Most of my Tuesday this week has been individual returns. The same three questions keep coming up, so I thought I'd write down what's actually changed for FY26 — not the headline-grabbing parts, the ones that move dollars on a normal return.
The bracket cut is real but smaller than the news made it sound
The 19% bracket dropped to 16% from 1 July 2024 and the 32.5% bracket became 30%. For someone on $75,000, that's roughly $1,554 less tax across the year (before low-income tax offset). Useful, but it's already in your PAYG withholding — so don't expect the whole amount to land as a refund. If your employer updated the tax tables on time, the refund effect is tiny. If they didn't, you'll see it now.
Working-from-home: 70¢ per hour, and the diary still matters
The fixed rate is currently 70¢ per hour (up from 67¢/h in FY24). The substantiation rules didn't change — you still need a record of every hour worked from home for the full year, not a four-week sample. I see this fail every cycle. A calendar export from Outlook or Google works. A back-of-the-envelope estimate doesn't.
Car claims: the cents-per-km cap is 88¢
88¢/km for FY26 (up from 85¢ in FY24, no change from FY25). The 5,000 km ceiling is unchanged. If you're close to the cap, run the logbook method on your own numbers before you lodge — for higher-km drivers it's usually a few hundred dollars better, and we'll do that comparison for you on request.
What didn't change but people keep asking about
Self-education has the same rules. Donations need a receipt from a DGR. Income protection premiums are still deductible; life insurance inside super is not. The Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds shifted slightly with indexation, so if your private hospital cover lapsed mid-year and you're close to the threshold, send through your statements — that one's worth checking.
If your situation is straightforward and you want it lodged this week, send through your income statement (we can pull it from your myGov), private health statement, and any deduction receipts. We'll have a draft back to you within 48 hours.