When you lodge your tax return, you may need to provide spouse details, even if your spouse doesn't work or you have separate finances. We use this info to work out your eligibility for certain tax offsets, Medicare levy reduction, or the Medicare levy surcharge.
A spouse is anyone you've lived with in a genuine domestic relationship at any point during the year. This includes de facto and same-gender couples. If you're not married, you may still have a spouse for tax purposes.
Do I have to include my spouse's income in my tax return?
Yes, even if you keep your tax affairs or finances separate from your spouse, you'll still need to provide us with their income information. We need this information to work out whether you:
What if my spouse is a foreign resident for tax purposes?
Even if your spouse is a foreign resident for tax purposes, you need to declare that you have a spouse. You also need to include their global income in the spouse income disclosures on your tax return.
What if I don't know my partner's income details?
If you can't access your partner’s income details, you can make a reasonable estimate of these amounts. You can use information like:
your spouse's payment summaries from their employment
documents that outline any taxable government payments they received from Centrelink
bank or dividend statements.
What if I separated from my spouse or started a new relationship?
If you’ve separated from your spouse during the financial year and no longer live together, here’s what to do:
Select ‘yes’ to the question asking if you had a spouse at any time in the financial year,
In the next section, select ‘add/edit’ spouse details,
Select ‘no’ to the question asking if you had a spouse for the full year
Enter the dates you were together during the financial year.
If you had more than one spouse during the financial year, complete this section with the details of your latest spouse. For example, the spouse you were in a relationship with on 30 June.
