Guides
These explainers sit alongside the calculators. Calculator walkthroughs are published on each calculator page. You can also browse by topic:Tax, Property and mortgages, Super and retirement, Crypto, Everyday money.
Age Pension and super: how Centrelink assesses your retirement savings
How the Age Pension works with superannuation in Australia, including official rates and thresholds from 20 September 2026, the income and assets tests, and deeming.
CGT calculator: old rules vs new rules for shares, property and crypto
How Australia's 50% CGT discount compares with cost base indexation and the 30% minimum tax from 1 July 2027, for shares, investment property and crypto, including the transitional market-value split.
How crypto is taxed in Australia, explained simply
A plain-English guide to crypto tax in Australia, based on ATO guidance: when a sale, swap or spend is taxable, how CGT and income are worked out, staking, airdrops, records and the 2027 CGT changes.
Crypto tax calculator Australia: how CGT is worked out and what to enter
How a crypto tax calculator estimates Australian CGT, including Australian dollar values, cost base, parcels, the 12-month discount and the 2027 changes.
Crypto wallet transfers and tax in Australia: when a move is not a disposal
ATO rules on transferring crypto between your own wallets, when a network fee is a CGT event, and how to keep records of transfers in Australia.
First Home Super Saver Scheme: contribution limits, withdrawals and tax
How the First Home Super Saver Scheme works in Australia, including the $15,000 and $50,000 limits, eligibility, release rules, the 30% tax offset and occupancy requirements.
How negative gearing works in Australia under the current rules
How negative gearing works in Australia today: what a rental loss is, which expenses are deductible, how the tax saving is calculated, and what changes from 1 July 2027.
Land tax by state and territory: thresholds, rates and who pays
How land tax works in each Australian state and territory, with official thresholds and general rates as published for 2026, and the usual exemption for your home.
Main residence CGT exemption: the 6-year absence rule and partial exemptions
How Australia's main residence CGT exemption works, including the 6-year absence rule, partial exemptions for renting or a home business, and the first-used-to-produce-income rule.
Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge: rates, thresholds and who pays
How Australia's 2% Medicare levy works, official low-income reduction thresholds, and the Medicare levy surcharge rates and income tests for 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Negative gearing and CGT changes from 1 July 2027, explained
What Australia's 2027 negative gearing and capital gains tax changes actually do, who is grandfathered, how indexation and the 30% minimum tax work, and what is still to be settled.
Is my investment property grandfathered under the 2027 negative gearing changes?
Who is grandfathered under Australia's 2027 negative gearing changes, how the 12 May 2026 cut-off works, what happens if you bought after Budget night, and when later transfers can keep the old treatment.
New builds vs established property after 2027: what changes for investors
How negative gearing and CGT will differ for new builds and established property from 1 July 2027, and why the legal definition of a new residential dwelling is still proposed rather than settled.
Payday Super for employees: when super must reach your fund from 1 July 2026
What Payday Super means for Australian employees from 1 July 2026, including the 12% rate, qualifying earnings, the 7 business day rule, and how to check contributions.
Refinancing a home loan: costs, savings and what to check first
How refinancing a home loan works in Australia, including switching costs, lenders mortgage insurance, break fees and how to compare a new loan with your current one.
Salary sacrifice into super: how it works, the caps and the tax effect
How salary sacrificing into super works in Australia, the 2025-26 and 2026-27 concessional caps, contributions tax, Division 293 and the effect on take-home pay and HELP.
Staking and DeFi tax in Australia: rewards, liquidity pools and wrapping
How the ATO taxes crypto staking rewards, DeFi yields, liquidity pool deposits and wrapped tokens in Australia, including official examples and draft wrapping guidance.
Work-related deductions and the $1,000 standard deduction from 2026-27
How Australia's $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses works from 2026-27, who is eligible, what still needs records, and how it interacts with itemised claims.
Working from home and car expenses after the $1,000 standard deduction
How to claim working from home and car expenses in Australia from 2026-27, including the standard deduction, the cents-per-kilometre rate of 91c, and the fixed-rate method.
5% Deposit Scheme (Home Guarantee Scheme): eligibility, price caps and how to apply
How the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme works from 1 October 2025, including the 5% and 2% deposit rules, price caps, eligibility and how it differs from Help to Buy.
Help to Buy scheme: shared equity, income caps, price caps and how it works
How the Australian Government Help to Buy shared-equity scheme works, including the 2% deposit, government contribution, income limits, price caps and how it differs from the 5% Deposit Scheme.
First home owner grants by state and territory
Current first home owner grant amounts, value caps and eligibility in each Australian state and territory, and how the grants differ from stamp duty concessions and the 5% Deposit Scheme.
First home buyer checklist: from savings to settlement
A practical Australian first home buyer checklist covering deposits, borrowing, the 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy, grants, stamp duty, inspections and settlement.
Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI): when you pay it, what it covers and how to avoid it
How lenders mortgage insurance works in Australia, why it usually applies above an 80% loan-to-value ratio, who it protects, and options that may avoid it, including the 5% Deposit Scheme.
How much deposit do you need to buy a home in Australia?
How home loan deposits work in Australia, including 20% and LMI, 5% government schemes, extra buying costs, and a simple way to set a savings target.
Fixed vs variable vs split home loans
How fixed, variable and split home loans work in Australia, including repayments, extra repayments, offset features, break fees and what happens when a fixed period ends.
Guarantor home loans: how they work and the risks for everyone involved
How a guarantor home loan works in Australia, what the guarantor can be required to pay, how a limited guarantee differs, and the risks MoneySmart says to check before anyone signs.
Debt recycling: how the interest deduction actually works
What debt recycling means in Australia, how the ATO treats interest when loan funds are used for a rental property or for private spending, and the records and risks involved.
Off the plan vs building: deposits, duty, grants and the contract risks
How buying off the plan compares with building a new home in Australia, including deposits, first home owner grants, government schemes, stamp duty and the contract issues to have reviewed before you sign.
Carry-forward concessional super contributions: unused cap and the $500,000 test
How unused concessional super caps can be carried forward for up to five years, the $500,000 total super balance test, the 2026-27 $32,500 cap, and the ATO's official Sam example.
Downsizer super contributions: age 55, the $300,000 limit and the 90-day rule
How downsizer super contributions work in Australia if you are 55 or older, including the $300,000 cap, 10-year ownership test, 90-day payment window and the effect on your total super balance.
Division 296 tax on super balances over $3 million: current law from 1 July 2026
How Division 296 tax works from 1 July 2026, including the $3 million and $10 million thresholds, the official earnings-proportion method, the 2026-27 transitional rule and the ATO's Jordan and Kelly examples.
Super death benefits: who can be paid, tax on lump sums and income streams
How Australian super death benefits are paid and taxed, including the difference between a super-law dependant and a tax dependant, lump-sum rates for non-dependants, and child income-stream limits.
Franking credits: how they work, the refund and the 45-day rule
How Australian franking credits work, including the 30/70 and 25/75 calculations, refunds of excess credits, the $5,000 holding-period threshold and the 45-day rule.
ETFs vs managed funds: how they differ, fees, trading and tax statements
How Australian ETFs and unlisted managed funds differ, including how you buy and sell, fees, tracking an index, physical versus synthetic structures, and tax statements. No product list.
Tax on shares and dividends in Australia
How Australia taxes dividends, franking credits and share sales, including the 50% CGT discount, capital losses, and the ATO's distinction between share investing and share trading.