--- title: "Australia payroll calculator: net pay, super and HELP | AumnI tools" description: "Turn an Australian salary or hourly rate into net pay per week, fortnight or month, with income tax, Medicare levy, HELP repayment and employer super cost." url: https://aumnitools.com/au/tool/payroll-calculator category: "Financial" country: "Australia" updated: 2026-11-08 --- # Payroll Calculator An Australian pay offer is a before-tax figure, and the employer pays superannuation on top of it rather than out of it. This payroll calculator applies 2026-27 ATO rules to give net pay each fortnight, week or month, adds an optional study and training loan repayment, and shows the 12% super guarantee as part of the job's cost. ## Australia rules and figures - The super guarantee is 12% for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, paid by the employer on top of salary. - The maximum contribution base for 2026-27 is $270,830 a year, so super is not payable on ordinary earnings above it. - For 2026-27 a study and training loan repayment is nil to $69,528, then 15 cents per dollar to $129,717, then $9,028 plus 17 cents per dollar to $186,050. - Above $186,050 a study loan repayment is 10% of the whole repayment income. - Resident tax rates are 15% from $18,201 to $45,000 and 30% to $135,000, after a tax-free threshold of $18,200. Sources: [ATO: Super guarantee](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee) (checked 2026-11-08); [ATO: Maximum contributions base](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/what-payments-are-qualifying-earnings/maximum-contributions-base) (checked 2026-11-08); [ATO: Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/study-and-training-support-loans-rates-and-repayment-thresholds) (checked 2026-11-08); [ATO: Tax rates, Australian residents](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-rates-australian-residents) (checked 2026-11-08) ## How the payroll calculator works Start with your salary, or an hourly rate plus overtime, and add any bonus. Income tax, the Medicare levy and any loan repayment are worked out for the year and divided by the pay periods. Super is not taken from your pay; it is added to the employer's cost. Formula: `net per period = (gross − income tax − Medicare levy − surcharge − HELP) ÷ periods; employer cost = gross + 12% × min(gross, $270,830)` - Weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay divide the annual figures by 52, 26 and 12, and fortnightly is the default. - Tick Study and training loan (HELP) debt to add a repayment of 15 cents per dollar over $69,528, rising at the higher thresholds. - Super is 12% of ordinary time earnings, limited to the 2026-27 maximum contribution base of $270,830 a year. - The Medicare levy surcharge applies only when private hospital cover is switched off and pay is above $105,000. ## How to use the payroll calculator 1. **Choose pay type and frequency.** Pick salaried or hourly pay, then weekly, fortnightly or monthly. 2. **Enter the pay.** Type the annual salary, or an hourly rate with regular and overtime hours, plus any annual bonus. 3. **Set the Australian options.** Keep hospital cover ticked unless you had none for the year. Tick the study and training loan option if you have HELP debt. 4. **Review pay and super.** Net pay lists each deduction per period. Annual totals shows the year, and Employer cost shows the super guarantee added to your pay. 5. **Keep a copy.** Copy breakdown places the figures on the clipboard. Export CSV saves them as a spreadsheet file. ## Example: $90,000 salary paid fortnightly Each fortnight gross pay is $3,461.54. Income tax is $673.85 and the Medicare levy $69.23, so net pay is $2,718.46, or $70,680 a year. That is $19,320 taken off, an effective rate of 21.5%, with a marginal rate of 32%. The employer adds $415.38 of super a fortnight, so the job costs $3,876.92 a fortnight, $100,800 a year. With HELP debt, a $118.11 repayment cuts net pay to $2,600.35. ## When to use the payroll calculator - **Comparing offers by net pay.** Enter each salary with the same settings to compare what lands per fortnight, not the package figure. - **Seeing a HELP repayment.** Tick the loan option and watch net pay fall by the yearly repayment divided across your pay periods. - **Costing a hire.** The Employer cost table adds the 12% super guarantee, so you see the full yearly cost of a salary. - **Checking casual hours.** Switch to hourly, enter rate and hours, and read net pay per week with overtime included. ## What the payroll calculator does not do - Tax is spread evenly across pay periods rather than following the ATO's withholding schedules, so a payslip can differ. - Resident, single person only. Working holiday makers, family Medicare thresholds and offsets other than the low income tax offset are not covered. - Gross pay is assumed to be ordinary time earnings for super. Salary sacrifice, payday timing and workers' compensation are ignored. - Study loan repayment income is approximated by taxable income, and the 2026-27 Medicare low-income thresholds were not yet published. - Hourly pay assumes the same hours every week of the year. ## When something else is a better fit - **When you only want the yearly tax and Medicare levy**, use the [Tax Calculator](https://aumnitools.com/tool/tax-calculator.md). - **When you are running a real payroll with STP reporting**, use payroll software that follows the ATO withholding schedules. ## Questions about the payroll calculator ### How much super does my employer pay on $90,000? At 12% it is $10,800 for 2026-27, or $415.38 a fortnight. It is paid on top of your salary and does not reduce the net pay shown here. ### What is take-home pay on $90,000 a fortnight? $2,718.46 a fortnight for a resident with no HELP debt, which is $70,680 a year after $17,520 of income tax and $1,800 of Medicare levy. ### How is a HELP repayment calculated? As 15 cents per dollar of income over $69,528 up to $129,717 for 2026-27. On $90,000 that is $3,070.80 a year, or $118.11 a fortnight. ### Does the calculator use the ATO withholding tables? No. It works out the year's tax and divides it by the pay periods, so a payslip using ATO schedules can differ slightly. ### Can I use it for hourly pay with overtime? Yes. Choose Hourly and enter the rate, regular hours, overtime hours and the multiplier. It assumes those hours every week of the year. ## Related tools - [Tax Calculator](https://aumnitools.com/tool/tax-calculator.md): Estimates US federal income tax, FICA and state tax for 2026 by filing status - [Budget Planner](https://aumnitools.com/tool/budget-planner.md): Plans monthly income and expenses by category, with a health score and debt payoff - [Retirement Planning Calculator](https://aumnitools.com/tool/retirement-planning-calculator.md): Projects retirement savings against a 4% withdrawal target and shows any shortfall ## About this page Runs in your browser: what you enter is processed on this device and is not uploaded. Estimates for planning only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check figures that matter with a qualified professional. Last checked against the tool's code on 2026-11-08. Interactive version: https://aumnitools.com/au/tool/payroll-calculator