Gross, Taxable and Net Pay
| Term | What it means | Example (fortnight) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | All earnings for the period before any deduction: ordinary hours, overtime, penalties, allowances, leave and loading, bonuses. | $3,000.00 |
| Pre-tax deductions | Salary sacrifice (to super or a novated lease) comes off before tax is worked out. | −$150.00 |
| Taxable gross | The amount PAYG withholding is calculated on. | $2,850.00 |
| Tax withheld | PAYG withholding (includes the Medicare levy), plus any HELP/study loan amount. | −$550.00 |
| After-tax deductions | Union fees, donations, repayments you’ve authorised. | −$25.00 |
| Net pay | What’s paid into your bank account. | $2,275.00 |
| Employer super | 12% super guarantee on your earnings, paid to your fund, not to you. | $360.00 |
Worked payslip: $3,000 gross a fortnight, $150 salary sacrificed to super, $25 union fee, tax-free threshold claimed, no study loan. Withholding from the ATO's 2026-27 Schedule 1 formulas.
Salary sacrifice cut the tax withheld from $598 to $550, so the $150 sacrificed reduced net pay by only $102.00 (before the union fee). Model it with the salary sacrifice calculator.
What Goes Into Gross Pay
- Ordinary hours at your base rate, plus penalty rates and overtime.
- Leave paid at your base rate, plus leave loading if your award gives it.
- Allowances. Most are taxed like wages. Some are shown separately and may have no tax withheld, such as a travel allowance within the ATO’s reasonable amount or a cents per km car allowance at the ATO rate.
- Bonuses and back pay, often withheld from using a separate method: see the bonus tax calculator.
A payslip must show gross and net pay, each loading, allowance, penalty or bonus that can be separated out, every deduction, and the super paid for you (Fair Work Ombudsman). Line-by-line help: understanding your payslip.
What Is a “Gross Payment” on Your Income Statement?
At the end of the year your income statement (in myGov) shows Gross payments: the total salary and wages that employer paid you, before tax. That’s the figure for item 1, salary or wages, in your tax return (ATO). Allowances reported separately appear in their own box, and tax withheld is shown as its own total. Estimate your refund with the tax return calculator.
Gross vs Net Salary: 2026-27 Examples
| Gross salary | Gross per fortnight | Net per fortnight (withheld) | Net per year (tax payable) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,923.08 | $1,673.08 | $43,730 |
| $70,000 | $2,692.31 | $2,194.31 | $57,080 |
| $90,000 | $3,461.54 | $2,717.54 | $70,680 |
| $120,000 | $4,615.38 | $3,501.38 | $91,080 |
| $150,000 | $5,769.23 | $4,245.23 | $110,430 |
Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, no study loan, private hospital cover assumed so no surcharge. The per-fortnight column is what the ATO scales withhold; the yearly column is tax actually payable after offsets, so 26 fortnights won't match it exactly. Your return squares up the difference.
For any salary, use the gross pay calculator (annual, with a net-to-gross mode) or the take-home pay calculator.
Related Calculators and Guides
- Gross Pay Calculator: annual gross to net and back
- Fortnightly Tax Table: tax withheld at every pay amount
- Understanding Your Payslip
- Payslip Generator
Frequently Asked Questions
Gross vs net pay questions and answers
What is the difference between gross and net pay?
Gross pay is what you earn before anything is taken out. Net pay is what's left and paid into your bank account after tax withheld, any study loan repayment and other deductions. On $3,000 gross a fortnight with the tax-free threshold, $598 is withheld and net pay is $2,402.00.
What is a gross payment?
A gross payment is the total paid to you before tax. On your income statement, 'Gross payments' is the total salary and wages from that employer for the year, and it's the figure you put at item 1 (salary or wages) of your tax return.
Is super included in gross pay?
No. Your employer's 12% super guarantee is paid on top of your gross pay into your super fund. It shows on your payslip but isn't part of gross or net pay. A salary 'package' or total remuneration figure usually does include it.
Is net pay the same as take-home pay?
Yes. Net pay, take-home pay and 'pay in hand' all mean the amount paid into your account after tax and other deductions.
Is gross income the same as taxable income?
Not always. Taxable income is your assessable income, including gross salary, minus deductions you claim in your tax return. Salary sacrificed to super also comes off before tax, so it reduces taxable income.
Does my payslip have to show gross and net pay?
Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman says a payslip must include gross and net pay, along with any loadings, allowances, penalty rates and bonuses that can be separated out, each deduction, and the super contributions paid for you.
How we worked this out▼
Per-pay figures use the ATO’s 2026-27 Schedule 1 withholding formulas (and Schedule 8 for study loans), the same engine as our tax table pages, reproducing the ATO’s published tables. Net to gross searches for the gross pay whose net first reaches your target. Yearly figures use our core tax engine: resident rates, the low income tax offset and the Medicare levy.
General information, not tax advice.
Sources & References
- 1Pay slips – what a pay slip must include— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2Individual tax return instructions – 1 Salary or wages ('Gross payments')— Australian Taxation Office
- 3Schedule 1 – Statement of formulas for calculating amounts to be withheld— Australian Taxation Office
Last verified: 23 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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