Guide
NSW payroll tax threshold and every state rate, 2026-27
Updated
Payroll tax is the on-cost most employers meet by surprise, because it does not exist until your total Australian wages cross a threshold that differs in every jurisdiction.
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How this calculator works
- Superannuation guarantee at 12%. The ATO's published table gives 12.00% for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 and for 1 July 2027 onwards, so the step-up schedule has finished (ATO).
- From 1 July 2026 the guarantee is calculated on qualifying earnings, not ordinary time earnings. Contributions must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of paying them (ATO, payday super).
- We treat the salary you enter as qualifying earnings; overtime and some allowances may sit outside it.
- Super stops accruing above the maximum contribution base. From 1 July 2026 that is an annual figure, $270,830 for 2026-27, replacing the old quarterly limit (ATO).
- Payroll tax is a state and territory tax with its own threshold and rate in each jurisdiction, so we do not assume one. We apply your rate to wages plus superannuation, because Revenue NSW states that all superannuation contributions are liable for payroll tax (Revenue NSW). Each jurisdiction defines taxable wages in its own Act: confirm yours.
- Workers compensation is compulsory and must be bought from an authorised insurer, with the laws varying in each state and territory (business.gov.au). Premium rates depend on your industry classification and claims history, so the field is yours to fill from your policy.
- Fringe benefits tax is not included. FBT runs from 1 April to 31 March, at 47% for the FBT years ending 31 March 2023 to 31 March 2027. It applies to the grossed-up value of benefits you provide (ATO).
- If you package a car or entertainment, budget for it separately.
- Award wages, penalty rates, allowances and leave loading are not modelled. The National Minimum Wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 an hour or $1,004.90 a week. Most employees are covered by an award that pays more (Fair Work Ombudsman).
It is eight separate taxes, not one
Every state and territory levies its own payroll tax under its own Act, with its own threshold, rate, grouping rules and surcharges. There is no national rate to quote. What follows is only the jurisdictions whose official revenue office pages we read on the date shown above.
| Jurisdiction | Annual threshold or deduction | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $1,200,000 tax-free threshold | 5.45% | Revenue NSW, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 |
| Victoria | $1,000,000 maximum deduction | 4.85%, or 1.2125% for regional Victorian employers | State Revenue Office Victoria, from 1 July 2025 onward |
| Queensland | $1.3 million threshold | 4.75% up to $6.5 million of Australian taxable wages, 4.95% above it | Queensland Revenue Office |
| Tasmania | First $1,250,000 taxed at nil | 4% from $1,250,001 to $2,000,000, then 6.1% | State Revenue Office Tasmania, 2026-27 |
| Western Australia | $1,000,000 threshold, phasing out to nil at $7,500,000 | 5.5% | RevenueWA, read 24 October 2026 |
| South Australia | $1,500,000 a year | not published in our read | RevenueSA, read 24 October 2026 |
| Northern Territory | $2.5 million tax-free threshold | 5.5% | Territory Revenue Office, read 24 October 2026 |
Sources, read on the date at the top: Revenue NSW, State Revenue Office Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office and State Revenue Office Tasmania.
Western Australia is from the RevenueWA employer guide, South Australia from RevenueSA and the Northern Territory from the Territory Revenue Office.
The ACT is absent, and so is South Australia's rate: we do not publish a figure we have not read. Go to the ACT Revenue Office or RevenueSA for those.
NSW payroll tax threshold and rate
Revenue NSW: payroll tax is calculated only on wages above an annual threshold of $1,200,000, at a rate of 5.45%, for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
Victoria payroll tax rate and threshold
State Revenue Office Victoria: a $1,000,000 annual deduction from 1 July 2025 onward, a 4.85% rate, and 1.2125% for regional Victorian employers. The deduction phases out for employers with Australian wages above $3 million.
Queensland payroll tax rate and threshold
Queensland Revenue Office: a $1.3 million threshold on annual Australian taxable wages, then 4.75% for employers paying $6.5 million or less and 4.95% above it. A separate mental health levy of 0.25% starts above $10 million.
South Australia and Western Australia
RevenueSA's threshold is $1,500,000 a year. RevenueWA's rate is 5.5%, with a tax-free threshold of $1,000,000 that phases out between $1,000,000 and $7,500,000 of wages.
ACT payroll tax rate
Not published here: we have not read the ACT Revenue Office's current page, so we do not quote its rate or threshold.
What counts as wages
Taxable wages are wider than salary. Revenue NSW lists bonuses and commissions, contractor payments, directors' wages, employment agency payments, taxable fringe benefits and salary sacrifice. Also shares and options, some termination payments, and superannuation.
It states plainly that all superannuation contributions are liable for payroll tax (Revenue NSW: taxable wages). So the calculator applies your payroll tax rate to salary plus superannuation, not salary alone.
Thresholds are about the business, not the hire
- The threshold applies to your total Australian wages, not your wages in one state, and grouped businesses share a single threshold.
- Cross the threshold and only the excess is taxed, so the marginal cost of one more hire is close to the headline rate while the average cost is much lower.
- Victoria phases out its deduction between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000 of Australian taxable wages at a phase-out rate of 50% from 1 July 2025, with no deduction above $5,000,000.
- Surcharges sit on top in some jurisdictions: Victoria applies combined surcharges of 1% above $10 million and 2% above $100 million of national payroll, and Queensland applies a mental health levy above its own thresholds.
Verify your jurisdiction's current figures with its revenue office before you lodge. State budgets move these numbers, and this page states the position on its updated date, corrected in place when it changes.