The comprehensive pay calculator

How Australian pay actually works

The 2026–27 tax brackets (residents)

The other lines on your payslip

• Medicare levy: 2% of taxable income for most residents; reduced or nil at low incomes.
• Medicare levy surcharge: an extra 1–1.5% for higher earners (from roughly $101,000 single) without private hospital cover — which is why basic hospital policies often cost less than the surcharge they avoid. Untick the cover box above to see yours.
• HELP/HECS (marginal since 2025–26): nothing below the threshold ($69,528 in 2026–27), then 15c per extra dollar to $129,718 and 17c beyond — flipping to a flat 10% of income once you pass $186,051. Repayment applies to Australians overseas too.
• Superannuation: employers must pay 12% on top of ordinary earnings. "Package including super" is ~10.7% less salary than the same figure "plus super" — the toggle above converts. Salary sacrifice adds pre-tax dollars to super (taxed at 15% in the fund instead of your marginal rate — mind the annual concessional cap).
• Working holiday makers: 15% from the first dollar to $45,000, resident rates above, no tax-free threshold.
• Contractors: a day rate must self-fund ~20 days annual leave, ~10 sick days and ~10 public holidays (that's the 220-day year in the comparison), plus super, insurances and bench time. The split view above prices all the leave in.

Cross-check any offer against our cost of living guide and the market-rate tactics in finding a job in Australia.