How is Australian income tax calculated?
Australia taxes residents progressively: nothing on the first $18,200, then rising marginal rates.
The 2024-25 Stage 3 changes cut the bottom rate to 16% and widened the 30% band; from
1 July 2026 the 16% rate drops again to 15% (and to 14%
from July 2027) — worth $268/yr to anyone earning $45,000 or more.
How much is $80,000 after tax in Australia?
On an $80,000 salary in 2026-27 a resident with no study loan pays $14,520 income
tax and $1,600 Medicare levy, leaving $63,880 take-home pay — about $5,323 a month
or $2,457 a fortnight. Your employer also pays $9,600 of superannuation on top. Try
$60,000,
$100,000 or
any other salary.
How do the Medicare levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge work?
Most residents pay a 2% Medicare levy, phased in from the low-income threshold (10c per dollar above
it). Higher earners without private hospital cover also pay the Medicare Levy
Surcharge of 1–1.5% — in 2025-26 it starts at $101,000 for singles. Family thresholds are
higher; this calculator uses single thresholds.
How are HELP/HECS repayments calculated?
Up to 2024-25, study loan repayments were a percentage of your whole repayment income (1–10%). From
2025-26 the system became marginal: nothing below $67,000, then 15c per dollar to
$125,000 and 17c above — so a pay rise can no longer shrink your take-home. Repayment income
includes salary-sacrificed super.
What are LITO and LMITO?
The Low Income Tax Offset (up to $700) automatically reduces tax for incomes under
$66,667. The LMITO ended after 2021-22 — its final year paid $675–$1,500 including
the one-off $420 boost, which is why 2021-22 tax can look surprisingly low here.
How much superannuation does my employer pay?
Employers must pay super on top of ordinary earnings: 10% in 2021-22, rising half a point most years
to 12% from 1 July 2025. Salary-sacrificed super is taxed at 15% inside the fund
instead of your marginal rate, but still counts as income for MLS and HELP purposes.
What permanent salary is equivalent to my contract day rate?
Don't multiply your day rate by 260. A permanent employee is paid for 4 weeks annual
leave, around 11 public holidays and up to 10 days personal leave, so a
contractor on a 5-day week bills roughly 229 days a year. Super is the other half
of the gap: it only lands on a contract rate if the agency pays it on top, otherwise the 12%
guarantee has to come out of the rate. On those assumptions $900 a day is worth about a
$206,100 package — a $184,000 salary plus super — not the $234,000 the naive sum suggests.
We compare both sides on take-home pay plus what actually reaches your super fund, so the
15% contributions tax is priced in either way.
How many days a year does a contractor actually bill?
A five-day week is 260 working days. Take out 20 days of annual leave, about 11 public holidays and
any sick days or time on the bench, and roughly 229 days are billable — around 12%
fewer than the headline. Every unbilled week costs a contractor five days of income, while a
salaried employee is paid regardless.
How does Division 293 tax work?
Concessional super — employer guarantee plus salary sacrifice — is taxed at 15%
inside the fund. Once your income plus concessional contributions tops $250,000,
Division 293 adds another 15% on the excess, so that slice is effectively taxed at 30%. There's
also a concessional cap ($30,000 from 2024-25); tip in more and the excess is taxed at your
marginal rate instead.
How is a second job taxed in Australia?
You can only claim the $18,200 tax-free threshold with one employer, so a second job withholds tax
from the first dollar. That's withholding, not your final bill — your actual tax is
assessed on your total income at tax time, so heavy second-job withholding often comes back as a
refund. Tick no tax-free threshold above to see what the second employer will actually
hold back.
What is SAPTO and who can claim it?
Eligible seniors and pensioners get the Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset — up to
$2,230 for singles, tapering off from $32,279 of rebate income — plus a higher Medicare levy
threshold ($43,020). Together they mean many part-pension incomes pay no tax at all.
How are non-residents and working holiday makers taxed?
Foreign residents get no tax-free threshold (30% from the first dollar in 2024-25+) and pay no
Medicare levy. Working holiday makers (417/462 visas) pay 15% on the first $45,000,
then ordinary rates, with no Medicare levy or LITO.
Is this pay calculator free, and does it store my details?
It's completely free, with no sign-up. Every calculation runs in your own browser — nothing you type
is sent to a server, and there's no tracking. The only thing that leaves your device is the link
you choose to share, which carries the scenario in the URL.