I am at my wit's end trying to work out which one I should claim.
BB is $5000, but tax free.
PPL is approx $10,500, but taxable.
According to the Centrelink comparison tool, I would be $150 better off taking BB.
But I have done my own calculations that say I am better off taking PPL.
My calculations are based on comparing my gross income only (if I took the BB) versus my gross income plus PPL, so there is a $10,500 difference between the figures.
Income + PPL ($10,500 gross)
less $3000 tax
less $500 loss of child care benefits
less $800 loss of family tax benefit part a
Total benefit (10,500 less 4,300) = $6,200 in the hand extra
Income +BB ($5,000 gross)
less nothing = $5,000 in the hand extra
So I would be $1,200 better off taking the PPL.
The only thing is that I am using the 2011 ATO comprehensive tax calculator, whereas the relevant tax year will be 2013, and am using the 2012 family tax benefit estimator, whereas the relevant year will be 2013, but I don't think that would account for the difference.
Has anybody else gone through this process and had similar problems? Have I missed something in my calculations?
BB is $5000, but tax free.
PPL is approx $10,500, but taxable.
According to the Centrelink comparison tool, I would be $150 better off taking BB.
But I have done my own calculations that say I am better off taking PPL.
My calculations are based on comparing my gross income only (if I took the BB) versus my gross income plus PPL, so there is a $10,500 difference between the figures.
Income + PPL ($10,500 gross)
less $3000 tax
less $500 loss of child care benefits
less $800 loss of family tax benefit part a
Total benefit (10,500 less 4,300) = $6,200 in the hand extra
Income +BB ($5,000 gross)
less nothing = $5,000 in the hand extra
So I would be $1,200 better off taking the PPL.
The only thing is that I am using the 2011 ATO comprehensive tax calculator, whereas the relevant tax year will be 2013, and am using the 2012 family tax benefit estimator, whereas the relevant year will be 2013, but I don't think that would account for the difference.
Has anybody else gone through this process and had similar problems? Have I missed something in my calculations?
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