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Assessable income

Assessable income is the portion of income that is subjected to tax, provided you earn enough to exceed tax-free threshold. If taxpayer has a partner, both of their incomes shall be taken into account. It is the starting point for all tax returns as it includes all income receipts regardless of how it is taxed or if any specific Tax-Offsets apply. Taxable income is taken from deducting allowable deductions from assessable income.

List of Assessable Incomes

• Salary or wages;
• Allowances, earnings, tips, director’s fees etc.;
• Employer lump sum payments;
• Employment termination payments;
• Australian Government allowances and payments;
• Australian Government pensions and allowances;
• Australian annuities and superannuation income streams;
• Australian superannuation lump sum payments;
• Attributed personal services income;
• Total tax withheld;
• Gross interest;
• Dividends;
• Employee share schemes;
• Income from partnerships and trusts;
• Personal services income;
• Net income or loss from business;
• Deferred non-commercial business losses;
• Capital gains;
• Foreign entities;
• Rent;
• Bonuses from life insurance companies and friendly societies.

What to exclude from assessable income?

The following amounts are not assessable and do not need to be included in taxpayer assessable income:

• Amounts taxpayer earned from a hobby;
• Gifts given to taxpayer;
• Rewards that are not related to taxpayer’s business;
• Gambling wins, unless taxpayer operates a gambling business;
• Goods and services tax, taxpayer has collected;
• Any money taxpayer has borrowed.