Private health insurance rebate 2026-27: your percentage and your dollars
Give your income for surcharge purposes, your premium and the age of the oldest person on the policy: the rebate comes out in dollars a year and a month.
Private health insurance rebate, per year
$579
24.118 %: Base tier, oldest person under 65, rates of 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
| Full premium | $2,400 |
| Rebate | -$579 |
| You pay | $1,821 |
| Per month | $151.76 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · thresholds read on ato.gov.au, premiums from privatehealth.gov.au data · not tax advice
The private health insurance rebate is the government's share of your premium. From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 it is 24.118 % of the premium at the base tier when everyone on the policy is under 65, 16.079 % at tier 1, 8.038 % at tier 2 and nothing at tier 3. The rate rises with the age of the oldest person covered: 28.139 % at the base tier between 65 and 69, 32.158 % from 70. The tier is set by your income for surcharge purposes, the same test and the same thresholds as the Medicare levy surcharge: for 2026-27, the base tier stops at $105,000 for a single person and $210,000 for a couple or a family. On the cheapest couple policy that avoids the surcharge in New South Wales, $2,462 a year before the rebate, a couple under 65 at the base tier gets $594 back. The rebate is never paid on a Lifetime Health Cover loading, and the percentages change each 1 April.
Twelve percentages, one table
The whole rebate fits in a grid of three age bands by four income tiers. The rows below are those of the ATO and of the Department of Health circular that set them, PHI 12/26.
| Oldest person covered | Base tier | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 65 | 24.118 % | 16.079 % | 8.038 % | 0.000 % |
| 65 to 69 | 28.139 % | 20.098 % | 12.058 % | 0.000 % |
| 70 or over | 32.158 % | 24.118 % | 16.079 % | 0.000 % |
The tiers are not specific to the rebate. They are the Medicare levy surcharge tiers, tested on the same income for surcharge purposes: taxable income, reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses and reportable super contributions, added for you and your spouse. For 2026-27 a single person is at the base tier up to $105,000, at tier 1 up to $123,000, at tier 2 up to $164,000, and at tier 3 beyond. For a couple, a single parent or a family the limits are $210,000, $246,000 and $328,000. Income for MLS purposes explains each item of the total.
What the percentage is worth on real premiums
A rate means little until it is applied to a price. Two couple policies from the PrivateHealth.gov.au file of 1 October 2026 show the range: the cheapest hospital policy for a couple in NSW that avoids the surcharge ($2,462 a year before the rebate), and the median policy of the same kind ($4,434).
| Tier and age band | Cheapest NSW couple policy | Median NSW couple policy |
|---|---|---|
| Base tier, under 65 | $594 | $1,069 |
| Base tier, 65 to 69 | $693 | $1,248 |
| Base tier, 70 or over | $792 | $1,426 |
| Tier 1, under 65 | $396 | $713 |
| Tier 1, 65 to 69 | $495 | $891 |
| Tier 1, 70 or over | $594 | $1,069 |
| Tier 2, under 65 | $198 | $356 |
| Tier 2, 65 to 69 | $297 | $535 |
| Tier 2, 70 or over | $396 | $713 |
The gap between the top and the bottom of that table is large. A retired couple over 70 on a modest income gets $1,426 a year towards a median policy; a couple under 65 at tier 2 gets $356 on the same premium. Tier 3 households pay the full price.
Rebate on a couple policy
Private health insurance rebate, per year
$1,069
| Full premium | $4,434 |
| Rebate | -$1,069 |
| You pay | $3,365 |
| Per month | $280.38 |
Your status on 30 June decides the threshold
The ATO tests the rebate on your family status on the last day of the income year. If you had a spouse on 30 June, the family thresholds apply to your combined income for the whole year, even if you met in March. If you separated during the year and had no dependent child on 30 June, the single thresholds apply to your own income alone. A single parent is always tested on the family thresholds, with only their own income counted. When a spouse dies during the year and the survivor has no dependant on 30 June, the family thresholds still apply, to the incomes of both.
That date rule produces surprises in both directions. A person on $110,000 who moves in with a partner on $40,000 before 30 June goes from tier 1 as a single (16.079 %) to the base tier as a couple (24.118 %), because $150,000 is under the family threshold. The reverse happens to a couple on a high joint income who separate in May.
Three periods in the same calendar year
Rates move on 1 April and thresholds on 1 July, so 2026 had three combinations. From 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, the 2025-26 thresholds (base tier up to $101,000 single) went with the old rates, 24.288 % at the base tier under 65. From 1 April to 30 June 2026, PrivateHealth.gov.au shows the new rates applied to the same old thresholds. From 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2027, the new rates go with the new thresholds of $105,000, $123,000 and $164,000. The rates from 1 April 2027 will be published in March 2027.
Who can claim it
The ATO lists four conditions: a complying policy with an Australian registered insurer, eligibility for Medicare, being a private health insurance incentive beneficiary, and an income for surcharge purposes below the tier 3 threshold. Every adult the policy covers is an incentive beneficiary. If the policy covers only a dependent child, the parents are; if they are not a couple on 30 June, the one who pays the premium is. When an employer pays the premium under a salary packaging arrangement, the rebate still depends on your income, not the employer's. How the money reaches you, as a lower premium or at tax time, is on the page premium reduction or tax offset.
A change to the rates for people aged 65 and over is before Parliament: the over 65 page sets out what it would cost. For a single person, the cheapest exempt policy in NSW costs $1,231 a year, and the base tier rebate under 65 takes $297 off it.