Hello,
I am 26 years old working full time and fall above the single income threshold for the MLS. I have private health insurance including hospital cover with $250 excess. The policy I am on is with my parents (and sibling). I have been de facto with my partner since March 2024 (26, working full time), who also has hospital cover with $250 excess on his parents policy. Individually he doesn't fall above the single income threshold, but combined, the two of us fall above the family income threshold.
Looking at the ATO website at the criteria below, I interpret it as though we shouldn't need to pay MLS because we have the appropriate level of private patient hospital cover.
You may have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) if:
- you, your spouse and your dependent children do not have an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover
- you earn above a certain income.
The MLS is an amount you pay on top of the Medicare levy.
If you take out an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover for yourself, your spouse and all your dependants, you will not pay the MLS.
Questions:
- Are we exempt from MLS because we have the private health and hospital cover?
- Is it an issue that we're on our parents' private health and hospital cover? Does the policy need to be in our own names for us to be exempt from MLS?
- If we do need to pay MLS, would my partner be pro-rata from March when we 'lived with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple' as per MLS family 'spouse' definition.
Thank you!
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