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Eligibility conditions

To claim this offset, you must meet both of the following conditions.

Last updated 27 June 2018

Condition 1: Eligibility for Australian Government pensions and similar payments

You meet this condition if any of the following applied to you in 2017–18.

Eligibility conditions

Condition

Explanation

A

You showed at Australian Government payments such as pensions and carer payments on your return:

  • an Australian Government pension or allowance from Centrelink, or
  • a pension, allowance or benefit from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
 

B

You satisfied the Centrelink age pension age requirement and were eligible for an Australian Government age pension during 2017–18, but did not receive it because you did not make a claim or because of the application of the income test or the assets test, and you satisfy one of the following:

  • you have been an Australian resident for age-pension purposes for either 10 continuous years or for more than 10 years of which five years were continuous
  • you have a qualifying residence exemption (because you arrived in Australia as a refugee or under a special humanitarian program)
  • you are a woman who was widowed in Australia (at a time when both you and your late partner were Australian residents), you have made a claim for the age pension and you had two years residence immediately before your claim
  • you received a widow B pension, widow allowance or partner allowance immediately before turning age-pension age
  • you would qualify under an international social security agreement.

To find out whether you meet the Centrelink age pension age requirement, go to More information.

If you need help to determine your eligibility for a social security or Centrelink pension only, go to the Department of Human Services (now known as Services Australia) websiteExternal Link or phone the Department of Human Services (now known as Services Australia) on 13 24 68. For all other enquiries about the seniors and pensioners tax offset, phone 13 28 61.

C

 You satisfied the veteran pension age test and were eligible for a pension, allowance or benefit from Veterans' Affairs during 2017–18, but did not receive it because you did not make a claim or because of the application of the income test or the assets test, and you satisfy either of the following:

 

  • you are a veteran with eligible war service, or
  • you are a Commonwealth veteran, allied veteran or allied mariner with qualifying service.

To find out whether you meet the veteran pension age test, go to More information.

If you are not sure whether you were eligible for a payment, go to dva.gov.auExternal Link or phone Veterans' Affairs on 1800 555 254.

Condition 2: Income

You meet this condition if any of the following applied to you in 2017–18.

  • You did not have a spouse, and your rebate income was less than $50,119.
  • You had a spouse, and the combined rebate income of you and your spouse was less than $83,580.
  • At any time during the year you and your spouse had to live apart due to illness or because one of you was in a nursing home, and the combined rebate income of you and your spouse was less than $95,198.

The combined rebate income is the total of:

  • your rebate income
  • your spouse's rebate income, and
  • the amount on which a trustee of a trust was liable to pay tax in respect of your spouse because your spouse was under a legal disability, such as being an undischarged bankrupt or a person who was declared legally incapable because of a mental condition.

QC55665