“Don’t know what kind of poverty this is… Not dying of hunger but not rich enough for luxury”
That meme or hilarious versions of it does the rounds on social media and it feels like it was written for the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
You finally start earning a bit more and you think you are moving forward. Then tax time comes along and suddenly you are in the “doing well enough” category. Not mansion wealthy nor early retirement wealthy but just wealthy enough that if you do not have private health cover, you pay a little extra.
For Medicare Levy Surcharge purposes in the 2026 financial year, the line between “not poor” and “not rich” is set pretty clearly: $101,000 for singles or $202,000 for families, plus another $1,500 for each child after the first. Stay under that line and you are safe but step over it and suddenly you are asked to chip in more.
The official explanation is that it helps reduce pressure on Medicare by nudging higher earners into private health insurance but stripped of the spin, it sounds more like: “Either buy cover or pay extra tax. Either way, you are paying”
So when you see the surcharge on your tax return, do not take it as a punishment. Take it the government’s way of saying: “You are doing alright. Not luxury wealthy, not struggling either. Just doing well enough to carry a little more”
And like the meme says: don’t know what kind of poverty this is… but apparently it is the kind where you pay the surcharge…