WWTFBudget

Persona · Age 71

June

Age Pensioner, owns home — exempt from the 30% capital gains minimum tax

Older woman gardening at home
Older woman gardening at home
Net positive

Meaningful wins across the board: aged care subsidy increases directly, PBS cuts $25 co-payment, energy bill relief, and her home-sale CGT position is unchanged.

Aged Care
+3

$3.7B aged care package; residential aged care subsidy increased; home care package funding expanded

Healthcare
+2

PBS co-payment cut to $25; bulk-billing tripled for GP visits; Medicare Levy exemption maintained

Cost of Living
+2

Energy bill relief payments; fuel excise cut; $5.9B PBS freeze

Capital Gains
+0

30% min CGT tax does not apply to her primary residence; her small share holdings below typical threshold

Income Tax
+0

Below income tax threshold — tax cuts don't flow through; LITO unchanged

Scores are stylised indicators based on published budget policy mechanics — not financial advice.

View in Tax Calculator

Persona 08 — June, age pensioner

Profile

  • Age: 71
  • Living arrangement: owns home (no mortgage), single, lives in Adelaide.
  • Income: Age Pension ($30,000/yr including supplements) + small super pension stream ($8,000/yr, tax-free in retirement).
  • Assets: $230k in an account-based super pension; some long-held shares ($65k portfolio bought 1995-2005); $20k cash.
  • Health needs: GP visits, prescription medicines, occasional in-home services (showering assistance).

Their universe of policies

Scenarios

Scenario A — She sells her old shares

  • Policy: §4.2.2 explicitly exempts "recipients of means-tested income support payments, such as the Age Pension or JobSeeker" from the 30% minimum tax in any year they receive the payment.
  • Source: tax-explainers-negative-gearing-capital-gains-tax.docx.
  • Mechanic: Even if June's marginal rate on a capital gain would otherwise drop below 30%, the minimum tax does not apply to her. She pays at her actual marginal rate on the gain.
  • Numbers: June sells $20k of CBA in 2030 with $14k taxable gain after indexation. Pension is non-taxable; she has no other income, so the gain pushes her into the 14% bracket at most. Tax: ~$2,000, not $4,200 (which the 30% min would have implied).

Scenario B — Aged care personal-care subsidy

  • Policy: Theme 05 §5.2 — $1 billion to fully subsidise and remove co-contributions for personal-care services like showering.
  • Mechanic: June is on a Level 2 Home Care Package. Her current showering co-contribution of ~$8/visit × 5/wk = $40/wk = ~$2,080/yr. Removed entirely → +$2,080/yr.

Scenario C — Bulk-billed GP and free RSV vaccine

  • Policy: Theme 02 §2.4 — $11.4B bulk-billing incentives + $449.3M to list the RSV vaccine.
  • Mechanic: Her local GP is already bulk billing seniors. RSV is a top-3 cause of older-adult hospitalisation in Australia; she becomes eligible for the free vaccine at age ≥75 (or under government-set criteria). Removes $400+ private cost.

Scenario D — Medicare Urgent Care Clinic

  • Policy: Theme 02 §2.4 — $1.8B + $580.2M/yr ongoing for 137 clinics, with 4-in-5 Australians within a 20-min drive by July 2026.
  • Mechanic: June used to drive 35 minutes to the after-hours clinic; now bulk-billed UCC is 11 minutes away. No money on private after-hours fees.

Scenario E — Hospital funding

  • Policy: Theme 02 §2.4 — record $220.3B over 5 years (additional $25B). BP3 — National Health Reform: $168.7B over 4 years.
  • Mechanic: Wait times for elective procedures (hip replacement) shorten. Indirect, but tangible quality-of-life impact in retirement.

Bottom-line annual impact

Item$
Aged care personal-care subsidy+$2,080/yr
Bulk-billed GP + RSV+$400 to +$600/yr
UCC vs private after-hours+$200/yr (avoided)
Total+$2,700 to +$2,900/yr
One-off realisation of share gainminimum-tax exemption saves ~$2,200 vs naive application

Calculator settings

Open calculator/index.html:

  • Income mode: "Age pension recipient" — toggles the minimum-tax exemption.
  • Investments: load $65k of shares with cost base, choose "sale year" 2030.
  • Compare with and without the income-support exemption.