The onset of July means the middle of winter in Australia. Apart from those who embrace the ski season, few Aussies are thrilled by the prospect. But this year there’ll be a financial lining to the gathering winter clouds – a July cash boost.
This year the July cash boost will come with an extra kick, thanks to the tax cuts announced by the Albanese government coming into effect. The average Australian will enjoy a tax cut of $2000, giving them an extra $40 per week in their pockets. Given the cost-of-living pressures of the past few years, this will come as welcome relief to most.
Meanwhile, thousands of Australian carers will also receive a July cash boost the form of an annual supplement. On top of that, pensioners will be among a range of other Centrelink customers who will receive relief through indexation.
The big July cash boost – tax cuts
July’s tax reductions have been long in coming, and long debated. They represent the so-called ‘stage three tax cuts’ originally formulated by the Liberal government under prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. They were part of the former government’s Personal Income Tax Plan announced in the 2018–19 Budget.
From the beginning, the stage three cuts drew criticism. The main one was that the cuts would benefit only Australians in the highest tax bracket. Anthony Albanese went into the 2022 Federal Election saying he had no plans to scrap the cuts. However, under intense public pressure, he announced modifications ahead of this year’s Federal Budget.
As part of his “tax cuts for all” promise, Mr Albanese’s changes mean that Australians earning less than $150,000 will get a larger return than promised in 2018. Those earning more than $150,000 will get a tax cut, too, but it will be less than was originally outlined.
Under the changes, households and couples with children will have between $56 and $75 more in their pockets each week. For households without children, the July cash boost will provide an extra $33 per week.
Carers
The $600 Carer Supplement is an annual payment for those with caring responsibilities who get certain carer payments. Importantly, the supplement does not count towards your taxable income.
Full details of the supplement, payable on 1 July each year, are available through the Services Australia website.
Pensioners and others in line for a July cash boost
A July cash boost will also come to several other groups, courtesy of government indexation. Among those who are in line for financial relief are those on the Age Pension or the Disability Support Pension. Families on the Family Tax Benefit, Newborn Supplement and Multiple Birth Allowance will also receive a boost.
Pensioners will benefit from increases in income and asset thresholds, allowing more individuals to qualify for, or receive, higher payments. For those on fixed incomes, this will provide at least a partial buffer against rising costs driven by inflation.
A full list of payments that will increase as a result of the 1 July indexation can be found here.
How much will the July cash boost deliver to you? Will it be enough to make a meaningful difference? Let us know via the comments section below.
Also read: Pension rules require urgent overhaul: NSA
Disclaimer: All content on YourLifeChoices website is of a general nature and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It has been prepared with due care but no guarantees are provided for the ongoing accuracy or relevance. Before making a decision based on this information, you should consider its appropriateness in regard to your own circumstances. You should seek professional advice from a financial planner, lawyer or tax agent in relation to any aspects that affect your financial and legal circumstances.
Pleased for the tax relief for my family. But for me? I get nothing, zip, nada, and my electricity bill’s going up.
You get yours at other times, when your family do not.
Rubbish. Aged pensioners never catch up and each time get much less than costs increase. The Aged Pension has kept going backwards and since the 1990s, mortgage payments were removed from the calculation, so it just gets worse as interest rates go up.
Great for some but nothing for most age pensioners. And the carer supplement is nothing new and has never been indexed so has lost a lot of the value it once had. So nothing extra from the federal government for me.
I will however gain some benefit from actions of the Queensland state government as will nearly every Queenslander.
You had an increase in March, taxpayers DID NOT at that time.
Yes, once again pensioners go backwards. Big deal being able to earn another $8 pf if you are able or if you can get work. Most people reliant on the Aged Pension got nothing but another slap in the face. Well done heartless politicians. One day you’ll be old, but I guess you have your generous pensions, so why worry about normal Australians.
On the TV it says all taxpayers will receive a reduction in the amount of tax they pay. I pay tax on everything I buy, it called the gst and it’s been increasing on food, petrol, energy, insurance etc and I’m not getting a tax cut. The advertisement on the TV is misleading and should be scrapped.
Peter, you have all the wrong information.
The workers who pay PAYE tax on their wages will be receiving more in their pay packets from 1/7/24 – that’s the tax cuts discussed.
The GST has been 10% on ‘most’ food, etc since 1 July 2000, and won’t be going up in the near future.
Examples of GST-free foods
The following are some examples of foods and beverages that are GST-free:
bread and bread rolls without a filling or a sweet coating (such as icing). A glaze is not considered a sweet coating.
cooking ingredients, such as flour, sugar, pre-mixes and cake mixes
fats and oils for cooking
unflavoured milk, cream, cheese and eggs
spices, sauces and condiments
bottled natural water with no additives
fruit or vegetable juice (of at least 90% by volume of juice of fruit or vegetables)
tea and coffee (unless sold ready-to-drink)
infant formula (for children under 12 months of age)
all meats for human consumption (except prepared meals or savoury snacks)
fruit, vegetables, fish and soup (fresh, frozen, dried, canned or packaged)
spreads for bread (such as honey, jam and peanut butter)
For more information, use the Detailed food list to check if a food or beverage is taxable or GST-free.
The cost of the other items listed have been increasing for many years, and have nothing to do with taxes.
For the Age, Disability, Carer pensions, they are increased on 20 March & September, so don’t confuse those with this information given, which, yes has some misleading headlines.
Some common sense wouldn’t go astray here – most people pay taxes of some sort, many people pay lots of different taxes. When they say “taxpayers” it’s obvious they mean INCOME TAX.
If you get a pension you had an increase in March, when “taxpayers” did not. If you are not on the pension you maybe self funded, great you have enough money to continue on.
It’s all about buying votes. After the elections, when mortgage rates go up again due to the effect of the tax cuts, all of those who were conned by this sleight of hand might realize they too were scammed. Yes, the BS that every Australian would get Tax Cuts became every Australian Taxpayer… and will soon be forgotten as more people feel the pain felt by aged pensioners.
Any suggestion that the twice yearly indexation has any fairness in it is discounted by the fact that the purchasing power of the Aged Pension has gone down by 80% since 1990. Would love to see someone justify that, let alone the fact that a couple on the pension get 1.5 times what a single gets. So, the second person supposedly only needs half what one person needs to survive!
More insults and a failure by successive governments to do what is right. Let’s give more money to foreigners, but watch our older Australians continue to fall below the poverty line and slide into oblivion!