Table of contents
More than one dependant
Contributions by another person
Invalid
relative
What is
separate net income?
Separate
net income (SNI) does not include
Your
dependant’s income SNI can be reduced by
You can claim a tax offset for more than one dependant.
Your tax offset is reduced if:
- your dependant's separate net income was $286 or more
- you maintained your dependant for only part of the year
- another person helped to maintain your dependant, and/or
- your dependant resided in Australia for only part of the year.
Where another person or persons contributed to the
maintenance of your dependant, you can claim part of the allowable tax offset,
according to the extent of your contribution. For example, if you and another
person contributed equally to the maintenance of your dependant parent, you can
claim half of the allowable offset – that is, 50%.
An invalid relative is a person 16 years old or older who is
your child, brother or sister and who:
- receives a disability support pension or special needs disability support pension, or
- has a certificate from a Commonwealth approved doctor stating
that they have a continuing inability to work.
The maximum tax offset is $745 for each dependent invalid
relative and $1,489 for each dependent parent or spouse’s parent.
Separate net income (SNI) is income and other specified
amounts earned or received during the income year by your dependant while you
maintained them. SNI includes some amounts that are not included in the
recipient’s assessable income. SNI earned by your dependant may affect any
claim you are entitled to. SNI includes:
- salary and wages
- termination payments representing unused annual leave and long
service leave
- pensions, including exempt pensions
- interest and dividend income – but not the franking credit attached to franked dividends
- business, trust and rental income
- Veterans’ Affairs payments and most Centrelink payments including
parenting payment (partnered), carer's payment, remote area allowance and the
language, literacy and numeracy supplement
- any net capital gain for the income year
- any maintenance payments your spouse received for their own
support after divorce or separation – even though your spouse may not need to
declare such income for tax purposes, and
- the maintenance or accommodation component of a scholarship paid
by the Commonwealth or a state, except where that component is paid for helping
to educate isolated children under 16 years.
- the following Centrelink payments:
- child care benefit
- family tax benefit
- the 2005 one-off payment to carers (carer payment related, carer service pension related
or carer allowance related) paid under the Social Security Act 1991
- the one-off payment to families and carers under the Family Assistance (One-off Payment to
Families and Carers) Scheme 2004
- maternity immunisation allowance
- maternity payment, and
- carer allowance (but note that carer payments ARE included in SNI).
- The Japanese internment compensation payments made under the Compensation
(Japanese Internment) Act or the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
- Compensation payments received under the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme (GFLCP).
- The value or amount of any non-government scholarship received in connection with the education of a dependent child or student.
- The value or amount of any Commonwealth or state assistance provided for school fees, the purchase of textbooks or travelling expenses.
- Lump sum severance or retirement payments of a capital nature or amounts paid as compensation for losing a job.
- Maintenance paid to your spouse for support of their dependent children.
- Baby bonus.
- Franking credits attached to franked dividends.
- Amounts received under the incentive payments scheme relating to certain private health insurance policies.
- Any expenses that your dependant incurred during the income year
in earning their income and which they could claim as a deduction, even if they
did not lodge a tax return.
- Any amount your dependant could claim in the income year for the
deductible amount of undeducted purchase price of their pension or annuity.
- Net child care expenses incurred during the income year by your
dependant because they were working – that is, the amount paid by the dependant
less any cash rebates – for example, child care benefit and rebates provided by
an employer or union.
- Their expenses for travel during the income year to and from child care – because they were working.
- Their expenses for travel during the income year to and from work.
- Expenses that your dependant incurred during the income year in
conducting a business activity that resulted in a deferred non-commercial
business loss, even if they did not lodge a tax return.
Where any of the above expenses include car expenses, a calculation
based on a rate per kilometre multiplied by the actual number of kilometres
travelled is acceptable. If this method is used, the 5,000 kilometre limit does
not apply for purposes of calculating the SNI of your dependant.
Your dependant does not need written evidence of expenses
that reduce their SNI but they must be able to demonstrate that they actually
incurred the relevant expenses.
Your dependant’s SNI cannot be reduced by amounts paid by
them for gifts, donations, tax agent fees, tax withheld, superannuation
contributions, any losses brought forward from earlier years, or self-education
expenses that would not be tax-deductible because their only income is from
austudy, youth allowance or work that is not connected with self-education.
To continue your calculation, select the Back button on your browser.
For other important information, go to: