Medicare Levy Surcharge Calculator
Australia 2026–27

$105,000 for singles and $210,000 for families, plus $1,500 for each dependent child after the first. If your income for MLS purposes is over the threshold and you didn't have hospital cover for the whole year, you pay the surcharge. Income for MLS purposes is your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions (salary sacrifice and personal super you claim as a deduction) and net investment losses.

$101,000 for singles and $202,000 for families. They apply to 2025–26 tax returns. The 2025–26 single tiers were $101,001–$118,000 (1%), $118,001–$158,000 (1.25%) and $158,001 or more (1.5%); family tiers were $202,001–$236,000, $236,001–$316,000 and $316,001 or more. The standard Medicare levy is separate: 2% of taxable income in both years.

Your income for MLS purposes decides your tier, and the tier's rate is charged on your taxable income plus any reportable fringe benefits: all of it, not just the part over the threshold. For 2026–27, singles pay 1% from $105,001, 1.25% from $123,001 and 1.5% from $164,001 (families: $210,001, $246,001 and $328,001). A single with $130,000 of taxable income and nothing else pays 1.25% × $130,000 = $1,625 a year. Crossing into a higher tier by $1 can cost hundreds of dollars.

Hold an appropriate level of private hospital cover (not extras-only) from an Australian health fund for the whole income year, with an excess of $750 or less for singles or $1,500 or less for families. Cover needs to start by 1 July to avoid the surcharge for the full year. Salary sacrifice doesn't help, because it's added back to your income for MLS purposes. Ordinary work-related deductions do lower it.

It depends on your tier. Basic hospital cover usually costs about $1,200–$1,800 a year for a single and $2,200–$3,400 for a family, depending on the fund, your age and the excess. If your surcharge would be more than that, cover is usually cheaper, and you get the cover too. Tier 3 earners ($164,001 or more single, $328,001 or more family in 2026–27) almost always come out ahead with cover. The calculator above compares the two at your income.

Yes, for the days you weren't covered. The ATO works out the surcharge day by day, so you pay it only for days you were over the threshold without an appropriate hospital policy. To avoid it for the whole year, cover needs to start by 1 July (or the first day you'd otherwise have to pay it). This calculator assumes either a full year of cover or none.

Your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions (salary sacrifice and personal super you claim as a tax deduction), net investment losses (from shares or a rental property) and exempt foreign employment income. This decides your tier. Someone with $90,000 of taxable income and $20,000 of salary sacrifice has $110,000 of income for MLS purposes, which is Tier 1 in 2026–27. Without hospital cover they pay 1% of their $90,000 taxable income: $900.