Low Income Health Care Card
Income Test Calculator 2026
Check the Low Income Health Care Card income test: $826.00 a week single, $1,410.00 for a couple or single parent, more for each child, the 8-week rule, and deemed income on savings.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: You can get a Low Income Health Care Card if your gross income before tax over the 8 weeks before you claim is under the limit for your situation: $826.00 a week ($6,608.00 over 8 weeks) if you are single, $1,410.00 a week combined for a couple or a single parent with one child, and $1,444.00 for a couple with one child, plus $34.00 a week for each extra child. There is no assets test, but savings, shares and account-based pensions count through deeming (1.75% up to $66,800 single or $110,600 for a couple, 3.75% above).
Once you hold the card, a higher limit applies to keep it: $1,032.50 a week single, $1,762.50 for a couple. Over a full year the single claim limit is about $42,952 of steady pay, and the couple limit about $73,320.
Source: Services Australia, read 31 October 2026.
Am I eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card?
Yes if your gross income before tax over the last 8 weeks, plus deemed income on your savings, averages under $826.00 a week single or $1,410.00 for a couple, with more for each child. There is no assets test.
Eligible?
Yes
Assessed a week
$703.37
Weekly limit
$826.00
Room a week
$122.63
Gross pay $700.00 + deemed income $3.37 = $703.37 a week, or $5,626.92 over 8 weeks, against a limit of $826.00 a week ($6,608.00 over 8 weeks). You pass the claim income test with $122.63 a week to spare.
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Eligible?
Yes
Assessed a week
$703.37
Weekly limit
$826.00
Room a week
$122.63
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Last reviewed 31 October 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Assessed weekly income = your gross weekly income before tax (combined for a couple) + deemed income on financial investments ÷ 52. Deeming uses 1.75% up to $66,800 for a single person or $110,600 for a couple, and 3.75% above; for a couple the calculator assumes the investments are held jointly or split evenly. You qualify if assessed income is under the limit for your household: to claim or renew, $826.00 single, $1,410.00 couple or single parent with one child, $1,444.00 couple with one child, plus $34.00 per extra child; to keep a card, $1,032.50, $1,762.50, $1,805.00 and $42.50. Services Australia compares the total over 8 weeks, which is 8 times each weekly figure. The calculator does not check residence rules.
Low Income Health Care Card income limits 2026
Gross income before tax over the 8 weeks before you claim must be under the claim limit. Once you hold the card, the keep limit (1.25 times higher) applies until it expires. There is no assets test.
| Your situation | Claim a week | Claim, 8 weeks | Keep a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | $826.00 | $6,608.00 | $1,032.50 |
| Single, 1 child | $1,410.00 | $11,280.00 | $1,762.50 |
| Single, 2 children | $1,444.00 | $11,552.00 | $1,805.00 |
| Couple, no children | $1,410.00 | $11,280.00 | $1,762.50 |
| Couple, 1 child | $1,444.00 | $11,552.00 | $1,805.00 |
| Couple, 2 children | $1,478.00 | $11,824.00 | $1,847.50 |
| Couple, 3 children | $1,512.00 | $12,096.00 | $1,890.00 |
Services Australia, "Income test for the Low Income Health Care Card", read 31 October 2026. A couple's limit applies to your combined income. Each child after the first adds $34.00 (claim) or $42.50 (keep) a week.
Can I get a health care card on my salary?
The test looks at your last 8 weeks, not your yearly salary, so a year's pay only tells you the answer if you earn it evenly. On steady pay with no investments, a single person qualifies up to about $42,952 a year, a single parent with one child or a couple up to about $73,320, and a couple with two children up to about $76,856. Seasonal, casual or part-year workers can qualify in a low 8-week stretch even on a higher yearly income.
| Gross pay a year | A week | Single, no children | Single, 1 child | Couple, no children | Couple, 2 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $576.92 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $40,000 | $769.23 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $45,000 | $865.38 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $50,000 | $961.54 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $60,000 | $1,153.85 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $70,000 | $1,346.15 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| $75,000 | $1,442.31 | No | No | No | Yes |
| $80,000 | $1,538.46 | No | No | No | No |
Claim limits, pay earned evenly over 52 weeks, no deemed income. For a couple the salary is your combined pay.
How the income test is worked out: two examples
Single, $780 a week and $60,000 in savings
The savings are deemed to earn $1,050 a year, which is $20.19 a week. Assessed income is $800.19 a week ($6,401.54 over 8 weeks) against the $826.00 single claim limit, so this person qualifies with $25.81 a week to spare. Pay alone would have passed; the deemed savings income decides it.
Couple with two children, $1,400 a week combined
With $20,000 in the bank, deemed income adds $6.73 a week. Assessed income is $1,406.73 against a limit of $1,478.00 ($1,444.00 for a couple with one child plus $34.00 for the second), so they qualify with $71.27 a week to spare.
Enter your own figures in the calculator above.
Which card applies to you?
There are four concession cards, and the income test above is only for one of them. If you get the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A or certain other payments, you get a Health Care Card automatically with no separate claim; the family tax benefit calculator shows whether your family is on the maximum rate. If you are Age Pension age and not on the pension, the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card calculator uses a yearly income test with a much higher limit. Pensioners get a Pensioner Concession Card through the Age Pension.
Renting on a low income? Check the Rent Assistance calculator, and the Centrelink calculators page lists the other payments a low-income household may get.
How to use this calculator
- Choose single or couple, and enter the dependent children in your care.
- Choose the test: claiming or renewing a card, or keeping a card you already hold.
- Enter your gross income before tax as a weekly average over the last 8 weeks (both of you for a couple).
- Add your savings, shares and account-based pension balances; the calculator deems their income.
- Read your assessed weekly income against the limit, and the 8-week totals Services Australia compares.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the income limit for the Low Income Health Care Card in 2026?
To claim or renew, your gross weekly income must be under $826.00 if you are single with no children, $1,410.00 combined for a couple with no children, $1,410.00 for a single parent with one child and $1,444.00 for a couple with one child. Add $34.00 a week for each extra child.
Services Australia tests the 8 weeks before you claim, so the 8-week totals are $6,608.00, $11,280.00 and $11,552.00.
Is there an assets test for the Low Income Health Care Card?
No. Services Australia says you don't need to pass an assets test. Your home, car and other assets don't count.
Financial investments do count, but as income: bank accounts, shares, managed funds and account-based pensions are deemed to earn 1.75% on the first $66,800 ($110,600 for a couple) and 3.75% above, and that deemed income is added to your pay. $50,000 of savings adds about $16.83 a week for a single person.
Why are there two different income limits?
One limit applies when you claim or renew, and a higher one applies to keep a card you already hold. The keep-the-card limits are 1.25 times the claim limits: $1,032.50 a week single and $1,762.50 for a couple.
Your card is cancelled if your income goes over the keep limit in any 8-week period before it expires, and each year you must pass the lower claim limit again to get a new card.
Can I get a health care card with children?
Yes, and each child raises the limit. A single parent with one child has the same limit as a couple, $1,410.00 a week, and each extra child adds $34.00.
A child can go on your card if you are their main carer or they live with you at least 2 nights a fortnight, and must be under 19 if you support them while they study. If you get the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A, you get a Health Care Card automatically and don't need this income test.
What income counts for the Low Income Health Care Card?
Gross income before tax: wages, salary and self-employment income, rent, employer fringe benefits, reportable super contributions and salary sacrifice, Centrelink payments, Paid Parental Leave, Department of Veterans' Affairs payments, foreign income, income from private trusts and companies, and deemed income on financial investments and account-based income streams. Lump sums such as redundancy, leave and compensation payments count from the date you get them.
How is it different from the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card?
The Low Income Health Care Card is for anyone of any age on a low income and tests your last 8 weeks of gross income. The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is for people of Age Pension age who don't get the pension, and tests a full year of adjusted taxable income against a much higher limit.
If you get the Age Pension you get a Pensioner Concession Card instead. All three give cheaper medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; state and territory concessions vary.
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