At a glance: Tax shake-up and housing boost central to budget

The key details of the Albanese government’s fifth budget and how its measures will impact Australians.

May 12, 2026, updated May 12, 2026

THE FEDERAL BUDGET AT A GLANCE

* Budget deficit of $31.5 billion in 2026/27, $2.8 billion lower than projected in December’s mid-year update

* Commonwealth net debt to rise to $616.6 billion (19.9 per cent) in 2026/27, down from $646.9 billion forecast in December

* Economic growth to fall to 1.75 per cent in 2026/27, down from 2.25 per cent forecast in December

* Unemployment rate to rise to 4.5 per cent in 2026/27, same as forecast in December

* Headline inflation to fall to 2.5 per cent by June 2027, after hitting five per cent mid this year

* Wages to rise by 3.5 per cent in 2026/27

KEY MEASURES

* Removing the 50 per cent discount on the capital gains tax and replacing it with indexation to inflation

* Negative gearing will be abolished for investment properties bought after budget night, except for new builds

* Discretionary trusts will be hit with a minimum 30 per cent tax rate to discourage income splitting

* Wage and salary earners will receive a permanent tax cut of $250 per year via the “Working Australians Tax Offset”

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* The $20,000 instant asset write-off will be made permanent to give small businesses extra certainty

* Businesses will get a tax refund via a permanent two-year loss carry back, expected to cost $2.3 billion over five years

* Temporarily halving the fuel excise and cutting the heavy vehicle road user charge

* Shoring up Australia’s fuel and fertiliser supplies to the tune of $10.7 billion

* Cutting the cost of the NDIS by $37.8 billion over five years

* Implementing a 20 per cent domestic gas reservation for Australia’s east coast

* An extra $2 billion for sewers, roads and other local infrastructure to enable 65,000 new homes to be built

* Providing $5.9 billion more for medicines listed on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme

* Giving an extra $25 billion over five years to states and territories to run their hospitals

* Cutting red tape to slash the regulatory burden by $10.2 billion each year and boost productivity

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