How your take-home pay is worked out
Australian pay is taxed in a fixed order, and the calculator follows it step by step.
- Start with gross pay. Your salary or wages before anything comes out. If you are paid by the hour, the calculator multiplies your rate by your weekly hours and by 52.
- Take off salary sacrifice. Pre-tax contributions to super reduce your taxable income. Your employer’s 12% super guarantee does not come out of your pay at all — it is paid on top.
- Apply the resident tax rates. For 2026–27 the first $18,200 is tax-free, then 15c in the dollar to $45,000, 30c to $135,000, 37c to $190,000 and 45c above that.
- Subtract the low income tax offset. Up to $700 off your tax if your taxable income is under $66,667. It can reduce your tax to zero but is never paid out as cash.
- Add the Medicare levy. 2% of taxable income, phased in for low earners and reduced or waived for some people.
- Add the Medicare levy surcharge, if it applies. Singles earning over $105,000 for MLS purposes in 2026–27 pay 1% to 1.5% extra unless they hold appropriate private hospital cover.
- Add your HELP repayment. Since 2025–26 you repay only on income above the threshold — 15c for each dollar over $69,528 in 2026–27.
What is left is your take-home pay. The table splits it into months, fortnights and weeks by dividing the yearly figure by 12, 26 and 52.
Worked example: $90,000 a year
Salary $90,000, resident, 2026–27, no HELP
Taxable income is $90,000. Tax on the first $45,000 is $4,020, plus 30c on each of the next $45,000 ($13,500), giving $17,520. The Medicare levy adds $1,800. There is no low income tax offset at this income, so the take-home pay is $70,680 a year, or $2,718.46 a fortnight. Your employer also pays $10,800 into super.
- Take-home per year
- $70,680
- Tax and levies per year
- $19,320
- Super from employer
- $10,800per year
| Item | Year | Month | Fortnight | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $90,000.00 | $7,500.00 | $3,461.54 | $1,730.77 |
| Income tax | −$17,520.00 | −$1,460.00 | −$673.85 | −$336.92 |
| Medicare levy | −$1,800.00 | −$150.00 | −$69.23 | −$34.62 |
| Take-home pay | $70,680.00 | $5,890.00 | $2,718.46 | $1,359.23 |
| Employer super (on top) | $10,800.00 | $900.00 | $415.38 | $207.69 |
Tax detail · 2026–27
- Taxable income
- $90,000
- Tax on taxable income
- $17,520.00
- Marginal rate (incl. Medicare)
- 32.0%
- Average rate on gross pay
- 21.47%
- PAYG withheld each fortnight (ATO Schedule 1)
- $744.00
- Likely refund at tax time
- $24.00
Add a HELP debt to the same salary and the compulsory repayment is $3,071 — 15% of the $20,472 earned above the 2026–27 repayment threshold — leaving $67,609 a year.
What changed on 1 July 2026
- The 16% rate fell to 15%. Anyone with taxable income above $45,000 saves $268 a year compared with 2025–26. A further cut to 14% is legislated from 1 July 2027.
- Payday Super started. Employers now pay super guarantee contributions at the same time as wages, instead of quarterly, and the maximum contribution base became an annual figure ($270,830).
- Higher HELP threshold. Compulsory repayments start at $69,528 of repayment income, up from $67,000.
- Higher Medicare levy surcharge thresholds. The base tier for singles rose to $105,000 and for families to $210,000.
- Concessional super cap of $32,500, up from $30,000, giving more room for salary sacrifice.
Ways to keep more of each pay
Check your TFN declaration. Claim the tax-free threshold from your highest-paying job only, and tell each employer if you have a study loan so they withhold enough to cover it.
Compare salary sacrifice with personal contributions. Sacrificed amounts are taxed at 15% in the fund instead of your marginal rate. On a 32% marginal rate (30% plus Medicare), $5,000 sacrificed costs you about $3,400 in take-home pay. Watch the concessional cap, which includes your employer’s 12%.
Weigh the surcharge against hospital cover. At $110,000 for MLS purposes a single pays the 1% surcharge — $1,100 a year. A basic hospital policy can cost less than that, and the surcharge is assessed on every day you are uncovered.
Know your award. If you work under a modern award, check your base rate, penalty rates and casual loading with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay Calculator. This page shows what tax does to your pay; Fair Work sets what the pay must be.
Keep records for deductions. Work-related expenses reduce your taxable income at tax time, not each pay. Use the tax refund estimator to see the effect.