Even if you are not a business owner, you may still be liable for Pay as You Go (PAYG) instalments if you had a tax liability in the previous financial year. This can occur due to several reasons beyond just your employment income.

For instance, you might be an employee with wages, but you also have other sources of income, such as:

• An investment property that earns positive rental income.
• A share portfolio that earns dividend income annually.
• A substantial amount of cash savings that earn interest income.
• Trust distributions from a related trust.
• You are liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge because you do not have appropriate hospital cover for yourself and your family, and your income is above the threshold.

In these cases, your employer only withholds tax on your employment income. However, when you file your tax return, you will need to account for the additional income from these other sources. This often results in a tax payable situation due to the positive income earned on top of your wages.

To manage this, the ATO may require you to make PAYG instalments throughout the year to cover your expected tax liability, helping you avoid a large tax bill at the end of the financial year. If you anticipate lower income this year compared to last year, you may consider varying your last quarter PAYG instalment to improve your cash flow. Feel free to reach out to Investax Group tax specialists if you need any help with this.