SAPTO calculator (seniors and pensioners tax offset) 2026-27
SAPTO, the Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset, is worth up to $2,230 for a single person and $1,602 for each member of a couple. This calculator estimates your offset from rebate income. A single retiree with $40,000 gets $1,595.
The link carries the numbers you entered, so anyone who opens it sees the same result.
SAPTO
$1,595
Breakdown
| Income tax before offsets | $3,270 |
|---|---|
| Low income tax offset | $575 |
| SAPTO used against tax | $1,595 |
| Income tax after offsets | $1,100 |
| Medicare levy | $0 |
| Total tax | $1,100 |
- Where you sit
- Shading out
- Low income tax offset
- $575
- Income tax after offsets
- $1,100
- Medicare levy
- $0
- Unused SAPTO
- $0
Maximum offset and shade-out ranges by relationship status
The offset drops by 12.5 cents for each dollar of rebate income above the shade-out threshold, and the ATO rounds the result up to the next whole dollar. At the cut-out it reaches zero.
| Relationship status | Maximum SAPTO | Shade-out starts | Cut-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $2,230 | $34,919 | $52,759 |
| Each member of a couple | $1,602 | $30,994 | $43,810 |
| Each member of a couple separated by illness | $2,040 | $33,732 | $50,052 |
The "separated by illness" row is for partners who have to live apart because of illness, or because one of them is in a nursing home.
Couples have two tests. Half your combined rebate income must be under the cut-out, which means under $87,620 combined, or $100,104 if you're separated by illness. If you pass, your amount comes from your own rebate income, so one partner can get the full offset while the other gets nothing.
Both default examples, step by step
A single retiree on $40,000 is $5,081 above the shade-out threshold. Income tax of $3,270, less $575 of LITO and $1,595 of SAPTO, leaves $1,100, and there's no levy below $44,268. Without SAPTO the same person would pay $3,495, including an $800 levy.
Each partner of a couple on $35,000 is $4,006 above their threshold, so each SAPTO is $1,102. Income tax of $2,520, less $700 of LITO and that SAPTO, leaves $718 each. Together the couple pays $1,436, with no Medicare levy on these incomes.
Family reduction not modelled, a couple with one partner above their own threshold may pay less than shown.
| Rebate income | Single | Each member of a couple | Separated by illness |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $2,230 | $1,602 | $2,040 |
| $38,000 | $1,845 | $727 | $1,507 |
| $40,000 | $1,595 | $477 | $1,257 |
| $44,000 | $1,095 | $0 | $757 |
| $48,000 | $595 | $0 | $257 |
| $52,759 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
With LITO and 2026-27 rates, a single senior pays no income tax up to $36,454 of taxable income, if it equals rebate income. Each member of a couple pays none up to $32,386.
The shade-out creates high effective marginal rates. Between about $46,000 and $52,000, a single senior loses 54 cents of each extra dollar: 30% tax, 12.5% SAPTO, 1.5% LITO and 10% from the Medicare levy phasing in. The low income tax offset (LITO) calculator shows the LITO part on its own.
Rebate income adds back super, fringe benefits and losses
SAPTO is tested on rebate income, which can be higher than your taxable income. The ATO's rebate income instructions (opens in a new tab) start with taxable income, then add adjusted fringe benefits, reportable employer super contributions, deductible personal super contributions and net investment and rental losses.
That add-back can cost real money. Take a single retiree with $36,000 of taxable income after deducting a $4,000 net rental loss.
Single retiree, $36,000 taxable income
SAPTO on rebate income
- Income tested
- $40,000
- SAPTO
- $1,595
- Income tax after offsets
- $375
If it used taxable income
- Income tested
- $36,000
- SAPTO
- $2,095
- Income tax after offsets
- $0
Making super contributions you can deduct lowers your taxable income, but it doesn't lower your rebate income.
Transferring an unused offset to a spouse
SAPTO is non-refundable, so a partner with little or no tax can't use their full offset. If you're both eligible, the ATO can move the unused part to the other partner.
| Step | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Their full SAPTO | $1,602 | $1,602 |
| Taken off by the ATO's formula15c on the $9,000 above $6,000 | −$1,350 | $252 |
| Unused amount that can move | $252 | |
2025-26 table, assuming no exempt pension income. Source: ATO.
That partner is under the $18,200 threshold and owes no income tax, so the amount that can move is much smaller than the amount they can't use.
How the receiving partner's offset changes
The ATO adds the transferred amount to the receiving partner's maximum offset and works out a higher shade-out threshold for them. It then applies the usual 12.5 cent reduction. The transfer happens automatically when you both lodge.
LITO can't be transferred in the same way.
The offset also lifts your Medicare levy threshold
If you're entitled to SAPTO you get higher Medicare levy thresholds, set out on the ATO's Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners page (opens in a new tab). These are the 2025-26 figures, the latest announced. The 2026-27 thresholds aren't out yet.
| Who | No levy up to | Full levy from |
|---|---|---|
| Single senior, on taxable income | $44,268 | $55,335 |
| Senior couple, on family income | $61,623 | $77,028 |
For the single retiree on $40,000, that's worth $800 a year compared with someone not entitled to SAPTO. Above the threshold the levy phases in at 10 cents per dollar: a single senior on $48,000 pays $373.20, down from the full $960. The Medicare levy calculator works it out at any income.
You need at least $1 of SAPTO to use these thresholds. At $52,758 a single senior still gets $1 and pays $849 of levy. One dollar more takes SAPTO to nil and the levy to $1,055.18.
What the calculator does not cover
The calculator assumes resident tax rates for the full year and a rebate income you enter. It doesn't check the Age Pension income or assets tests, or work out a transfer coming to you from a spouse.
The Medicare levy result uses your own taxable income, so it leaves out any further family reduction for a couple. It also leaves out the private health insurance rebate and the Medicare levy surcharge.
For 2025-26 returns, income tax uses the 16% rate. The single retiree on $40,000 would pay $1,318 for that year, and each partner in the couple $886. To compare the rate change on any income, use the tax cut calculator.
SAPTO questions: what it is, eligibility, income thresholds and 2026-27 changes
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Last reviewed
What is SAPTO?
It's the Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset, a non-refundable reduction in income tax for eligible older Australians and people on some government payments. On the latest ATO table (2025-26) it's worth up to $2,230 for a single person and $1,602 for each partner of a couple. It shades out at 12.5 cents per dollar of rebate income above the threshold.
Who is eligible for SAPTO?
You need to meet a pension condition. That means getting a listed payment such as the Age Pension, or being Age Pension age (67) and eligible for the pension even if you didn't get it. Your rebate income must also be under $52,759 if you're single. A couple's combined rebate income must be under $87,620.
What are the SAPTO income thresholds?
For a single person, SAPTO starts shading out above $34,919 of rebate income and stops at $52,759. For each member of a couple the range is $30,994 to $43,810. For couples separated by illness it's $33,732 to $50,052. These are the 2025-26 figures, the latest the ATO has published.
Has SAPTO changed for 2026-27?
Probably not, but it isn't confirmed. The ATO has published only the 2025-26 table, with a $2,230 single maximum. SAPTO isn't indexed and no change has been announced, so the same figures are expected to apply. Income tax itself did change: the 15% rate can lower a senior's income tax by up to $268 a year.
Estimates only, based on published rates for 2026-27. General information, not tax or financial advice.
Keep going
Sources
- ATO: Seniors and pensioners tax offset (table: SAPTO rates and thresholds for 2025-26) (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: T1 Seniors and pensioners tax offset 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Rebate income 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners (opens in a new tab)
- Services Australia: Who can get Age Pension (opens in a new tab)
Provisional: the SAPTO amounts and thresholds are the 2025-26 figures, the latest published. The 2026-27 table isn't out yet.
Provisional: the Medicare levy low-income thresholds ($28,011 and $35,013) are carried over from the previous financial year until the ATO publishes the 2026-27 figures.