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Calculate your annual leave balance, leave loading at 17.5%, and payout value on termination. Enter your salary and years of service to see your full entitlements.
Leave in Australia is calculated by accruing 4 weeks (152 hours) of paid annual leave per year of continuous service for full-time employees under the National Employment Standards (NES).
Leave accrues progressively from the first day of employment, not as a lump sum at year-end. A full-time employee working a standard 38-hour week earns 2.923 hours of leave per week, or approximately 0.833 days per fortnight. The Australian tax calculator applies the same ordinary hours figure when converting between annual salary and weekly pay for leave calculations.
Part-time employees accrue leave on a pro-rata basis. An employee working 20 ordinary hours per week accrues 80 hours (2.1 weeks) of annual leave per year instead of the full 152 hours. Casual employees do not accrue annual leave and instead receive a 25% casual loading on their base hourly rate.
Use the Take-Home Pay Calculator to convert your gross salary to after-tax income, then return here to calculate the value of your accrued leave entitlements for FY2025-26.
Australian employees are entitled to 7 distinct types of leave under the National Employment Standards, enterprise agreements, and state legislation.
The table below summarises the 3 leave types with cash value on termination: annual leave, personal/carer's leave, and long service leave. Entitlements vary between full-time, part-time, and shift workers. Superannuation at the employer SG rate of 12% is not payable on annual leave loading or leave payouts in most cases.
| Leave Type | Annual Entitlement (Full-Time) | Accrual Basis | Paid Out on Termination? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Leave | 4 weeks (152 hours) | Progressive, from day 1 | Yes — all accrued untaken leave |
| Annual Leave (Shift Workers) | 5 weeks (190 hours) | Progressive, from day 1 | Yes — all accrued untaken leave |
| Personal/Carer's Leave | 10 days (76 hours) | Progressive, cumulative carry-over | No — no cash value |
| Long Service Leave | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | Continuous service (state laws) | Yes — pro-rata after 7+ years in most states |
| Compassionate Leave | 2 days per occasion | Per qualifying event | No |
| Parental Leave | 12 months unpaid | Per qualifying birth/adoption | No |
| Community Service Leave | Unpaid (except jury duty) | As required | No |
Income tax brackets apply to leave payouts the same way they apply to regular salary. Use the Income Tax Calculator to determine the tax payable on your leave payout amount.
This leave calculator serves 3 primary user groups: employees planning resignation, HR professionals processing terminations, and workers budgeting for leave.
Leave loading is calculated as 17.5% of the employee's base weekly pay rate, paid on top of the ordinary rate for each week of annual leave taken or paid out.
The 17.5% rate originated in the 1970s to compensate workers who regularly earned overtime, penalty rates, or shift allowances. Without leave loading, these workers would receive less take-home pay during holidays than during normal working weeks. Today, leave loading applies only where an Award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract explicitly provides for it.
An employee earning $80,000 per year has a weekly base pay of $1,538. The leave loading calculation follows 3 steps:
Leave loading is not a universal NES entitlement. It applies to employees covered by Awards including the Clerks Award, Manufacturing Award, and Building Award. Employees on Award-free contracts, common in professional services, banking, and technology, typically do not receive leave loading unless their contract specifies it. Check your specific Award on the Fair Work Commission website to confirm your entitlement.
Unused annual leave is paid out at the employee's base pay rate (plus leave loading if applicable) as a lump sum in the final pay, regardless of whether the employee resigns, is made redundant, or is dismissed.
The NES makes leave payout mandatory. Employers cannot forfeit accrued annual leave under any circumstances. The payout amount equals the number of accrued weeks multiplied by the weekly base rate. Leave loading is included in the payout only where the employee's Award or agreement provides for it during employment.
Annual leave payouts are taxed as ordinary income at the employee's marginal tax rate. The ATO does not apply any concessional treatment to annual leave payouts. Long service leave payouts receive different treatment: the pre-16 August 1978 component is taxed at 5%, and the post-1978 component is taxed at the marginal rate. Use the Australian Tax Brackets page to find the applicable rate for your income level in FY2025-26.
Long service leave is governed by state and territory legislation, not the federal NES. The qualifying period and entitlement differ across jurisdictions.
| State / Territory | Full Entitlement | Pro-Rata Payout After |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | 5 years |
| VIC | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| QLD | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| SA | 13 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| WA | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| TAS | 8.67 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| NT | 13 weeks after 10 years | 7 years |
| ACT | 6.07 weeks after 7 years | 5 years |
The most common leave calculation mistake is using calendar days instead of business days, which overstates leave entitlements by 40%.
Leave entitlements interact directly with 5 other payroll calculations including tax, superannuation, and redundancy pay.
Leave calculations are based on:
Last verified: 14 March 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.