What is What is adjusted taxable income??

Adjusted taxable income is a fuller measure of income than your taxable income alone. It is used to work out family payments and some other means tests, so that people with similar real incomes are treated the same way.

It starts with your taxable income and adds several other amounts, such as reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, net investment losses, certain tax-free pensions and benefits, and any foreign income. Adding these back stops people appearing to have a low income when they really do not.

Adjusted taxable income is a yearly figure. It is used for Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B, Carer Allowance, and the parental means test, among others.

How it affects your payment

Because adjusted taxable income counts more than salary, your family payments can be affected by things that do not show up as taxable income, like salary-sacrificed super or a net rental loss. Two families with the same take-home pay can get different payments if one has these extra amounts.

It is the income figure behind the annual income tests for Family Tax Benefit and the income limit for Carer Allowance. Because it is a yearly figure, your payments are estimated during the year and reconciled after the financial year ends.

Example

Suppose two families report the same salary. One family also salary-sacrifices into super and has a small rental loss. Their adjusted taxable income is higher than the other family's, because those amounts are added back. As a result, that family may get less Family Tax Benefit, even though their salary looks the same on paper.

Related terms

• Parental means test
• Income free area

Rates current as of 17 July 2026. Source: DSS / Services Australia. Last checked 17 July 2026.