Take-Home Pay Calculator (Australia)
Your take-home pay is your salary after income tax and the 2% Medicare levy. For 2025-26 residents pay 0% to $18,200, then 16%, 30%, 37% and 45%. Superannuation of 12% goes to your super fund separately. Enter your salary to see your net pay and your super.
Use this Australian take-home pay calculator to turn a salary into the cash you actually receive. It applies the 2025-26 resident income tax rates and the Medicare levy, works out your 12% superannuation, and lets you choose whether super sits on top of your salary or inside a total package.
Enter your salary, choose how super is quoted, then press Calculate.
How the Australian take-home pay calculator works
In Australia two deductions come out of your salary before it reaches your bank account: income tax and the Medicare levy. This calculator applies the 2025-26 resident tax rates to your taxable income, adds the 2% Medicare levy, and subtracts both to give your net pay. Superannuation is handled separately — it is your employer's 12% contribution to your retirement fund, which you cannot spend now, so it is shown apart from your take-home cash.
Because a salary can be quoted either "plus super" or as a "total package including super", the calculator lets you pick which applies, since that choice changes your taxable cash pay and therefore your take-home. Pair it with the salary calculator to convert between hourly and annual pay, the income tax calculator for a tax-only view, and the compound interest calculator to see how your super could grow.
The take-home pay formula
- Tax — resident brackets 0 / 16 / 30 / 37 / 45%
- Levy — 2% Medicare levy on taxable income
- Super — 12% paid to your fund, separate
2025-26 resident tax rates
| Taxable income | Tax on this income |
|---|---|
| 0 – $18,200 | Nil |
| $18,201 – $45,000 | 16c per $1 over $18,200 |
| $45,001 – $135,000 | $4,288 + 30c per $1 over $45,000 |
| $135,001 – $190,000 | $31,288 + 37c per $1 over $135,000 |
| $190,001 and over | $51,638 + 45c per $1 over $190,000 |
These rates exclude the 2% Medicare levy, which this calculator adds on top. The super guarantee rate for 2025-26 is 12% of ordinary time earnings — the final step of the increases legislated over recent years.
Understanding super, Medicare and the surcharge
Superannuation is compulsory retirement saving: your employer must pay 12% into your fund, and it is taxed at a concessional rate rather than your marginal rate, which is what makes it so valuable over a career. The Medicare levy of 2% funds public healthcare and applies to most taxpayers, with a reduction for low earners. Separately, a Medicare levy surcharge of 1% to 1.5% can apply to higher earners who do not hold private hospital cover — a common reason people take out basic hospital insurance. This calculator applies the standard levy but not the surcharge or study-loan repayments.
HECS-HELP, the Medicare levy and super explained
Three things shape an Australian payslip beyond the income tax brackets. A HECS-HELP study loan is repaid through the tax system once your income passes the compulsory threshold (about $67,000 for 2025-26, indexed yearly), at a rate that climbs as you earn more. The Medicare levy is generally 2% of taxable income, but it is reduced or removed for low earners. And your superannuation — 12% for 2025-26 — is paid by your employer on top of your wage, so it does not come out of the take-home figure, though salary-sacrificing extra super does. Knowing which of these apply to you explains most gaps between an estimate and your real payslip.
Estimate only — not tax advice. Uses 2025-26 resident rates, a flat 2% Medicare levy and 12% super; excludes the levy surcharge, HELP/HECS, offsets and non-resident rates. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your exact position.
How to use it & key terms
Enter your annual salary, choose whether super is on top of it or included in the figure, then press Calculate to see your income tax, Medicare levy, super and take-home pay.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | The salary your income tax is worked out on. |
| Tax-free threshold | The first $18,200, taxed at 0%. |
| Income tax | Charged through the resident brackets. |
| Medicare levy | 2% of taxable income for most people. |
| Superannuation | Employer's 12% paid to your super fund. |
| Take-home pay | Salary after tax and levy — your net pay. |
Sources & methodology
Income tax is calculated on taxable income using the 2025-26 resident rates: nil to $18,200; 16% from $18,201 to $45,000; 30% from $45,001 to $135,000; 37% from $135,001 to $190,000; and 45% above $190,000. The 2% Medicare levy is applied to taxable income; a reduction applies for low-income earners below the ATO threshold, which this calculator does not model, so it uses the full 2%. Superannuation is calculated at the 2025-26 super guarantee rate of 12%. Where super is "on top", it is added to salary and taxable income equals salary; where super is "included", the cash salary is the package divided by 1.12 and super is the remainder. The tool excludes the Medicare levy surcharge, HELP/HECS repayments, tax offsets, and non-resident or working-holiday rates.
Sources: Australian Taxation Office (ATO) — Tax rates for Australian residents, and Super guarantee percentage (12% from 1 July 2025). Figures verified for the 2025-26 financial year.
PAYG withholding, your tax return, and deductions
For most Australian employees, tax does not arrive as a single annual bill — it is taken a little at a time. Under PAYG (pay as you go) withholding, your employer estimates the tax on each payday and sends it on your behalf, alongside the separate Medicare levy that most taxpayers contribute toward public healthcare. Because it is an estimate spread across the year, the amount withheld is rarely the exact figure you end up owing, which is precisely why there is a reckoning once the financial year closes. Getting a sense of that split is the key to reading an Australian payslip.
That reckoning is your tax return. After the year ends you report your income and any deductions, and the tax office compares what you actually owe against what was withheld through PAYG; lodging the return is how the two are finally squared. If too much came out you receive a refund; if too little did, you may face a bill. A second job is a frequent cause, because the tax-free threshold is usually claimed against only one employer, so a second income can be under-withheld and leave a shortfall to settle at return time.
Two things can move the result in your favour. Work-related deductions — legitimate expenses you incur to earn your income — lower the taxable income the whole calculation runs on, while tax offsets reduce the tax itself, so keeping records through the year is worth real money. Superannuation sits outside all of this as far as your take-home goes: it is paid by your employer into your retirement fund and preserved for later, so it is best treated as deferred pay you cannot spend now rather than part of this week's wage.
Seen together, PAYG keeps you roughly square through the year, the annual return trues it up, and super quietly builds in the background. The Medicare levy is reduced for lower earners, another reason an estimate and a final assessment can differ. Use the take-home figure here as an estimate for budgeting, and confirm your own position — including anything repaid on a study loan — against current official guidance, since rates and thresholds are reset each year.
Frequently asked questions
How is take-home pay calculated in Australia for 2025-26?
Your take-home pay is your taxable salary minus income tax and the Medicare levy. For 2025-26 residents pay no tax on the first $18,200, then 16% to $45,000, 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000 and 45% above. On top of that most people pay the 2% Medicare levy. Superannuation of 12% is paid by your employer into your super fund and is separate from your take-home cash. This calculator applies the current resident rates to show your net pay.
What is the tax-free threshold in Australia?
The tax-free threshold for Australian residents is $18,200. You pay no income tax on the first $18,200 you earn in a financial year, provided you claim the threshold with your employer. Above it, income is taxed at progressively higher marginal rates. Only residents for tax purposes who are entitled to the full threshold get it — working holidaymakers and non-residents are taxed differently from the first dollar, so this calculator is designed for residents.
What is the Medicare levy?
The Medicare levy is an extra 2% of your taxable income that helps fund Australia's public health system. Most taxpayers pay the full 2%, but low-income earners pay a reduced levy or none at all once income falls below the ATO's threshold. A separate Medicare levy surcharge can also apply to higher earners who do not hold private hospital cover. This calculator applies the standard 2% levy; if your income is low, your actual levy may be lower.
Is superannuation part of my take-home pay?
No. Superannuation is paid into your super fund for your retirement and you cannot access it as cash now, so it is not part of your take-home pay. For 2025-26 the super guarantee rate is 12%. If your salary is quoted "plus super", that 12% is paid on top of your salary. If it is a "package including super", the 12% is carved out of the package first, leaving a smaller cash salary that is then taxed. This calculator lets you choose which applies.
What is the difference between salary plus super and a package including super?
"Salary plus super" means your stated salary is your taxable cash pay, and your employer adds 12% super on top of it. A "total remuneration package" or "package including super" bundles the super inside the headline figure, so your actual cash salary is the package divided by 1.12, with the rest going to super. The same package number therefore gives different take-home pay depending on which basis it is quoted on, so it is worth checking which one an offer uses.
How much super will I get on my salary?
For the 2025-26 financial year, employers must pay super at 12% of your ordinary time earnings. On a $95,000 salary quoted plus super, that is $11,400 paid into your super fund for the year. Super is compulsory, is taxed concessionally, and compounds over your working life, so it forms a major part of your total pay even though it does not appear in your bank account each payday. This calculator shows the super amount separately from your cash take-home.
What does this Australian pay calculator not include?
It gives a clean estimate using the 2025-26 resident tax rates, the 2% Medicare levy and 12% super. It does not model the Medicare levy surcharge, HELP or HECS study loan repayments, the low-income tax offset, salary-sacrifice arrangements, or non-resident and working-holiday rates. Your actual payslip may differ if any of these apply. Treat the result as a close guide to your net pay rather than an exact figure from your employer's payroll.
How does a HECS or HELP debt affect my take-home pay?
Once your repayment income passes the compulsory threshold, which is about $67,000 for 2025-26 and is indexed each year, the ATO adds a compulsory study-loan repayment to your tax, collected through PAYG from your pay. From 2025-26 the repayment is worked out only on the income above the threshold, and the rate rises as you earn more. You can also make voluntary repayments at any time. This calculator does not model HECS or HELP, so a study loan will reduce your take-home below the figure shown.
What are the low income tax offset and Medicare levy reduction?
Lower earners get help in two ways. The low income tax offset (LITO) reduces the tax you owe, though it is not a cash refund on its own. Separately, you pay a reduced Medicare levy, or none at all, if your income is below the ATO's low-income thresholds, instead of the full 2%. Both are worked out automatically when you lodge your tax return, so your final position can be a little better than a flat estimate suggests for lower incomes.