Leave Payout Calculator: Unused Annual Leave & 17.5% Loading (2026-27)
When you leave a job, your employer must pay out the annual leave you have not taken. Annual leave builds at 4 weeks per year of full-time service (2.923 hours per 38-hour week), and the payout adds 17.5% leave loading where your award or agreement provides it. Casuals accrue none and receive a 25% loading instead. This calculator uses 2026-27 rates. Enter your annual base salary and years of service below to see the gross payout before tax, split into base leave pay and leave loading. To track your balance and accrual while you are still employed, use the annual leave calculator.
Calculate Your Leave Entitlements
Leave Balance
Payout Breakdown
What to check next
People reading this page usually work these out too.
- Annual Leave CalculatorHours accrued, your balance and what it is worth.
- Leave Loading CalculatorThe 17.5% loading on annual leave, worked out.
- Annual Leave GuideFour weeks a year, how it accrues and when it can be cashed out.
- Final Pay CalculatorEverything you are owed when employment ends.
- Payment in Lieu of NoticeNES notice periods, and the tax and super on a payout.
- Long Service Leave CalculatorWeeks accrued and what a payout is worth, in every state.
How Is 17.5% Annual Leave Loading Calculated?
Annual leave loading is an extra 17.5% of your base weekly pay, paid on top of the ordinary rate for each week of annual leave taken or paid out. This annual leave loading calculator applies the same formula an employer uses: 4 weeks × weekly pay × 17.5% for a full year of accrued leave.
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 annual leave than during normal working weeks. Today, leave loading applies only where an Award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract explicitly provides for it.
Worked Example: Leave Loading at $80,000 Salary
An employee earning $80,000 per year has a weekly base pay of $1,538. The leave loading calculation follows 3 steps:
- Weekly pay: $80,000 / 52 = $1,538
- Leave loading per week: $1,538 x 17.5% = $269
- Total loading for 4 weeks of leave: $269 x 4 = $1,077
Who Gets Leave Loading?
Leave loading is not a universal NES entitlement. It applies to employees covered by Awards including the Clerks Award, Manufacturing Award, and Building Award. Award-free employees receive leave loading only if their contract or enterprise agreement provides for it. Check your specific Award on the Fair Work Commission website to confirm your entitlement.
Is Leave Loading Taxed?
Yes. Leave loading is ordinary income when it is paid while you take leave: your employer applies PAYG withholding to it the same way as salary, and it is taxed at your marginal rate. Unused leave loading paid out on termination is taxed with the unused annual leave it comes with: at your marginal rate on a normal termination for leave accrued after 17 August 1993, and withheld at a flat 32% for leave accrued on or before 17 August 1993 or paid because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme. Estimate the tax with the Income Tax Calculator.
How Is Leave Calculated in Australia?
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 5.85 hours per fortnight (about 0.77 days of 7.6 hours). This leave calculator uses the same ordinary hours figure to convert your accrued weeks of annual leave into hours.
Part-time employees get the same 4 weeks of annual leave, based on their own ordinary hours. An employee working 20 ordinary hours per week accrues 80 hours of annual leave per year (4 weeks of 20 hours), compared with 152 hours for a full-time employee on 38 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 FY2026-27.
What Types of Leave Are You Entitled To?
Australian employees are entitled to 7 distinct types of leave under the National Employment Standards, enterprise agreements, and state legislation.
The table below summarises each leave type. Only 2 have cash value on termination: annual leave and long service leave. Entitlements vary between full-time, part-time, and shift workers. Super at the 12% SG rate is paid on annual leave taken during employment and on leave loading (unless the award loading only compensates for lost overtime), but not on unused annual leave or long service leave paid out on termination. See the leave loading calculator for award-by-award loading rules.
| 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 |
| Family and Domestic Violence Leave | 10 days paid | Full amount from day 1, resets each work anniversary, does not accumulate | No |
On a normal termination, income tax brackets apply to unused annual leave accrued after 17 August 1993 the same way they apply to regular salary. Use the Income Tax Calculator to determine the tax payable on your leave payout amount.
4-Week Annual Leave Value at Common Salaries (FY2026-27)
The gross value of 4 weeks of accrued annual leave ranges from approximately $3,846 at a $50,000 salary to $9,231 at a $120,000 salary, before leave loading or tax. The table below shows the base payout, the 17.5% leave loading where applicable, and the total gross payout (pre-tax) at 6 common salary levels.
| Annual Salary | Weekly Base Pay | Base Payout (4 wks) | Leave Loading (17.5%) | Total Gross Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $962 | $3,846 | +$673 | $4,519 |
| $60,000 | $1,154 | $4,615 | +$808 | $5,423 |
| $75,000 | $1,442 | $5,769 | +$1,010 | $6,779 |
| $90,000 | $1,731 | $6,923 | +$1,212 | $8,135 |
| $100,000 | $1,923 | $7,692 | +$1,346 | $9,038 |
| $120,000 | $2,308 | $9,231 | +$1,615 | $10,846 |
Figures show gross payout before income tax. On a normal termination, tax on leave accrued after 17 August 1993 is applied at the employee's marginal rate in the financial year the payout is received. Leave loading is shown for reference and applies only if your Award or contract provides for it.
Who Uses This Calculator?
This leave calculator serves 3 primary user groups: employees planning resignation, HR professionals processing terminations, and workers budgeting for leave.
- Employees resigning or changing jobs: calculating the expected leave payout in the final pay to plan finances between roles
- HR managers and payroll officers: verifying leave payout calculations for terminating employees to ensure NES compliance
- Workers planning extended leave: understanding how many weeks of paid annual leave have accrued and the dollar value of that balance
- Employees facing redundancy: combining leave payouts with severance entitlements using this calculator alongside the Redundancy Pay Calculator
- Accountants preparing EOFY estimates: projecting leave liabilities on company balance sheets for the 2026-27 financial year
How Is Unused Leave Paid Out on Termination?
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.
Tax Treatment of Leave Payouts
On a normal termination (such as resignation, termination for inefficiency or retirement), unused annual leave and leave loading accrued after 17 August 1993 are taxed as ordinary income at the employee's marginal tax rate. Two cases are withheld at a flat 32% under the ATO's Schedule 7: leave accrued on or before 17 August 1993, and all unused annual leave paid because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme. Unused long service leave is split by service period: only 5% of the part for service before 16 August 1978 is added to your income and taxed at marginal rates, the part for service from 16 August 1978 to 17 August 1993 is withheld at 32%, and the part for service after 17 August 1993 is taxed at marginal rates on a normal termination or withheld at 32% in a genuine redundancy, invalidity or early retirement scheme. Use the Australian Tax Brackets page to find the applicable rate for your income level in FY2026-27.
Long Service Leave Payout by State
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 (accrues continuously, weeks ÷ 60) | 7 years (full entitlement, not just pro-rata) |
| 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 |
*Victoria is the outlier: under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), leave accrues continuously from day one (weeks of service ÷ 60), and the entitlement to take it (or be paid out on termination) arises at 7 years, not 10. The other states and territories above vest the full 8.67-week (or equivalent) entitlement at their stated milestone.
What Are Common Leave Calculation Mistakes?
The most common leave calculation mistake is using calendar days instead of business days, which overstates leave entitlements by 40%.
- Confusing calendar days with working days: 4 weeks of annual leave equals 20 working days, not 28 calendar days. Leave accrues based on ordinary working hours (38 hours per week for full-time), not 7-day weeks.
- Including leave loading when the Award does not provide for it: Award-free employees on individual contracts get the 17.5% leave loading only if the contract provides for it. Adding it incorrectly inflates the expected payout by $1,077 per year at an $80,000 salary.
- Forgetting to pro-rate for part-time hours: a part-time employee working 25 hours per week accrues 4 weeks of their own ordinary hours, which is 100 hours of leave per year (25 x 4), not the full-time 152 hours.
- Expecting sick leave to be paid out: Personal/carer's leave (10 days per year) carries over indefinitely but has zero cash value on termination. Only annual leave and long service leave are paid out.
- Applying the wrong tax rate to leave payouts: on a normal termination, leave accrued after 17 August 1993 is added to assessable income for the financial year and taxed at marginal rates. The flat 32% applies only to annual leave accrued on or before 17 August 1993, long service leave for service from 16 August 1978 to 17 August 1993, and leave accrued after 17 August 1993 that is paid because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme. A large payout taxed at marginal rates can push the employee into a higher income tax bracket.
Related Calculators
Leave entitlements interact directly with 5 other payroll calculations including tax, superannuation, and redundancy pay.
- Redundancy Pay Calculator: calculate severance pay based on years of service and combine it with your leave payout total
- Take-Home Pay Calculator: convert your gross annual salary to after-tax take-home pay for FY2026-27
- Superannuation Calculator: calculate the employer SG rate of 12% on your qualifying earnings and see the concessional cap space left for salary sacrifice
- Overtime Pay Calculator: determine penalty rates for overtime, weekend, and public holiday work under your Award
- Income Tax Calculator: estimate how much tax you pay on salary and leave payouts combined in the 2026-27 financial year
How this calculator works▼
Leave calculations are based on:
- NES minimum: 4 weeks (152 hours) annual leave per year of service for full-time employees
- Leave loading at 17.5% of base weekly pay (where applicable)
- Assumes no leave has been taken, showing maximum accrued entitlement
- Tax on payout is not calculated here. Use the take-home pay calculator for that
Frequently Asked Questions
Annual leave and leave loading questions and answers
How is annual leave payout calculated?
Annual leave payout is calculated by multiplying your weekly base pay by the number of accrued unused weeks of leave, plus 17.5% leave loading if your award or contract provides for it. On an $80,000 salary with 4 weeks accrued leave, the gross payout is $6,154 base ($80,000 ÷ 52 × 4) plus $1,077 leave loading where applicable, totalling $7,231 before tax.
What is annual leave loading?
Annual leave loading is an extra 17.5% paid on top of your base pay while you are on annual leave, or on the leave paid out when you leave a job. It is not a universal entitlement. It applies only where an award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract provides for it. The formula is 4 weeks × weekly base pay × 17.5% for a full year of leave.
Who gets leave loading?
Leave loading applies to employees covered by an award or enterprise agreement that includes a 17.5% leave loading clause. Common awards with leave loading include the Clerks Award, Manufacturing Award, and Building Award. Award-free employees on individual contracts do not receive leave loading unless their contract specifies it. Check the leave loading clause in your award, agreement or employment contract to confirm your entitlement.
Is leave loading taxed?
Yes. Leave loading is ordinary income, taxed at your marginal rate with PAYG withholding applied by your employer the same way as salary. Loading paid out on termination is taxed with the unused annual leave it comes with: at your marginal rate on a normal termination, or withheld at a flat 32% if the job ends because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme, or if the loading accrued on or before 17 August 1993.
How much annual leave do I get in Australia?
Full-time employees get 4 weeks (20 days or 152 hours) of paid annual leave per year under the National Employment Standards. Part-time employees accrue leave on a pro-rata basis proportional to their ordinary hours. Shift workers, as defined in their award or enterprise agreement, get 5 weeks (190 hours) under the National Employment Standards.
How is annual leave calculated pro-rata?
Leave accrues progressively throughout the year based on ordinary hours worked. A part-time employee working 20 hours per week gets 4 weeks of their own ordinary hours each year: 80 hours (20 × 4), the same as 20/38 × 152 hours. The accrual rate is 1.538 hours per week for that employee, compared to 2.923 hours per week for a full-time worker.
How is leave payout taxed?
On a normal termination, such as resignation or retirement, unused annual leave and leave loading that accrued after 17 August 1993 are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal tax rate, in the financial year you receive them. A large payout can push part of your income into a higher bracket. In FY2026-27, income between $45,001 and $135,000 is taxed at 30%. A $12,000 payout on top of a $128,000 salary lifts assessable income to $140,000. The portion above $135,000 is then taxed at 37% instead of 30%. Two cases are withheld at a flat 32% instead, under the ATO's Schedule 7: leave paid out because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme (whenever it accrued), and leave that accrued on or before 17 August 1993.
Do I get tax back on unused annual leave?
Only if more tax was withheld across the year than you owe on your actual taxable income. On a normal termination your employer uses the ATO's marginal rate method in Schedule 7: the payout is divided across a full year of pay periods (52 weekly, 26 fortnightly or 12 monthly), the extra tax on one share is worked out from the normal tax table, and that amount is multiplied back up. This stops the whole payout being taxed at a higher rate in a single pay period. Your tax return then settles the difference: if the tax withheld is more than the tax on your income for the year, the ATO refunds the excess.
Is annual leave paid out when I leave my job?
Yes. When your employment ends, your employer must pay out all accrued but untaken annual leave, plus leave loading where your award or agreement provides for it. This is a legal requirement under the National Employment Standards and applies whether you resign, are made redundant, or are dismissed.
Is superannuation payable on leave payouts?
No. The employer SG rate of 12% is not payable on annual leave payouts made on termination. Superannuation is payable on annual leave taken during employment (as it forms part of ordinary time earnings), but termination payouts for unused leave are excluded from the superannuation guarantee calculation.
Can I cash out sick leave?
No. Personal/carer's leave (sick leave) cannot be cashed out and has no payout value on termination. Full-time employees accrue 10 days (76 hours) per year, and unused days carry over indefinitely, but the balance has zero cash value. Only annual leave and long service leave are paid out when employment ends.
When do I qualify for long service leave?
Long service leave qualification depends on state and territory legislation. In NSW, Queensland, WA and Tasmania, 8.67 weeks vests after 10 years of continuous service, and SA and the NT give 13 weeks after 10 years. Victoria and the ACT let you take leave after 7 years, when 6.07 weeks has accrued. Under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), leave accrues from day one at one week for every 60 weeks worked. If your job ends before the full entitlement, a pro-rata payout is paid however the job ends after 7 years in Victoria, WA and SA (WA and SA do not pay it before 10 years if you are dismissed for serious misconduct, and SA also does not pay it before 10 years if you end the contract unlawfully, such as by walking out without working your notice). In NSW from 5 years, and in Queensland, Tasmania and the NT from 7 years, a payout before 10 years is owed only on defined grounds, such as resigning because of illness, incapacity or a domestic or other pressing necessity, or some dismissals. The ACT works the same way from 5 years until 7 years. A plain resignation inside these windows pays nothing.
Do casual employees get annual leave?
No. Casual employees do not get paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's leave under the NES. Instead, casuals receive a 25% casual loading on top of their base hourly rate to compensate for the absence of paid leave, notice of termination, and redundancy pay entitlements. Long service leave is different: casuals with continuous service can qualify for it under the long service leave law of every state and territory.
Annual leave payout is calculated by multiplying your weekly base pay by the number of accrued unused weeks of leave, plus 17.5% leave loading if your award or contract provides for it. On an $80,000 salary with 4 weeks accrued leave, the gross payout is $6,154 base ($80,000 ÷ 52 × 4) plus $1,077 leave loading where applicable, totalling $7,231 before tax.
Annual leave loading is an extra 17.5% paid on top of your base pay while you are on annual leave, or on the leave paid out when you leave a job. It is not a universal entitlement. It applies only where an award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract provides for it. The formula is 4 weeks × weekly base pay × 17.5% for a full year of leave.
Leave loading applies to employees covered by an award or enterprise agreement that includes a 17.5% leave loading clause. Common awards with leave loading include the Clerks Award, Manufacturing Award, and Building Award. Award-free employees on individual contracts do not receive leave loading unless their contract specifies it. Check the leave loading clause in your award, agreement or employment contract to confirm your entitlement.
Yes. Leave loading is ordinary income, taxed at your marginal rate with PAYG withholding applied by your employer the same way as salary. Loading paid out on termination is taxed with the unused annual leave it comes with: at your marginal rate on a normal termination, or withheld at a flat 32% if the job ends because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme, or if the loading accrued on or before 17 August 1993.
Full-time employees get 4 weeks (20 days or 152 hours) of paid annual leave per year under the National Employment Standards. Part-time employees accrue leave on a pro-rata basis proportional to their ordinary hours. Shift workers, as defined in their award or enterprise agreement, get 5 weeks (190 hours) under the National Employment Standards.
Leave accrues progressively throughout the year based on ordinary hours worked. A part-time employee working 20 hours per week gets 4 weeks of their own ordinary hours each year: 80 hours (20 × 4), the same as 20/38 × 152 hours. The accrual rate is 1.538 hours per week for that employee, compared to 2.923 hours per week for a full-time worker.
On a normal termination, such as resignation or retirement, unused annual leave and leave loading that accrued after 17 August 1993 are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal tax rate, in the financial year you receive them. A large payout can push part of your income into a higher bracket. In FY2026-27, income between $45,001 and $135,000 is taxed at 30%. A $12,000 payout on top of a $128,000 salary lifts assessable income to $140,000. The portion above $135,000 is then taxed at 37% instead of 30%. Two cases are withheld at a flat 32% instead, under the ATO's Schedule 7: leave paid out because of a genuine redundancy, invalidity or an early retirement scheme (whenever it accrued), and leave that accrued on or before 17 August 1993.
Only if more tax was withheld across the year than you owe on your actual taxable income. On a normal termination your employer uses the ATO's marginal rate method in Schedule 7: the payout is divided across a full year of pay periods (52 weekly, 26 fortnightly or 12 monthly), the extra tax on one share is worked out from the normal tax table, and that amount is multiplied back up. This stops the whole payout being taxed at a higher rate in a single pay period. Your tax return then settles the difference: if the tax withheld is more than the tax on your income for the year, the ATO refunds the excess.
Yes. When your employment ends, your employer must pay out all accrued but untaken annual leave, plus leave loading where your award or agreement provides for it. This is a legal requirement under the National Employment Standards and applies whether you resign, are made redundant, or are dismissed.
No. The employer SG rate of 12% is not payable on annual leave payouts made on termination. Superannuation is payable on annual leave taken during employment (as it forms part of ordinary time earnings), but termination payouts for unused leave are excluded from the superannuation guarantee calculation.
No. Personal/carer's leave (sick leave) cannot be cashed out and has no payout value on termination. Full-time employees accrue 10 days (76 hours) per year, and unused days carry over indefinitely, but the balance has zero cash value. Only annual leave and long service leave are paid out when employment ends.
Long service leave qualification depends on state and territory legislation. In NSW, Queensland, WA and Tasmania, 8.67 weeks vests after 10 years of continuous service, and SA and the NT give 13 weeks after 10 years. Victoria and the ACT let you take leave after 7 years, when 6.07 weeks has accrued. Under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), leave accrues from day one at one week for every 60 weeks worked. If your job ends before the full entitlement, a pro-rata payout is paid however the job ends after 7 years in Victoria, WA and SA (WA and SA do not pay it before 10 years if you are dismissed for serious misconduct, and SA also does not pay it before 10 years if you end the contract unlawfully, such as by walking out without working your notice). In NSW from 5 years, and in Queensland, Tasmania and the NT from 7 years, a payout before 10 years is owed only on defined grounds, such as resigning because of illness, incapacity or a domestic or other pressing necessity, or some dismissals. The ACT works the same way from 5 years until 7 years. A plain resignation inside these windows pays nothing.
No. Casual employees do not get paid annual leave or paid personal/carer's leave under the NES. Instead, casuals receive a 25% casual loading on top of their base hourly rate to compensate for the absence of paid leave, notice of termination, and redundancy pay entitlements. Long service leave is different: casuals with continuous service can qualify for it under the long service leave law of every state and territory.
For small businesses managing leave entitlements, solutions like PTODesk can simplify tracking employee time off and ensure compliance with leave policies.
Sources & References
- 1Annual leave, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2Long service leave, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3National Employment Standards, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4Long Service Leave Act 2018 FAQs (Victoria), Business Victoria
Last verified: 9 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
What to check next
People reading this page usually work these out too.
- Annual Leave CalculatorHours accrued, your balance and what it is worth.
- Leave Loading CalculatorThe 17.5% loading on annual leave, worked out.
- Annual Leave GuideFour weeks a year, how it accrues and when it can be cashed out.
- Final Pay CalculatorEverything you are owed when employment ends.
- Payment in Lieu of NoticeNES notice periods, and the tax and super on a payout.
- Long Service Leave CalculatorWeeks accrued and what a payout is worth, in every state.