but do not have member contribution statements.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2013–14 income year, download Snapshot table 4External Link from data.gov.au.

See also  

QC63189