T5 - Private health insurance 2012

You can claim a private health insurance tax offset if you paid a premium for a complying private health insurance policy or your employer paid this premium on your behalf.

Your health insurance policy is complying if:

• it is provided by a registered health insurer
• it provides hospital or general (also known as 'extras') cover or combined hospital and general cover, and
• it meets other complying private health insurance policy requirements.

If you are not sure, your health insurer can tell you whether your policy meets these conditions. The Private Health Insurance Administration Council website at www.phiac.gov.au can tell you whether your insurer is a registered health insurer.

Did you, or your employer on your behalf, pay a premium for a complying private health insurance policy?

NO	Go to question T6 - Education tax refund, or   return to main menu Individual tax return instructions.
YES	Read below.

Check the statements from all of the health insurers you paid premiums to. If the amounts at G on your statements are $0, you have already received your full entitlement and you do not need to complete this item. Go to question T6 - Education tax refund.

If you have an amount greater than $0 at G, read below.

Answering this question

You will need a statement from your registered health insurer.

If you did not receive a statement, contact your insurer. If you do not have a statement because your employer paid the premium, contact your insurer or employer.

You cannot claim this tax offset for premiums paid if you have already claimed a private health insurance rebate for them, either as reductions in your premiums through the health insurer or as cash or cheque rebates from Medicare.

Calculating your tax offset

Use Worksheet 1 if your tax offset percentage did not change during the period the payments cover.

Use Worksheet 2 if your tax offset percentage changed during the period the payments cover - for example, a person covered by the policy turned 65 or 70 years old.

Tax offset percentage
Age of the oldest person covered by the policy*	Amount of tax offset
Less than 65 years	30% of the amount of premium paid
65 years to under 70 years	35% of the amount of premium paid
70 years or over	40% of the amount of premium paid
*If the oldest person moved into the next age group during the year, the tax offset is based on the number of days that person was in each group.

Worksheet 1
Use if your tax offset percentage did not change during the period the payments cover.
Total premiums paid during 2011-12 for the policy before any premium reduction from your health insurer or rebate from Medicare	(a)	$
Your tax offset percentage	(b)	%
Multiply (a) by the percentage shown at (b)	(c)
Amount, if any, of premium reduction from your health insurer or of rebate from Medicare	(d)
Take (d) away from (c)	(e)

The amount at (e) is what you are entitled to claim. If (e) is 0 or a negative amount, you have already received your full entitlement. Go to question T6 - Education tax refund.

Worksheet 2
Use if your tax offset percentage changed during the period the payments cover.
Total premiums paid during 2011-12 for the policy before any premium reduction from your health insurer or rebate from Medicare	(a)	$
Number of days the amount shown at (a) covers	(b)
		Column 1 Tax offset for first period		Column 2 Tax offset for second period
Your tax offset percentages for the days shown at (b)	(c)	%	(c)	%
Number of days to which the tax offset percentages at (c) apply	(d)		(d)
Multiply (a) by (d)	(e)	$	(e)	$
Divide (e) by (b)	(f)	$	(f)	$
Multiply (f) by the percentage shown at (c)	(g)	$	(g)	$
Add (g) column 1 and (g) column 2	(h)	$
Amount, if any, of premium reduction from your health insurer or of rebate from Medicare	(i)	$
Take (i) away from (h)	(j)	$
*Add another column if your tax offset percentage changed more than once.

The amount at (j) is what you are entitled to claim. If (j) is 0 or a negative amount, you have already received your full entitlement. Go to question T6 - Education tax refund.

Completing your tax return

Step 1

Add up all the amounts shown at G on your statements.

Step 2

Deduct any cash or cheque rebates you received from Medicare for your private health insurance premiums.

Step 3

If the result from step 2 is $0 or a negative amount, you have already received your full entitlement.

If the result from step 2 is greater than $0, that amount is your tax offset. Write the amount at G item T5.

If you and another person made payments for the same policy (for example, from a joint bank account) you can each claim the proportion of the amount you worked out at step 2 that reflects the amount of the premiums that you paid.

Where to go next go to question T6 - Education tax refund   return to main menu Individual tax return instructions   go back to question T4 - Australian superannuation income stream