Most financial calculators online are built to sell something. Mortgage calculators that route you to a broker. Super calculators that nudge you toward a particular fund. Tax calculators wrapped around lead-generation forms.
This Site exists because ordinary Australians deserve better. The calculators here are independent. There are no sponsored results, no broker referrals, no captured leads, no nudges toward any product. Every number is calculated from official rates and explained in plain English.
The mission is simple: help people understand their own financial picture clearly enough to make confident decisions, or to walk into a meeting with a licensed adviser already knowing the right questions to ask.
Australian Life Costs is funded entirely by Google AdSense advertisements. We do not accept sponsored calculators, paid placements, affiliate referrals, or financial product partnerships. We do not run a paid newsletter or sell user data — there is no user data to sell, because the calculators do not require any account or input that identifies you.
Advertising income covers hosting, domain, and the time spent maintaining accuracy against changing tax rates, super caps, and pension thresholds. That's it.
No financial product is recommended, ranked, or rated on this Site. No commercial relationships influence any calculator output. The calculators do not exist to send you anywhere — they exist to give you a clear answer.
Every rate, threshold, cap, and figure used in these calculators comes from a primary government source — the ATO, APRA, ASFA, Services Australia, Treasury, or the relevant state revenue office. Sources are cited on every calculator page.
Tax brackets, super contribution caps, stamp duty thresholds, and pension rates are updated each financial year as new rates are released. Pension thresholds are updated at each indexation event (March and September). Every calculator displays the "as at" date for the rates it uses.
Financial jargon is translated, not assumed. Every technical term has a tooltip with a plain-English explanation. Every result is accompanied by an explanation of what it means and how it was calculated. The goal is for someone with no finance background to understand both the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Every calculation happens entirely in your browser. Inputs and results are not sent to any server. There are no accounts, no logins, no saved profiles. You can use any calculator anonymously and your figures stay on your device.
These calculators are general information, not personal financial advice. Australian Life Costs does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and is not authorised to provide personal financial advice. The calculators produce factual estimates based on the inputs you provide and the published rates on the date shown. They do not take your full personal circumstances into account.
Before making any significant financial decision — taking out a mortgage, salary-sacrificing into super, planning retirement income, settling a redundancy — speak with a licensed financial adviser, accountant, or other appropriate professional. ASIC MoneySmart's adviser register is the official starting point.
Each calculator is tested against published examples from official sources before going live. Pay calculator results are verified against ATO worked examples. Stamp duty calculators are verified against state revenue office calculators. Pension projections are verified against Services Australia's published rates and means-test thresholds. Test scenarios are run again whenever rates are updated.
Where a calculator produces an estimate that depends on assumptions (for example, projected investment returns, future inflation, or future legislative settings), the assumptions are stated and adjustable.
The Site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Calculators are written in plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with no frameworks — chosen for speed, transparency, and longevity. Every page works without JavaScript-heavy frameworks; calculator code is auditable by anyone who views the page source.
Australian Life Costs is operated as an independent, single-publisher site. It is not part of any financial services business, advice firm, brokerage, or media group. The publisher does not hold formal financial credentials and is not authorised to provide personal financial advice — which is why you'll find no opinions, recommendations, or directive language anywhere on the Site. The role is editorial: translating official rates and rules into clear, usable calculators.
Questions, corrections, or feedback are welcome. Email [email protected] — see the Contact page for response times.
If you spot an error in a calculator or find a rate that has changed and not been updated yet, please get in touch. Accuracy is the entire point of the site.