Hi, I wonder if someone could clarify this for my mom & dad. They are currently considering applying for a parent visa but need to decide first whether they can afford to live in Melbourne. My dad has his private pension and UK state pension and enquired of the Melourne tax office on his recent visit how much tax he could expect to pay on his income. Unfortunately he received conflicting information and is now completely confused. He was firstly told that the first $6000 was tax free which is much less than the UK where as a pensioner, the limit is £9000, then was told he would not pay tax until his earnings reached $16000.

If someone could throw some light on this I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Debbie

Have a look at the details here about the Low Income Tax Offset:
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/...axation_Personal.htm

Note that this offset is reduced once your income exceeds a given level of assessable income, to a point when it is completely withdrawn.

Best regards.

Thanks so much for that, Alan. From that I deduce that there are no specific tax breaks for pensioners but provided that his income does not reach the upper limit of the low earning threshold then the first $16,000 is tax free.

On another note, and looking extremely long term, my dad is anxious about whether they would be eligible for nursing home care. From looking at the Australian government website, I can see that a similar system is in place here to the UK which is assessed on assets/income however the main eligibility seems to be based around the payment of the Australian state pension. As I understand it, they would not be eligible for an Australian pension if they come on a CPV so would the payment of a UK state pension negate this requirement. Would the situation be different if they arrive on a non-contributory basis and sit it out?

If you have any ideas regarding this I would really appreciate it

Kindest regards

Debbie