Work out exactly how much PAYG tax your employer should withhold from your pay. This uses the official ATO withholding formulas, not an annual estimate divided by 52, so it matches your payslip to the dollar.
Exactly what a payroll system does, using the formula from Schedule 1.
The same salary, withheld across each cycle. Your cycle is highlighted.
| Cycle | Gross | Withheld | Take-home |
|---|
Withholding is an estimate. This compares it with the tax actually due on that income.
Most calculators divide your annual tax by the number of pays. The ATO does not do that. It uses a set of linear formulas with published coefficients, and the rounding rules are specific. That is why this calculator matches your payslip and others are a few dollars out.
Fortnightly pay is divided by 2. Monthly pay is multiplied by 3 and divided by 13. Cents are then dropped.
The ATO adds exactly 99 cents to the whole dollar amount. This becomes x in the formula.
Each scale has bands, and each band has its own a and b coefficients published in Schedule 1.
Round to the nearest dollar, 50 cents rounds up. Only then is the weekly amount converted back to your cycle.
Employers may use either the formulas in Schedule 1 or the printed tax tables, and the ATO accepts both. The two can differ by a small amount because of how components are rounded. Your employer may also be withholding extra for a student loan, or applying a tax offset you claimed.
The first $18,200 you earn each year is tax free. You claim it on your Tax file number declaration, and you can only claim it with one employer at a time. If you have two jobs, claim it with the higher paying one. Claiming it twice means too little tax is withheld and you will owe money at tax time.
Your employer must withhold at the top rate of 47% for residents, or 45% for foreign residents, with no tax-free threshold. You have 28 days to provide a TFN after starting. You get the excess back when you lodge, but you are without that money all year.
No. Student loan withholding uses a separate schedule, Schedule 8 (NAT 3539), with its own coefficients. If you ticked the student loan box on your declaration, your employer withholds an additional amount on top of the figure shown here.
The formulas assume 52 weekly or 26 fortnightly pays. Occasionally a financial year contains 53 or 27, which means slightly too little is withheld across the year and you can end up with a bill. The ATO publishes small additional amounts you can ask your employer to withhold: $3 to $12 a week depending on your earnings.
Estimate only. This Tax Withheld Calculator applies the formulas in ATO Schedule 1
(NAT 1004) and has been checked against the sample data published in that schedule. It does not
cover student loan withholding (Schedule 8), tax offsets claimed on your declaration, Medicare levy
adjustments for families with dependants, seniors and pensioners, working holiday makers, back
payments, bonuses or termination payments. It is general information, not tax advice. For advice on
your circumstances, speak to a registered tax agent.
Source: NAT 1004-06.2026. Rates last verified: 9 September 2026.
