Pay Calculator Australia
Your 2026-27 Take-Home Pay
See what lands in your bank account each week, fortnight or month: tax by the ATO's own 2026-27 withholding formula, HELP, salary sacrifice, and the super your employer pays on top.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: Your take-home pay in Australia is your pay minus the tax your employer withholds under the ATO's PAYG withholding schedule, minus any HELP or other study-loan repayment, minus any salary you sacrifice into super. For 2026-27, a $85,000 salary paid fortnightly by an employer you claim the tax-free threshold with is $3,269.23 a fortnight before tax; the ATO formula withholds $682, leaving $2,587.23 take-home.
With a HELP debt, a further $90 is withheld, leaving $2,497.23. Super is on top: your employer must also pay 12% super guarantee, $392.31 a fortnight, into your fund.
The withholding is designed so that a year of it lands close to the tax you owe; on this salary the difference is $12. Source: ATO Schedule 1 and Schedule 8, for payments from 1 July 2026.
How much is my take-home pay?
Your pay minus the tax your employer withholds, any HELP repayment and any salary sacrifice. On $85,000 a year paid fortnightly with the tax-free threshold claimed, that is $2,587.23 of $3,269.23, with $392.31 of super paid on top.
Take-home per fortnight
$2,587.23
Tax withheld
$682
HELP
$0
Super on top
$392.31
Where your $3,269.23 goes each fortnight
- Income tax (incl. Medicare levy)$682.00
- Take-home$2,587.23
Plus $392.31 super guarantee (12%) paid by your employer, into your super fund. Scale 2: tax-free threshold claimed.
Lodging your return? The income tax calculator works out your full-year tax and refund with deductions. Paying off a HELP debt? The HECS-HELP calculator shows when it will be repaid.
Last reviewed 24 September 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Tax is worked out the way your employer's payroll does it: the ATO's 2026-27 PAYG withholding formula for your pay cycle, applied to your pay after any salary sacrifice. The formula converts fortnightly and monthly pay to a weekly equivalent, applies the rate for that band and rounds to the nearest dollar. The scale depends on whether you claim the tax-free threshold and whether you are a resident; the resident scales include the 2% Medicare levy.
HELP, VET Student Loan and other study-loan debts add a separate component from the ATO's Schedule 8. The 12% super guarantee is paid by your employer on top of your salary unless your salary is quoted as a package that includes it.
The year-end comparison uses the 2026-27 resident tax rates, the low income tax offset, the Medicare levy and the marginal HELP repayment schedule, for this one job. It does not include deductions, other income or the Medicare levy surcharge.
Sources: ATO Schedule 1 – Statement of formulas and Schedule 8 – study and training support loans, both for payments from 1 July 2026. Checked against the ATO's published sample data.
What salary sacrificing 1% more really costs
At your settings, sacrificing 1% more of your salary puts $32.69 more into super each fortnight, but your take-home falls by only $22.69. The gap is income tax you no longer pay on that money; inside your fund it is taxed at 15% instead.
Packaging a car instead? The novated lease calculator shows what that does to your take-home pay. See what it adds up to by retirement with the salary sacrifice calculator, or check where your balance sits against people your age in average super by age.
Your 2026-27 pay over a full year
| Salary (excluding super) | $85,000 |
| Tax withheld | $17,732 |
| Take-home | $67,268 |
| Super paid into your fund | $10,200 |
A year of this withholding comes within $12 of your 2026-27 tax of $17,720 on this job alone, so expect little or no refund and nothing to pay. That is how the ATO designs the tables when this is your only income.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your annual salary, and say whether the figure includes super.
- Choose how often you are paid: weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
- Tell us whether you claim the tax-free threshold with this employer, whether you are an Australian resident for tax, and whether you have a HELP or other study loan.
- Add any salary sacrifice into super.
- Read your take-home per pay, the tax and HELP withheld, the super your employer pays on top, and what a year looks like.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much tax comes out of my pay?
Your employer uses the ATO's PAYG withholding formula for the pay period. On $85,000 a year paid fortnightly with the tax-free threshold claimed, that is $682 a fortnight in 2026-27, which already includes the 2% Medicare levy.
Enter your own salary and pay cycle above to see yours.
Should I claim the tax-free threshold?
Claim it with one employer only — normally the one that pays you the most. If you claim it with two, each withholds as if you earn under $18,200 tax-free there, and you end up owing tax at the end of the year.
Switch the toggle off to see how much more a second employer withholds without it.
How much is taken out for HELP?
From 2025-26, study loans are repaid on a marginal system: nothing below the threshold, then a percentage of income above it. Your employer adds a HELP component to each pay using the ATO's Schedule 8.
On $85,000 paid fortnightly that is $90 a fortnight. It is a prepayment: the ATO works out your actual compulsory repayment when you lodge your return.
Is super included in my salary?
Usually not. Most job ads and contracts quote salary "plus super", and your employer pays the 12% super guarantee on top.
Some quote a "package" that includes it. Use the "Salary includes super" switch if yours does, and the calculator takes the super out first.
What does salary sacrificing 1% into super cost me?
Less than it adds to your super, because the sacrificed pay is taken before income tax. On $85,000 paid fortnightly, 1% more sacrificed puts $32.69 a fortnight into super but reduces take-home by only $22.69.
Contributions tax of 15% applies inside the fund, and the concessional contributions cap counts both the super guarantee and what you sacrifice.
Will I get a tax refund?
If this is your only job and you have no other income or deductions, the withholding tables are designed to collect close to your actual tax, so the refund or bill is small. Refunds usually come from work deductions, part-year work, or having been over-withheld on a second job; bills from investment income, a second job with the tax-free threshold also claimed, or the Medicare levy surcharge.
The calculator compares a year of withholding with your 2026-27 tax.
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Further Reading
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