If the HELP repayment is not appearing or appears lower than expected in the tax return, check the following two areas:
1. Verify the Spouse / Income Tests section
If the client has a spouse, ensure the partner's taxable income has been correctly entered in the Spouse / Income Tests section.
- If the spouse's income is left blank or entered as $0, LodgeiT may treat the client as having a low combined family income.
- This can result in a Medicare Levy reduction being applied, which may also affect the HELP repayment calculation.
Action:
Enter the correct spouse taxable income and recalculate the return.
2. Check the Dependant Mapping
If the dependants are being included only to determine the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) threshold, make sure they have not been incorrectly mapped to the M1 – Medicare Levy Reduction grid.
If dependants have been incorrectly included under M1:
- Remove them from the M1 – Medicare Levy Reduction section.
- List them under M2 / Dependant Child where applicable.
- Recalculate the tax return.
Expected Result
Once the family income and dependant information have been correctly entered to reflect that the client does not qualify for a Low Family Income reduction, the correct HELP repayment should populate in the Estimate tab.
Tip: Always verify the client's spouse income and dependant details before making changes to the HELP repayment calculation.