Most employees in Australia never see a tax bill. Their employer takes PAYG tax out of every pay and sends it to the ATO, and the tax return after 30 June squares things up. What lands in your bank account each fortnight depends on more than the headline tax rates, though: the tax-free threshold, the low income tax offset, the Medicare levy, any HELP debt, and whether your salary was quoted with or without super.
This guide walks through each piece for the 2026–27 income year, which runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Every figure is calculated live by the pay calculator from the legislation and the ATO’s own tax tables.
The short version
On an $80,000 salary paid fortnightly, with the tax-free threshold claimed and no HELP debt, you take home $2,455 a fortnight, or $63,828 over the year. Your employer also pays $9,600 into your super fund, on top of the salary.
Three things are new in 2026–27:
- the bottom tax rate is now 15%, a cut for almost every taxpayer;
- employees can claim a standard deduction of $1,000 for work expenses without keeping receipts;
- employers must pay super on each payday rather than each quarter.
$2,718
- Take-home per year
- $70,656
- Take-home per month (paid monthly)
- $5,888
- Take-home per fortnight (paid fortnightly)
- $2,718
- Take-home per week (paid weekly)
- $1,359
- PAYG tax per pay
- $744
- Study loan repayment per pay
- $0
- Employer super (12%) per year
- $10,800
- Estimated 2026–27 tax bill
- $19,000
- Estimated refund (+) or bill (−) at tax time
- $344
- Tax and loan repayments as % of salary
- 21.5%
- PAYG withheld using Schedule 1 scale 2 (tax-free threshold claimed), which already includes the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset.
- The year-end estimate includes the new $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses (from 2026–27); claim actual expenses instead if they are higher.
- Super guarantee is paid on your full salary on each payday (payday super from 1 July 2026), including the part you salary-sacrifice.
Take-home pay: $2,718 every fortnight ($70,656 a year)
Show the breakdown
| Line | Per fortnight | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $3,462 | $90,000 |
| PAYG tax (incl. Medicare levy) | $744 | $19,344 |
| Take-home pay | $2,718 | $70,656 |
| Employer super guarantee (12%), paid to your fund | $415 | $10,800 |
- Take-home pay$70,65679%
- PAYG tax$19,34421%
What comes out of your pay
A payslip in Australia usually shows up to three deductions from gross pay:
- PAYG withholding. This covers income tax and the Medicare levy together. Your employer works it out from the ATO’s tax tables, which already allow for the tax-free threshold and the low income tax offset if you have claimed the threshold.Australian Taxation Office
- Study loan repayments. If you have a HELP or similar debt, an extra amount is withheld once your pay passes the repayment threshold.
- Salary sacrifice. Any pre-tax pay you have asked to go into super instead of to you.
Super guarantee is not a deduction. It is paid by your employer on top of your salary, unless your job was advertised as a package that includes super.
Tax rates and the cut from 16% to 15%
Australian residents pay no income tax on the first $18,200 of taxable income. Above that, each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its band:Federal Register of Legislation
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $18,200 | 0% |
| $18,200 to $45,000 | 15% |
| $45,000 to $135,000 | 30% |
| $135,000 to $190,000 | 37% |
| Over $190,000 | 45% |
The only change from 2025–26 is the bottom rate, which was cut under the More Cost of Living Relief Act 2025. Because everyone with taxable income above the tax-free threshold has some income in that band, nearly every resident taxpayer pays a little less. The other rates and thresholds are unchanged. The tax brackets guide explains marginal and average rates in more detail.
The low income tax offset
The low income tax offset (LITO) reduces the tax of residents on lower incomes. The full offset is $700 on taxable income up to $37,500. It then shrinks by 5% of each dollar above that, and by 1.5% above $45,000, until it runs out at $66,667.Federal Register of Legislation
The offset can only bring your income tax down to nil; it is never paid out as cash. On a $30,000 salary it is worth $700, which leaves income tax of $920 for the year. On $50,000 it has fallen to $265.
The new $1,000 standard deduction
From 2026–27, an Australian resident with salary or wages can deduct the lesser of $1,000 and their labour income without showing any receipts. If you claim actual work-related expenses, the standard deduction is reduced by what you claim, so you get whichever is larger, not both.Federal Register of Legislation
On an $80,000 salary, the year’s income tax and Medicare levy come to $15,800 with the standard deduction and $16,120 without it. You get the benefit when you lodge your tax return, not through your pay.
The Medicare levy and the surcharge
The Medicare levy is 2% of taxable income, collected with your PAYG tax. People on low incomes pay less or nothing: there is no levy on taxable income up to $28,011, and it phases in up to $35,013. Families get higher thresholds.Federal Register of Legislation
The Medicare levy surcharge is separate. If you earn more than $105,000 as a single and have no private patient hospital cover, you pay an extra 1% to 1.5%. On a $120,000 salary without cover, that is $1,190 for the year. Your employer does not withhold it, so it arrives as a bill at tax time. The Medicare levy guide covers the family rules and every tier.
HELP and other study loans
HELP, VET Student Loans and the other study and training loans are repaid together through the tax system. For 2026–27 nothing is due on repayment income up to $69,528. Above that you repay 15% of the income over the threshold, rising to 17% above $129,717, but never more than 10% of your whole repayment income.Federal Register of Legislation
On $80,000 your employer withholds an extra $60 a fortnight, so take-home pay drops to $2,395. The HELP repayments guide has the figures at other incomes.
Super on top of your pay
Your employer must pay super guarantee of 12% of your qualifying earnings into your fund. From 1 July 2026 this is paid on each payday (“payday super”). It stops once your earnings from that employer pass the maximum contributions base of $270,830 for the year.Federal Register of Legislation
Check how your salary was quoted. A $90,000 salary plus super gives take-home pay of $2,718 a fortnight. A $90,000 package that includes super gives $2,465, because part of the package is the super itself.
Salary sacrifice moves pre-tax pay into super, where it is taxed at 15% in the fund instead of at your marginal rate. Sacrificing $5,000 of an $80,000 salary lowers take-home pay to $2,325 a fortnight. Your employer still pays super guarantee on the full salary. The super and salary sacrifice guide shows what you gain overall.
PAYG withholding versus your tax return
The tax withheld from your pay is a prepayment. Your actual tax is worked out on your return, using your taxable income for the whole year. The two rarely match exactly, and for most salary earners in 2026–27 the withholding comes out slightly ahead, because the standard deduction is only applied when you lodge:
| Salary | Estimated tax for the year | Estimated refund |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $5,935 | $565 |
| $80,000 | $15,800 | $372 |
| $120,000 | $28,600 | $364 |
| $200,000 | $59,400 | $504 |
These assume a full year with one employer, hospital cover and no other income or deductions. Here is the whole picture for $80,000:
| Line | Per fortnight | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $3,077 | $80,000 |
| PAYG tax (incl. Medicare levy) | $622 | $16,172 |
| Take-home pay | $2,455 | $63,828 |
| Employer super guarantee (12%), paid to your fund | $369 | $9,600 |
Two situations change withholding a lot. Claim the tax-free threshold from one employer only: a second job is taxed without it, so on $30,000 from a second job $224 a fortnight is withheld instead of $72. The extra usually comes back at tax time. And if you don’t give your employer a tax file number, they must withhold 47% of your pay.
Take-home pay at a glance
| Salary | Per fortnight | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,673 | $43,500 |
| $80,000 | $2,455 | $63,828 |
| $100,000 | $2,978 | $77,432 |
| $150,000 | $4,245 | $110,376 |
Weekly and monthly figures, and the effect of a HELP debt at each salary, are in the salary after tax guide.
Foreign residents and working holiday makers
Foreign residents for tax purposes have no tax-free threshold, pay no Medicare levy and can’t claim the low income tax offset. Their first rate is 30% from the first dollar, so $80,000 leaves $2,155 a fortnight.
Working holiday makers on a 417 or 462 visa pay 15% on their first $45,000 of income, then the ordinary rates.Federal Register of Legislation
Checking your payslip
If your pay doesn’t match the calculator, the usual reasons are:
- The tax-free threshold. Check your TFN declaration if you have two jobs or recently changed employer.
- Pay frequency. The ATO’s tax tables convert each pay to a weekly amount and round the result, so the same salary gives slightly different yearly totals when paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
- Part of a year. The tables assume you earn at the same rate all year. If you started work after 1 July, your income for the year is lower than that, so expect a bigger refund.
- Allowances, overtime and bonuses. These change your gross pay for that period, and a large one-off payment is withheld differently.
- A Medicare levy variation. If you have lodged one for a family reduction or an exemption, your withholding will be lower. The calculator doesn’t model this.
- Salary sacrifice for other benefits, such as a novated car lease.
To see your own numbers, put your salary, pay cycle, HELP debt and super arrangement into the pay calculator, or use the income tax calculator for a full tax return estimate with deductions and other income.
Figures are estimates for 2026–27 worked out from the legislation and the ATO’s tax tables. They are not tax advice.
