Fill Out ATO Medicare Levy Variation Declaration (NAT 0929) Online
Medicare levy variation declaration
Australian Taxation Office
Asks your payer to increase or reduce the Medicare levy amount withheld from your pay to match your circumstances.
Reviewed July 2026
How it works
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Open the form. The official PDF loads straight into the editor, no download needed first.
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Fill it out in the editor. Click anywhere to type, add checkmarks and place your signature.
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Download your PDF. Save the completed form, ready to print or submit.
The Medicare Levy Variation Declaration (NAT 0929) tells your employer or other payer to change how much Medicare levy is withheld from your payments. Depending on your circumstances it can claim a full or half exemption from the levy, claim a reduction based on family income, ask the payer to withhold extra to cover the Medicare levy surcharge, or claim an exemption from compulsory study loan repayments for the year.
You can complete NAT 0929 in the Universal PDF editor, answering the twelve questions on screen and downloading a finished PDF to sign and give to your payer. The ATO updates its forms periodically, so confirm on ato.gov.au that you have the current version, and remember the form carries your tax file number, so store and share it carefully.
What the declaration is used for
The Medicare levy is normally built into the standard PAYG withholding rates. This declaration adjusts that treatment when the standard assumption does not fit you. People in a Medicare levy exemption category can have the levy component removed in full or in half, low income families can seek a reduction, and people liable for the Medicare levy surcharge because they lack private patient hospital cover can ask the payer to withhold an extra one, one and a quarter, or one and a half per cent of gross earnings to cover it.
It can also exempt you from having additional amounts withheld for Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL) or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL) repayments for a year when you are entitled to a Medicare levy reduction.
Who can claim an exemption
The ATO recognises three exemption categories. Category 1 covers certain medical circumstances, such as blind pensioners and people entitled to full medical treatment for all conditions under Defence Force arrangements or a Veterans' Affairs Gold Card, subject to conditions about dependants. Category 2 covers foreign residents for tax purposes. Category 3 covers people not entitled to Medicare benefits who hold a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia, and certain members of diplomatic missions.
Before you can lodge the declaration you must have provided your payer with your tax file number details or claimed an exemption from quoting a TFN. If you have more than one job, lodge the declaration only with the payer you claim the tax-free threshold from.
How to fill out NAT 0929
Section A walks through twelve questions:
- Questions 1 to 3: your tax file number, name, and home address.
- Question 4: whether you want extra withheld to cover the Medicare levy surcharge, and at which of the three rates.
- Questions 5 to 7: whether you qualify for a Medicare levy exemption and whether you are claiming the full or half exemption.
- Question 8: whether you want a Medicare levy reduction based on family income.
- Questions 9 and 10: whether you have a spouse, and whether your combined weekly income, or your income as a sole parent, is under the relevant weekly amount.
- Question 11: whether you have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or AASL debt. Answering yes here together with yes at question 10 exempts you from the extra study loan withholding.
- Question 12: the number of your dependent children.
- Sign and date the payee declaration, then hand the form to your payer, who completes Section B.
Where the form goes
Give the completed declaration to your employer or payer. It is never sent to the ATO. The payer uses the special Medicare levy adjustment tax table to work out the new withholding amount, keeps the form on file as sensitive TFN information, and retains it for the current and following financial year.
Lodge a new declaration whenever your circumstances change or when you start receiving payments from a new payer and want the variation to continue.
Frequently asked questions
No. The completed form goes to your employer or payer, who adjusts withholding and files the declaration. The ATO only sees the outcome through the amounts reported on your income statement.
Apply to Services Australia for a Medicare Entitlement Statement. That statement supports a Category 3 full exemption for the period it covers, and you will also need it when you claim the exemption in your tax return.
Lodge it only with the payer you are claiming the tax-free threshold from. Lodging it with multiple payers can lead to too little tax being withheld and a debt at assessment time.
Yes. Question 4 asks the payer to withhold an extra percentage of your gross earnings to cover the Medicare levy surcharge if you expect to be liable because you do not hold an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover.
No. Withholding is only an estimate. Your actual levy, reduction, or surcharge is worked out when your income tax return is assessed, so keep evidence such as your Medicare Entitlement Statement. If you are unsure what to claim, a registered tax agent can help.
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