Payroll Tax Calculator 2026-27: Every State and Territory

Payroll Tax Rates and Thresholds 2026-27

Each state and territory sets its own rate and threshold. The threshold is tested against your total Australian wages — and your group’s, if you are grouped — not just the wages in one state.

Select a state for the full rules, due dates and a calculator already set to that state: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT.

How Payroll Tax Is Calculated

1. Add up taxable wages paid in the state for the year, then Australia-wide (including every member of your group).
2. Work out the threshold or deduction. Start from the state’s annual figure. In Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory it shrinks as Australian wages grow; everywhere it is multiplied by the state’s share of your Australian wages.
3. Subtract it from the state’s taxable wages.
4. Apply the rate. Queensland, the ACT and the NT choose the rate by the size of your Australian payroll; South Australia phases its rate in; Tasmania uses two bands.
5. Add any surcharge. Victoria’s two surcharges and Queensland’s mental health levy apply only to wages over an apportioned $10 million.

Example (phase-out): a Victorian business with $4,000,000 of wages gets a threshold of $500,000 instead of $1 million (50 cents less for every dollar over $3 million), so it pays $169,750.

Example (interstate): Revenue NSW’s own example has $900,000 of NSW wages out of $3,000,000 Australia-wide. The NSW threshold becomes $1.2m × 900,000 ÷ 3,000,000 = $360,000, leaving $540,000 taxed at 5.45% = $29,430.

What the Same Payroll Costs in Each State

Annual payroll tax for a single-state employer at four wage bills, full year, no regional concession. The order changes with size: the NT’s big threshold wins at the small end, but its taper means a $10 million payroll there pays on every dollar.

What Counts as Taxable Wages

Payroll tax law is harmonised across the states on what counts as wages, so the list is broadly the same everywhere. Taxable wages include:

• salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses and allowances;
• employer superannuation contributions;
• fringe benefits and employee share scheme benefits;
• director’s fees and termination payments such as paid-out leave;
• payments to many contractors (the “relevant contract” rules) and to employment agencies, unless an exemption applies.

Commonly exempt: government Paid Parental Leave, paid parental leave the employer provides (within limits), workers compensation payments, and the tax-free part of a genuine redundancy payment. Exemptions and their limits do differ by state, so check the revenue office’s list before you rely on one.

Grouping: Why a Small Business Can Still Pay

Businesses that are related corporations, share employees, or are controlled by the same people are grouped. The group’s wages are added together to test the threshold, only the designated group employer claims it, and the other members pay on every dollar of their wages. Enter the group’s combined wages in the calculator to get the group’s total.

Payroll Tax and Employees

Payroll tax is never withheld from pay. If you are an employee checking your payslip, the take-home pay calculator shows what is withheld (income tax, the Medicare levy and any study loan), and the employer cost calculator shows what your job costs the business on top of your salary.

Frequently Asked Questions