Estimate your take-home pay per pay period after income tax, Medicare levy, and other deductions.
2024-25 resident individual tax brackets (example)
This calculator estimates your net pay per pay period - whether weekly, fortnightly, or monthly - after income tax, the Medicare levy, and any other pre-tax or post-tax deductions, based on your annual gross salary and how often you're paid.
Income tax and the Medicare levy are calculated on your annual taxable income (gross salary minus pre-tax deductions) using the resident individual tax brackets, then your annual net pay is divided evenly across your pay periods.
Formula: Taxable Income = Gross Annual Salary − Pre-Tax Deductions. Income Tax = calculated using marginal tax brackets on Taxable Income. Medicare Levy = Taxable Income × 2%. Annual Net Pay = Gross Annual Salary − Income Tax − Medicare Levy − Pre-Tax Deductions − Post-Tax Deductions. Net Pay Per Period = Annual Net Pay ÷ Pay Periods Per Year.
Example: For an A$85,000 annual gross salary, paid fortnightly (26 pay periods), with no pre-tax or post-tax deductions, the taxable income is A$85,000, giving income tax of about A$16,288.00 and a Medicare levy of A$1,700.00, for an annual net pay of about A$67,012.00 - or roughly A$2,577.38 per fortnight. Gross pay per fortnight would be A$3,269.23, with income tax of about A$626.46 and Medicare levy of about A$65.38 deducted each pay period. (Note: this example uses illustrative 2024-25 brackets - actual brackets, levies, and offsets change and may differ for your situation.)
Most Australian employees are paid fortnightly (26 times a year) or monthly (12 times a year), though weekly pay (52 times a year) is also common in some industries. Your payslip will typically show PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding - the amount your employer withholds and remits to the ATO on your behalf as an estimate of your annual tax liability - which should roughly match the income tax and Medicare levy figures shown here, though small differences can occur due to rounding, tax offsets, or changes during the year. This calculator doesn't include the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) or the Medicare Levy Surcharge, both of which can affect your actual take-home pay - LITO would generally increase your take-home pay (lower tax) if you're eligible, while the Medicare Levy Surcharge would decrease it for higher earners without private hospital cover. Salary sacrifice arrangements (most commonly additional superannuation contributions, but also things like novated leases for cars) reduce your taxable income and therefore your tax, increasing take-home pay relative to not sacrificing - though the sacrificed amount itself isn't available as cash in this period. See our Income Tax Calculator and Superannuation Calculator for related calculations.
Your employer's PAYG withholding is calculated using ATO tax tables that may account for additional factors not included in this simplified calculator, such as tax offsets (like LITO), the Medicare Levy Surcharge, HECS-HELP repayments, or other adjustments. Small rounding differences are also normal. This calculator provides a general estimate, not a precise payslip replica.
PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding is the system where your employer withholds an estimated amount of tax from each pay and remits it to the ATO on your behalf throughout the year, so you don't face a large tax bill at the end of the financial year. The amount withheld is based on ATO tax tables that estimate your annual tax liability from your pay frequency and salary.
Pre-tax deductions (like salary-sacrificed superannuation) are subtracted from your gross income before income tax and the Medicare levy are calculated, reducing your taxable income and therefore your tax. Post-tax deductions (like union fees or after-tax insurance premiums) are subtracted from your pay after tax has already been calculated, so they don't reduce your taxable income or tax payable.
No - if you have an outstanding HECS-HELP (or other study and training) loan, your employer withholds additional amounts based on your income once it exceeds a repayment threshold, on top of regular income tax and Medicare levy. This calculator doesn't include that, so if you have a HECS-HELP debt, your actual take-home pay would be lower than shown - see our HECS-HELP Repayment Calculator for an estimate.
Use the number that matches how often you're actually paid - 52 for weekly, 26 for fortnightly (the most common in Australia), or 12 for monthly. Note that fortnightly pay (26 periods) isn't simply half of monthly pay (12 periods) when annualised, since 26 fortnights and 12 months don't divide the year identically - this can create the perception of "extra" pay periods in some months.
Salary sacrificing reduces your taxable income and therefore your tax, which can increase your take-home cash relative to receiving that amount as ordinary taxed salary - but the sacrificed amount itself goes toward the benefit (e.g., super contributions), not into your bank account as cash. So while your "take-home pay" in terms of tax-efficiency may improve, your immediate spendable cash is reduced by the sacrificed amount.
Disclaimer: The information, rates, and figures provided on this page are for educational and illustrative purposes only and do not constitute tax advice. The tax brackets, Medicare levy rate, and figures used are examples based on illustrative 2024-25 rates and do not include tax offsets (such as LITO), the Medicare Levy Surcharge, or HECS-HELP repayments, and may not reflect your actual payslip. Always consult a registered tax agent, accountant, or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for advice specific to your circumstances.