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Calculate the tax your employer should withhold from your pay — weekly, fortnightly, monthly or daily, with tax-free threshold, HELP debt and Medicare levy options.
Updated: 5 August 2026 · Reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal · 14 min read
Employee Pay Details
Financial year
Gross pay this period
$
Quick presets (annual salary):
One-off bonus this period (optional)
$
Pay period
Tax file number (TFN) provided?
Tax-free threshold claimed?
HECS/HELP debt?
Medicare levy exemption
Withholding Amount
Tax to Withhold This Period
—
Item
This period
Annual equiv.
Estimates only, using annualised ATO formulas — not an exact reproduction of the ATO's per-pay-period Schedule 1 tables. Confirm your exact withholding with your payroll provider or the ATO.
🧾 Payslip-Style Breakdown
⏱️ Last reviewed: 5 August 2026 · Written and reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal under our editorial policy and calculation methodology. Tax rules change — always check your own circumstances against current ATO guidance.
📖 Approx. 14 min read💰 2026–27 & 2025–26 ATO rates🔄 Updated 5 August 2026
PAYG withholding is an estimate collected progressively throughout the year — it isn't your final tax bill.
Not claiming the tax-free threshold significantly increases withholding — at $1,500/week in 2026–27, that's roughly $403 withheld instead of $298.
No TFN provided means 47% withheld regardless of actual income — always provide your TFN to avoid this.
HELP/HECS now uses a marginal repayment system — withholding is calculated the same way as your actual compulsory repayment.
This calculator supports both the current 2026–27 year and the 2025–26 year.
Quick Answer
Your employer withholds an estimate of your tax from each pay and sends it to the ATO on your behalf, based on your annualised income, whether you've claimed the tax-free threshold, and any HELP debt or Medicare levy adjustments. On $1,500 a week in 2026–27 with the threshold claimed, that's roughly $298 withheld; without the threshold claimed (common for a second job), it jumps to roughly $403. Use the calculator above for your exact figure across weekly, fortnightly, monthly or daily pay.
What Is PAYG Withholding?
Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding is the system where employers deduct an estimate of tax from each employee's pay and remit it to the ATO throughout the year, rather than the employee paying a lump sum at tax time. The amount is based on ATO withholding schedules, calibrated to your annualised income and the choices you made on your Tax File Number declaration — primarily whether you've claimed the tax-free threshold, and whether you have a HELP/HECS debt.
PAYG vs Income Tax — Not the Same Thing
PAYG withholding is an estimate, collected in instalments across the year. Your actual income tax liability is only finalised when you lodge your tax return, taking into account your complete income, deductions and offsets for the full financial year. If more was withheld than you actually owed, you get a refund; if less, you owe the difference. See our Tax Return Calculator to estimate your refund or amount owing.
The Tax-Free Threshold and Withholding
Australian residents can claim the $18,200 tax-free threshold from one employer at a time — normally your main job. Claiming it substantially reduces withholding from that employer. If you have a second job, you generally shouldn't claim the threshold there too, since claiming it at multiple employers when your combined income exceeds $18,200 typically leads to under-withholding and a tax bill at year-end.
ℹ️ The difference is genuinely large, not marginal: at $1,500/week for 2026–27, claiming the threshold means roughly $298 withheld; not claiming it (second job) means roughly $403 — about $105 more per week from the same pay.
Multiple Jobs Scenario
Threshold
Why
Job 1 (main job)
✔️ Claim tax-free threshold
Your primary source of income
Job 2 (second job)
❌ Do not claim tax-free threshold
Avoids double-claiming the $18,200 free amount
If you claimed the threshold at both jobs, the ATO would effectively assume you're entitled to two lots of tax-free income, withholding too little overall — leading to a tax bill when you lodge your return, even though nothing was done incorrectly at either individual job. Not claiming it at your second job results in more being withheld throughout the year, which usually means a smaller bill (or a refund) at tax time instead.
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly and Annual Withholding
The ATO publishes separate withholding tables for each pay frequency. This calculator annualises your entered pay (multiplying by 52, 26, 12, or 365 depending on the period selected), calculates the annual tax position, then divides back down to a per-period estimate — a close approximation of the ATO's per-pay-period Schedule 1 formulas, though not an exact reproduction of the specific published linear coefficients.
Pay Period
Pays Per Year
Weekly
52
Fortnightly
26
Monthly
12
Daily
365
PAYG on Bonuses and Overtime
Bonuses and overtime are taxed the same as any other income — there's no special "bonus rate." However, the ATO's specific withholding method for irregular payments like bonuses (Schedule 5) can produce a different per-payment withholding amount than simply adding the bonus to a regular pay and recalculating, since it accounts for the payment being a one-off rather than an ongoing rate. This calculator treats any amount entered as regular ongoing pay for that period — for a one-off bonus specifically, expect your employer's actual withholding to differ somewhat from this tool's estimate.
PAYG with HELP/HECS Debt
If you've declared a HELP/HECS debt on your TFN declaration, your employer withholds additional tax to cover your estimated compulsory repayment, using the same marginal repayment system that applies to your actual year-end liability (since 2025–26). See our HECS-HELP Repayment Calculator for a dedicated breakdown.
PAYG with Salary Sacrifice
Salary sacrifice reduces your taxable salary before withholding is calculated, since the sacrificed amount goes directly to superannuation rather than being paid to you as salary. This proportionally reduces the tax withheld from your remaining take-home pay. Enter your post-sacrifice gross pay into the calculator above to model this.
Employer PAYG Obligations
Employers registered for PAYG withholding must withhold tax from payments to employees, report and pay withheld amounts to the ATO (generally through Single Touch Payroll for most businesses), and provide employees with an income statement at year-end summarising total payments and amounts withheld. Getting withholding wrong — under or over — creates real friction for employees at tax time, so payroll accuracy matters.
Employer vs Employee — Who Does What
Employee
Employer
Has PAYG withheld from pay
Sends PAYG to the ATO
Receives an income statement
Reports through Single Touch Payroll
Lodges a tax return
Remits PAYG on schedule
PAYG Timeline
Employee Earns Salary → Employer Calculates PAYG → PAYG Sent to ATO
→ Income Statement → Tax Return → Refund or Amount Owing
Why Withheld Tax Differs from Final Tax Payable
You only worked part of the year. Withholding tables assume you'll earn this rate all year; if you started partway through, you may be over-withheld.
You have deductions. PAYG withholding doesn't account for work-related deductions you'll claim at tax time.
You have multiple income sources. Combined income across jobs or investments may push you into a higher bracket than any single payer's withholding accounted for.
Your circumstances changed mid-year. A change in HELP debt status, private health insurance, or family situation can shift your actual liability from what was withheld.
Why Doesn't My Payslip Match This Calculator?
A small gap between this calculator's estimate and your actual payslip is normal, and doesn't necessarily mean either figure is wrong. Common reasons include:
Payroll software rounding. Different systems round intermediate steps slightly differently.
ATO Schedule 1 coefficients. This calculator uses smooth annualised formulas rather than the ATO's exact published per-pay-period linear coefficients — see the disclaimer above.
Salary sacrifice. If your payslip already reflects a post-sacrifice figure, make sure you're entering the same post-sacrifice amount here.
Pre-tax deductions. Other pre-tax deductions (novated leases, additional super) reduce your taxable pay before withholding is calculated.
Bonus withholding methods. The ATO's specific method for one-off payments (Schedule 5) can produce a different result than treating a bonus as ongoing pay, as this calculator does for simplicity.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) adjustments. Employers occasionally make small in-period adjustments for prior under- or over-withholding that this calculator can't anticipate.
Worked Examples (2026–27, Fortnightly)
Annual Salary
Fortnightly Gross
Fortnightly Withholding (TFT claimed)
$60,000
$2,308
$370
$80,000
$3,077
$620
$100,000
$3,846
$866
$120,000
$4,615
$1,112
Common Mistakes
Claiming the tax-free threshold at more than one employer when combined income exceeds $18,200 — this leads to under-withholding and a tax bill at year-end.
Not declaring a HELP/HECS debt on the TFN declaration, resulting in insufficient withholding for the compulsory repayment.
Assuming withheld tax equals final tax owed. They're often different — see the refund/owing sections above.
Not providing a TFN, resulting in the maximum 47% withholding rate regardless of actual income.
Using outdated withholding assumptions — rates and thresholds have changed across recent years; always confirm which financial year applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
The system where your employer deducts an estimate of tax from each pay and sends it to the ATO on your behalf, collecting tax progressively throughout the year rather than as a lump sum at tax time.
Your pay is annualised, tax is calculated on that annual figure using current ATO brackets (adjusted for the tax-free threshold, HELP debt and Medicare levy), then divided back to a per-pay-period amount. Use the calculator above for your exact figure.
It depends on your pay, pay frequency, tax-free threshold status, and any HELP debt or Medicare levy adjustments. On $1,500/week in 2026–27 with the threshold claimed, expect roughly $298 withheld.
Employers registered for PAYG withholding must withhold tax from payments to employees and remit it to the ATO, generally reported through Single Touch Payroll.
Yes — overtime is added to your pay for that period and taxed at your marginal rate, the same as any other income, increasing the withholding for that specific pay.
Salary sacrifice reduces your taxable salary before withholding is calculated, since the sacrificed amount goes to superannuation rather than to you as pay — this proportionally reduces the tax withheld from your remaining take-home pay.
No — PAYG withholding is an ongoing estimate collected throughout the year. Your actual income tax liability is only finalised when you lodge your tax return, which may result in a refund or amount owing.
Yes — if more was withheld during the year than your actual tax liability, the excess is refunded when you lodge your tax return. See our Tax Return Calculator for an estimate.
Employers report withheld amounts to the ATO, typically through Single Touch Payroll each pay run. Employees see the total on their income statement at year-end, accessible via myGov.
You'll typically receive a refund of the excess when you lodge your tax return, since your final assessed liability will be lower than the total amount withheld during the year.
You'll owe the difference when you lodge your tax return. This commonly happens with multiple jobs, undeclared HELP debt, or investment income without withholding arrangements.
Your employer must withhold at the top rate of 47%, regardless of your actual income level, until you provide your TFN. Always provide it promptly to avoid this.
Generally no, if your combined income from all jobs exceeds $18,200 — claiming it at more than one employer typically leads to under-withholding and a tax bill at year-end. Claim it only at your main job.
It's a close approximation using smooth annualised ATO formulas, not an exact reproduction of the ATO's precise per-pay-period Schedule 1 linear coefficients — expect results within roughly 1-2% of your actual payslip, not an exact match to the cent.
Genuine independent contractors generally don't have PAYG withheld and are responsible for their own tax, often through PAYG instalments instead. Some contractor arrangements (labour hire, certain voluntary agreements) do have withholding applied — see our Contractor vs Employee Calculator to understand your classification.
PAYG withholding is an ongoing estimate of your tax, not your final liability — reconciled at tax time via your tax return. Whether you claim the tax-free threshold makes a substantial difference to your pay, HELP debt increases withholding under the current marginal system, and providing your TFN avoids the maximum 47% rate. Use the calculator above with your own pay details for an accurate, year-specific estimate.