Australian Pay, Tax & Super Guides
Short answer
These guides explain Australian pay in plain English: the $18,200 tax-free threshold, PAYG withholding, the 2% Medicare levy, the 12% super guarantee, HELP/STSL repayments from $69,528, and payslip rules under the Fair Work Act. Every guide links to a calculator so you can check your own figures.
Plain-English explainers for workers, migrants, contractors and employers. Every guide links to a calculator so you can check your own numbers.
Payslip basics
Tax
How PAYG Withholding Works
Understand PAYG withholding in Australia: how your employer calculates the tax taken from each pay, and why it can differ from your final tax.
Tax-Free Threshold Explained
The tax-free threshold covers your first $18,200 of income each year. Who can claim it, how to claim it, and why claiming it twice creates a tax bill.
Medicare Levy Explained
The Medicare levy is 2% of taxable income, with reductions for low earners. How it appears in your PAYG withholding, and how the surcharge differs.
HELP and STSL Repayments Explained
HELP and STSL repayments are marginal for 2026-27: nil to $69,528, then 15c in the dollar, then 17c. How the threshold applies to your repayment income.
Two Jobs And Tax In Australia
Claim the $18,200 tax-free threshold from your main job only. How a second job is taxed, why more is withheld, and how to avoid a bill at tax time.
Australian Tax Codes Explained
Australia has no UK-style PAYE tax code. Your pay is set by your TFN declaration, residency, the tax-free threshold, PAYG tables and any study loan.
Why Is My Tax So High In Australia?
No TFN means 47% withholding; a missed tax-free threshold, a HELP debt or a bonus can do the same. The usual causes, and what comes back at tax time.
Why Did My Take-Home Pay Change?
Bracket changes, a bonus, overtime, a new HELP/STSL repayment or a salary sacrifice can all move your net pay between pays. How to find the cause.
Working Holiday Maker Tax In Australia
Working holiday makers on a 417 or 462 visa pay 15% on the first $45,000, then ordinary rates. Employer registration, super and the Medicare levy.
Foreign Resident Tax In Australia
Foreign residents pay tax from the first dollar: 30% to $135,000, then 37% and 45%, with no tax-free threshold and generally no Medicare levy.
Australian Resident Tax Rates (2026-27)
Resident rates for 2026-27: nil to $18,200, 15% to $45,000 after the July 2026 cut, 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000, 45% above, plus levy and LITO.
How Is a Bonus Taxed in Australia?
Why a bonus looks over-taxed on the payslip, how ATO schedules spread a one-off payment across the year, and what the refund looks like at tax time.
When Is the Tax Return Deadline in Australia?
Lodging your own 2025-26 return? The deadline is 31 October. Tax agent extensions, when ATO pre-fill is ready, and what happens if you lodge late.
Working From Home Tax Deductions in Australia
Claim work-from-home costs at the ATO fixed rate of 70c per hour, or by the actual cost method. Which suits you, and the records you have to keep.
How Is a Redundancy Payout Taxed in Australia?
The tax-free redundancy amount for 2026-27 ($13,598 + $6,801 per year of service), how the rest is taxed as an ETP, and what happens to leave payouts.
Super & packaging
Salary Including Super Explained
Salary 'plus super' adds 12% on top; 'including super' takes it out of the same figure. See how much cash pay each wording leaves you across a year.
Superannuation Guarantee Explained
The Super Guarantee is 12% of ordinary time earnings, paid on top of wages and, since 1 July 2026, on every payday. What counts as OTE and what does not.
Salary Sacrifice And Take-Home Pay
Sacrificing into super cuts your taxable income and your cash pay, while contributions are taxed at 15% in the fund. Where the $32,500 cap bites.
Novated Lease And Take-Home Pay
A novated lease pays for a car from pre-tax salary, cutting taxable income and take-home pay. How FBT, running costs and the residual change the maths.
Pay types
Casual Loading Explained
Casual loading, commonly 25%, lifts a casual's hourly rate in place of paid leave. What a $28 base rate becomes, and what casual employees give up.
Overtime and Penalty Rates Explained
Overtime often pays 1.5x then 2x, with penalty rates for weekends and public holidays. How your award sets them, and why super rarely applies to overtime.
Compliance
What Must Be On A Payslip In Australia?
Fair Work requires the employer's ABN, pay period, gross and net pay, deductions and super on every payslip, issued within one working day of payment.
What To Do If Your Payslip Is Wrong
Wrong rate, missing hours or no super on your payslip? Check it against your agreement, raise it in writing, then escalate to Fair Work or the ATO.
What To Do If Your Employer Is Not Paying Super
Check whether your 12% Super Guarantee is actually landing in your fund, what the payday deadline is from 1 July 2026, and how to lodge an ATO enquiry.
Converting From Casual to Permanent Employment
Casuals can give written notice to convert to permanent after 6 months, or 12 with a small business employer. Eligibility, the 21-day reply, what changes.
Work types
Migration
Cost of living
Best Australian Cities For Take-Home Pay
Income tax is federal, so net pay is identical everywhere; rent is what changes. Where Adelaide, Hobart and Brisbane beat Sydney on disposable income.
How Much Salary Do You Need To Live In Sydney?
Sydney has the highest rents in the country. What a single person needs to earn to cover rent, transport, food and utilities with something left to save.
How Much Salary Do You Need To Live In Melbourne?
Melbourne rents sit below Sydney but keep climbing. What a full-time salary needs to cover across the inner suburbs and the outer ring, after tax.
How Much Salary Do You Need To Live In Brisbane?
South-east Queensland pay against Brisbane rent, groceries, transport and power. What a comfortable single income looks like once tax and super come out.
How Much Salary Do You Need To Live In Perth?
Perth pairs mining-linked wages with housing cheaper than the east coast. What you need to earn there after tax, and where costs run above average.