The Government has proposed legislative amendments to abolish the dependent spouse tax offset (DSTO) and expand the dependent (invalid and carer) tax offset (DICTO). Under the changes:
- a taxpayer who has a spouse who is genuinely unable to work due to invalidity or carer obligations is eligible for DICTO (worth up to $2,471 (indexed)) if the taxpayer contributes to the maintenance of their spouse and meets certain income tests and other eligibility criteria; and
- taxpayers eligible for the zone tax offset (ZTO), overseas forces tax offset (OFTO) or overseas civilians tax offset (OCTO) can receive a further entitlement of 50% or 20% of their DICTO entitlement as a component of ZTO, OFTO or OCTO, depending on where they reside.
The amendments are proposed to generally apply to the 2014–2015 income year and to all later income years.
Submitted by: Ash Bravington – Accountant