Pay Calculator (Australia)

Quick answer

Your employer withholds tax from each pay using the ATO’s tax tables. If you claim the tax-free threshold, no tax is withheld on the first $361 or so of weekly pay. Above that, tax rises in steps. For 2026–27 the lowest tax rate falls from 16% to 15%, so most people take home a little more than last year. Super is paid on top of your salary at 12%, into your super fund rather than your bank account.

How to use the pay calculator

1. Choose salary or hourly, and enter your pay before tax. Don’t include super.
2. Pick how often you’re paid and whether you’re an Australian resident for tax.
3. Say whether you claim the tax-free threshold from this job, and tick the box if you have a HELP or other study loan.
4. Press Calculate to see your take-home pay per pay, per month and per year, with the ATO formula steps.

How tax withheld is calculated

The numbers a and b come from the ATO’s tables and change with your weekly earnings, residency and tax-free threshold choice. They already include the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset, which is why the result is close to, but not exactly, the tax you’ll owe for the year.

Worked example

$85,000 a year, paid fortnightly, tax-free threshold claimed

1. Fortnightly pay: $85,000 ÷ 26 = $3,269.23.
2. Weekly earnings: $3,269.23 ÷ 2 = $1,634.61, so x = $1,634.99.
3. The ATO table for this income uses a = 0.3200 and b = 181.7319: 0.32 × 1,634.99 − 181.7319 = $341.47, rounded to $341 a week.
4. Fortnightly tax withheld: $341 × 2 = $682.
5. Take-home pay: $3,269.23 − $682 = $2,587.23 a fortnight.
6. Super: $3,269.23 × 12% = $392.31, paid to your super fund.

With a HELP debt, the ATO’s study loan table adds 0.15 × 1,634.99 − 200.5615 = $44.69, rounded to $45 a week, or $90 a fortnight, leaving $2,497.23.

What changed on 1 July 2026

• Lower tax rate. The rate on income between $18,201 and $45,000 fell from 16% to 15%.
• Study loans. Compulsory HELP repayments now start once your repayment income is over $69,528, and only on the amount above each threshold.
• Super paid with your wages. Super stays at 12%, and employers now pay it each payday rather than each quarter.

When you’d actually use a pay calculator

• Comparing job offers. Turn the salary on the offer into what lands in your account each payday.
• Budgeting for rent or a mortgage. Banks and landlords quote costs against take-home pay, so plan from that number.
• Checking your payslip. See whether the tax withheld matches the ATO tables for your pay.

What this calculator doesn’t include

• Salary sacrifice, allowances, bonuses, overtime and other payments that vary from pay to pay.
• Working holiday makers, seniors and pensioners offsets, and other tax offsets you claim through your employer.
• The extra withholding some employers apply in years with 27 fortnightly or 53 weekly pays.
• Medicare levy surcharge and private health insurance rebates, which are settled in your tax return.

How we calculate

We use the ATO’s Schedule 1 formulas and coefficients for payments made from 1 July 2026 (scale 2 if you claim the tax-free threshold, scale 1 if you don’t, scale 3 for foreign residents, and scales 5 and 6 for Medicare levy exemptions), and the Schedule 8 formulas for study and training support loans. Pay is converted to weekly earnings exactly as the ATO describes, and results are rounded to the nearest dollar, with 50 cents rounding up. Super uses the 12% super guarantee rate, up to the maximum contributions base of $270,830 a year. We review these figures each July when the ATO publishes new tables. Found a difference? Tell us.

Sources:

• ATO: Schedule 1, statement of formulas for calculating amounts to be withheld
• ATO: Schedule 8, study and training support loans components
• ATO: tax rates for Australian residents
• ATO: super guarantee rates