Australians living in certain wealthy suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth may be considered poor by their wealthy neighbors if they earn less than $200,000 a year.
The Australian tax office on Thursday revealed the most affluent postcodes and occupations for 2020-21, based on individual income.
On the top 10 zip code list, eight of them had an average taxable income of more than $200,000 based on salaries minus work expense reports — placing them in the top three percent.
But to be among the top one percent of Australia’s income earners is not enough to live in a wealthy suburb.
Someone has to make at least $377,553 a year, which means that anyone who earns an average income as a surgeon ($457,281) or anesthesiologist ($426,894) is automatically part of a very elite group.
Australians living in certain wealthy suburbs of Sydney (pictured), Melbourne and Perth may be considered ‘poor’ by wealthier neighbors if they earn less than $200,000 a year
Double Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, was Australia’s richest piece of harborside real estate with professionals typically earning $266,381 a year there
Sydney was home to seven of the top 10 postcodes, with Melbourne taking over two places and mining-rich Perth taking one.
Double Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, was Australia’s wealthiest piece of harborside real estate, with professionals there typically earning $266,381 a year in the exclusive 2028 zip code.
On the edge of Sydney Harbour, Vaucluse and Dover Heights had a median income of $230,597, in a zip code that was home to socialite Roxy Jacenko, media personalities Hamish Blake and Larry Emdur, and dead conwoman Melissa Caddick.
Perth came in at number three with those in Peppermint Grove on the Swan River and Cottesloe Beach making $229,805, in an area where mining billionaire Andrew Forrest is a local.
Perth came in at number three with those in Peppermint Grove on the Swan River and Cottesloe Beach (pictured) making $229,805, in a suburb where mining billionaire Andrew Forrest is a local
Toorak, in Melbourne’s inner east, came in fourth with a typical income of $222,967 in an exclusive area where media personality Eddie McGuire lives.
Portsea, an hour’s drive from Melbourne on the eastern mouth of Port Phillip Bay, came in fifth with a taxable income of $221,236 in a beachside zip code that billionaire truck magnate Lindsay Fox considers one of his own.
Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs had five places in the top 10 and Bellevue Hill had an average taxable income of $218,902.
Darling Point and Point Piper were next with $218,528, including former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond as residents, followed by Woollahra with $212,881.
Sydney’s North Shore, across the harbor from the Eastern Suburbs, had no zip codes where professionals averaged more than $200,000.
In Northbridge, where the late former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke lived, the median income was $191,225.
Toorak, in Melbourne’s inner east, came in fourth with a typical income of $222,967 in an exclusive area where media personality Eddie McGuire lives
Sydney was home to seven of the top 10 postcodes, Melbourne took two places and mining-rich Perth had one place
Nearby Mosman rounded out the top 10 list with an average taxable income of $188,224, in a harborside suburb where outgoing Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has a mansion on the market.
To be in the top 0.8 percent, an Australian must earn $377,553 or more.
These 117,011 people make up the elite of Australia’s 15,134,189 taxpayers.
Those who work in three professions with an average salary automatically belong to the top one percent.
Surgeons have Australia’s highest taxable income at $457,281, followed by anaesthesiologists at $426,894.
Financial dealers would also rank in the top one percent with a typical taxable income of $341,798, along with internal medicine specialists at $334,267.
Someone has to earn at least $377,553 a year to be in the top 0.8 percent, meaning anyone who earns a median income as a surgeon ($457,281) or anesthetist ($426,894) is automatically part of a very elite group
To be in the top 1.5 percent, someone must earn $267,368.
That would cover psychiatrists at $270,412.
Anyone earning more than $200,000 is in the top three percent, made up of 468,041 people.
This included other physicians at $251,722, but not mining engineers ($196,178), judges and legal professionals ($193,388), chief executives ($177,506), and financial investment advisors ($169,608).
Of all Australians, someone with a taxable income of more than $68,289 is above average, leaving them with a typical tax bill of $20,226.
The average retirement balance was also $170,191 in 2020-21, when the mandatory rate was 9.5 percent.
It rises to 11 percent on July 1 and rises by half a percentage point each year until it reaches 12 percent in July 2025.