A course for Australians · plain English · real numbers
Pay less tax, legally — and put what you save toward your future.
That's the goal of this course. The tax system is a set of rules the government writes, and those rules reward certain moves — super, work deductions, employer shares, franking-credit refunds, negative gearing. Learn to use them to legally keep more of your pay, then turn that saving into your future — every step in plain English, with a calculator on your own numbers.
Free to start · learn at your own pace · a course, not advice
Small moves, repeated, compound
One deduction won't change your life. But using these incentives every year — and redirecting the tax you save into super, shares or property — is how an ordinary salary turns into real wealth over a decade. The course teaches the move; the calculators show what it's worth over time. No hype: we always show the real cost and the real risk first.
The one idea behind most of these tools
Most of these tools are the same move — put your money to work before tax takes its cut, or claim a cost against your income at your tax rate. The government rewards it on purpose, to get people investing, saving and building. It starts small and scales all the way up — learn it once, use it everywhere.
A $300 work tool
claimed against your salary
Super at 15%
instead of your marginal rate
A geared property
the loss against your salary
And the honest part we never skip: an incentive gives back your tax rate, not 100%. Claim $2,000 at 32% → ~$640 back. We always show the real number.
What you'll learn
5 topics · 16 lessons
In the order your money flows — income first, then each asset, then how to stack them.
Every lesson is free — no signup, no paywall.
Foundations
the mindset, your numbers and the leaks to plug
1
It's a set of rules — here's how to use them
The mindset: incentives, your marginal rate, keep-more-then-compound, honesty.
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2
Your real tax position
Brackets, Medicare, your take-home and marginal rate — the number behind every decision.
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3
Private health & the Medicare Levy Surcharge
Over the income threshold with no hospital cover? You may be paying a surcharge for nothing — and a basic policy can cost less.
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4
Claim expenses against your salary
How a deduction lowers your taxable income: work tools, WFH, car, self-education, income protection.
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Superannuation
your biggest tax-advantaged engine
5
How much do you need to retire?
Turn your balance into income — how much you'll need (inflation-adjusted), and why it's tax-free from 60.
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6
Super — the 15% lever
Salary-sacrifice at 15% not your marginal rate; carry-forward, spouse & co-contributions, Div 293.
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7
First Home Super Saver
Save your first-home deposit inside super at 15%, not your marginal rate — then withdraw it to buy.
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8
Super fees — the silent drag
A low-cost index option (e.g. Hostplus Indexed Balanced) can keep six figures over a career.
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Cars
the big purchase that loses value — and how to fund one
9
The true cost of a car
A car is the rare big buy that only loses value — see what depreciation costs vs investing the same money.
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10
Salary packaging & the electric-car novated lease
Pay for an electric car and its running costs from pre-tax salary — the fringe-benefits-tax exemption makes it one of the strongest levers going.
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Building & investing
shares, property & whose name holds it
11
Shares & franking
Buy shares in your employer with pre-tax pay (ESS) — often discounted or partly tax-free; plus franking-credit refunds, who should hold income assets, the CGT discount and timing, and geared shares.
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12
Bonus shares that vest
Stock bonuses are taxed at their value on the vesting day, at your marginal rate — even if you don't sell. Plus the interest if you don't pay that year.
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13
Property & negative gearing
The honest version — real monthly cost, depreciation clawback, and why the wealth is growth, not the refund.
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14
Couples & income splitting
Two people, two sets of brackets. Hold investments in the right name and the same income is taxed far less.
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15
Big decisions
Pay down the mortgage or invest? Debt recycling, offset vs redraw.
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Put it all together
stack every move in a high-income year
16
Put it all together
The "Big Year" — stacking incentives in a high-income year; structures & trusts (advanced).
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How every lesson works
Six short beats — the last one is always a calculator on your own numbers.
The idea — what it is and why it exists, in plain English.
Who it's for — honest eligibility; we tell you when it doesn't apply to you.
The worked example — one set of real numbers, start to finish.
Try it on your numbers — the calculator. The engine does the maths, never the AI.
The honest caveats — the risk, the records, what it doesn't do.
How to action it — the concrete next step (or "take this to your accountant").
Like the course? Buy me a coffee
The whole course is free, and stays that way. If it saved you money or taught you something useful, you can shout me a coffee — it helps keep the lessons free, accurate and up to date. Totally optional; nothing locks either way.
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Every number from a precise engine — never guessed by AI
We always show the real cost, never just the upside
Current to this financial year, updated as laws change
Built to compound — small moves, used every year
Start with the move everyone can use.
Claim expenses against your salary — a free lesson, with a calculator on your own numbers.
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TaxAlly is an educational course providing general information, not personal financial or tax advice. Always confirm your own situation with a registered tax agent before acting. Figures are estimates.