Payroll tax calculator for every Australian state and territory (2026–27)

How is payroll tax calculated?

Each state and territory taxes the wages an employer pays in that jurisdiction once its Australia-wide wages pass a threshold, and each does it differently. The simplest model is New South Wales: subtract the $1.2 million threshold and multiply the rest by 5.45%. Most others reduce the threshold as wages grow, so larger employers get less or none of it: Queensland’s $1.3 million deduction shrinks by $1 for every $7 above it and disappears at $10.4 million; Victoria’s $1 million threshold phases out between $3 million and $5 million; Western Australia’s and the Northern Territory’s diminish to nil at $7.5 million. South Australia shades its rate in from 0% at $1.5 million to 4.95% at $1.7 million, Tasmania has two marginal bands, and the ACT sets one rate by the employer’s total wages. The calculator runs the exact mechanics for each and shows the deduction it applied.

What counts as wages for payroll tax?

More than salary. Taxable wages include gross salary and wages, employer superannuation contributions (in every jurisdiction), bonuses and commissions, allowances above the exempt amounts, fringe benefits at their grossed-up value, termination payments, directors’ fees, and payments to some contractors under the relevant contract provisions. Employers in a group (related companies, shared employees or common control) share one threshold across the group, and an employer paying wages in more than one state gets a share of each state’s threshold in proportion to the wages paid there. Exemptions vary by state: apprentice and trainee wages, parental leave and some allowances are exempt in several. Enter the total taxable wages for the year; the calculator handles the threshold apportionment when you enter interstate wages.

When do you have to register for payroll tax?

Registration and monthly return thresholds vary by jurisdiction and reporting period. Check the current revenue-office requirements when Australian taxable wages approach the threshold, including the time allowed to register. This calculator provides an annual estimate and a monthly average; it does not determine a particular monthly return threshold or registration deadline. Because the threshold is on total wages including super and applies at the margin, a business growing through it pays the full rate on every dollar above the line, which is the “marginal” figure the calculator shows: in New South Wales each extra $100,000 of wages costs $5,450.

How do you reduce payroll tax legitimately?

By checking the wages base rather than the rate. Exempt wages left in the base (apprentices and trainees in Queensland and South Australia, parental leave, workers compensation payments), contractor payments that fall under an exemption, and the regional employer rates in Victoria and Queensland are the common overpayments. Grouping and the interstate apportionment are the common underpayments, and the revenue offices audit both. A payroll system that tags wages by state and by taxable status, such as MYOB Acumatica payroll, produces the monthly return figures without a spreadsheet; use this calculator to check them.