Learn about why these codes are important at tax time if you have health insurance.
It's important to get every cent you can from your tax return to help cover your private health insurance costs, but knowing what to claim can be confusing for many people.
The Australian Government does offer a tax rebate on private health insurance which is means tested, and you'll often be asked for a code.
Areas that are generally not fully understood include tax claim codes, health insurance statements and benefit codes, and this guide looks at all three and how they affect your health insurance rebate.
What's covered in this article?
Jump to...What are tax claim codes?
Tax claim codes indicate the amount of private health insurance rebate you'll receive in line with your particular circumstances. When claiming a rebate, you must select a code that matches your situation to provide on your tax return, as it does not appear on your private health insurance statement.
The following are the tax claim codes used by the ATO to determine your rebate:
| Code | Definition |
|---|---|
| Tax code A | You are a single adult on 30 June. |
| Tax code B | You are a single adult on 30 June and you have a dependent child or children. |
| Tax code C | You have a spouse on 30 June (including if your spouse died during the tax year and you did not have another spouse before 30 June. |
| Tax code D | You have a spouse on 30 June and they have agreed that you should claim their share of the rebate because they aren't claiming it themselves. |
| Tax code E | You have a spouse on 30 June and you have agreed that they should claim your share of the rebate because you aren't going to claim it yourself. |
| Tax code F | You are covered as a dependent child on a private health insurance policy and are not entitled to receive the rebate. |
What are benefit codes?
If you have private health insurance, you'll receive a health insurance statement each year from your health fund and you will need to complete the private health insurance policy section and Medicare levy surcharge items on your tax return. Each adult covered by your private health policy receives their own health insurance statement.
The benefit code is listed on this document and indicates which rebate percentage (based on the maximum policyholder’s age) is applicable to you and when the premium was paid. The valid benefit codes are:
| Age groups | Codes for premiums paid between 1 July and 31 March | Codes for premiums paid between 1 April and 30 June |
|---|---|---|
| Under 65 | Benefit code 30 | Benefit code 31 |
| 65 to 69 | Benefit code 35 | Benefit code 36 |
| 70 or older | Benefit code 40 | Benefit code 41 |
Why are there two rows of info on my statement?
There will be two rows of information on your health insurance statement because, thanks to recent changes in the way the rebate is calculated, there are now two lots of benefit codes applicable to each person’s situation.
Benefit codes 30, 35 and 40 are used for premiums paid between 1 July and 31 March and benefit codes 31, 36 and 41 are used for premiums paid between 1 April and 30 June.
There may also be two rows of information on your statement if the oldest person on the policy turned 65 or 70 during the tax year, in which case all adults on the policy receive a higher rebate percentage. As with the annual adjustment of the rebate percentage on 1 April, each row will have a different benefit code.
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