Australia Take-Home Pay: What Your Salary Really Leaves You (2026)
See what an Australian salary really leaves you in 2026-27: tax brackets, Medicare levy, superannuation, and take-home examples for AUD 60k, 90k and 120k.
On This Page
- What comes out of an Australian paycheck?
- How is Australian income tax calculated?
- What is the Medicare levy?
- Does Australia have Social Security like the US?
- How does superannuation affect take-home pay?
- What does a $60,000 salary really leave you?
- What does a $90,000 salary leave you?
- What does a $120,000 salary leave you?
- What should movers and expats know about Australian take-home pay?
- How can I estimate my own take-home pay?
- Frequently Asked Questions
A salary in Australia never lands in your bank account in full. For the 2026-27 financial year, an Australian resident pays income tax at progressive rates — nothing on the first $18,200, then 15%, 30%, 37% and 45% on each slice above that — plus a 2% Medicare levy that funds the public health system. So a $60,000 salary leaves you about $50,280 a year (roughly $967 a week), a $90,000 salary leaves about $70,680, and a $120,000 salary leaves about $91,080. There is no separate Social Security charge like in the United States, and the well-known superannuation system is paid by your employer on top of your salary — it is not taken out of your take-home pay.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- Australia's financial year runs 1 July to 30 June. The figures here apply to the 2026-27 year (1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027).
- Income tax is progressive: $0–$18,200 is tax-free, then 15% to $45,000, 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000 and 45% above that. The 15% rate is a legislated cut from 16% that took effect on 1 July 2026.
- The Medicare levy adds 2% of taxable income on top of income tax for most residents, funding Australia's public health system.
- Low-income earners get the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) of up to $700, which effectively raises the tax-free point to around $22,867 (it is fully phased out by around $60,000 of income).
- Superannuation is 12% and is paid by your employer on top of your salary — it does not reduce your take-home pay (unless your contract is a total-remuneration package).
- There is no separate Social Security/FICA-style employee charge. Tax is collected through the PAYG withholding system, where your employer sends tax to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) from each pay.
What comes out of an Australian paycheck?
When an Australian employee is paid, surprisingly few things come out of the gross salary before the money reaches their bank account. There are really only two deductions for a typical resident employee: income tax and the Medicare levy. Your employer withholds both through the PAYG (pay-as-you-go) withholding system and sends them to the ATO, so what you receive is already your take-home pay. At the end of the financial year you lodge a tax return, and the ATO settles up — you get a refund if too much was withheld, or a bill if too little was.
What does not come out? There is no Social Security tax, no separate state income tax (Australia has one federal system — no state-by-state layers like in the US), and superannuation is not a deduction from your pay. All figures here are in Australian dollars (AUD), and the tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June, which matters when you compare with countries that use the calendar year.
How is Australian income tax calculated?
Australian income tax uses marginal brackets, which means each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its bracket — a common misunderstanding is that crossing into a higher bracket taxes your whole salary at the higher rate. It does not. For the 2026-27 financial year, an Australian resident for tax purposes pays:
$0 – $18,200: Nil (tax-free threshold) · $18,201 – $45,000: 15c for each $1 over $18,200 · $45,001 – $135,000: $4,020 plus 30c for each $1 over $45,000 · $135,001 – $190,000: $31,020 plus 37c for each $1 over $135,000 · $190,001 and over: $51,370 plus 45c for each $1 over $190,000
The standout change this year is the 15% rate. It dropped from 16% on 1 July 2026 under legislated cost-of-living tax cuts, and it is legislated to fall again to 14% from 1 July 2027. Anyone earning $45,000 or more saves $268 a year in 2026-27 from that cut alone.
One more offset worth knowing: the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO). It is worth up to $700, applied automatically when you lodge your return, and it phases out between $37,500 and $66,667 of taxable income (it is fully gone by around $60,000 of income). With LITO, the effective point where tax actually starts is around $22,867 rather than $18,200.
To run your own numbers in seconds, use the Australia take-home pay calculator.
What is the Medicare levy?
The Medicare levy is a flat 2% of your taxable income, charged on top of income tax, and it helps fund Australia's universal public health system, Medicare. Almost all residents pay it, and your employer withholds it as part of PAYG. Low-income earners are exempt or pay a reduced levy, and foreign residents are generally exempt — but for most resident employees it is a straight 2% added to the bill.
Do not confuse the levy with the Medicare Levy Surcharge, which is a separate extra charge of 1% to 1.5% that only applies to higher-income earners who do not hold private hospital cover. The worked examples below include the standard 2% levy only.
Does Australia have Social Security like the US?
No — and this is one of the biggest differences between an American paycheck and an Australian one. In the United States, employees pay a 6.2% Social Security tax plus a 1.45% Medicare tax on top of federal income tax (the FICA charges). Australia has no equivalent employee charge. Retirement savings are handled by superannuation, which is paid by your employer, and health coverage by the Medicare levy, which is much smaller than FICA and funds a public health system rather than being a payroll tax in the same mould.
The practical effect: comparing headline income tax rates between the two countries overstates how much heavier Australian tax is, because an American worker has roughly 7.65% of Social Security and Medicare charges that simply do not exist on an Australian payslip. If you want the American comparison, see our guide-style walkthrough in the take-home pay calculator, which covers the US approach.
How does superannuation affect take-home pay?
Superannuation — "super" — is Australia's mandatory retirement savings system, and the Super Guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary earnings. Here is the part that surprises newcomers: your employer pays super on top of your salary, so it is not a deduction from your take-home pay. If your salary is $90,000, your employer also pays $10,800 into your super fund (12% of $90,000) — that money goes into your retirement account, not out of your paycheck. Your take-home pay is calculated on the $90,000 alone.
The exception is when a job offer is framed as a total-remuneration or "package including super" deal. In that case the 12% comes out of the headline number, so a $100,000 package actually means about $89,286 salary plus $10,714 super. Always check whether an offer says "plus super" or "including super" — it changes what lands in your account by thousands. Since 1 July 2026, employers must also pay super contributions with each payday rather than quarterly, so the money reaches your fund faster.
What does a $60,000 salary really leave you?
A $60,000 salary is a common figure for early-career and mid-level roles outside the big cities, so let us work it through properly for a single resident with no other deductions:
Income tax: $0 on the first $18,200, then 15% on the $26,800 between $18,201 and $45,000 ($4,020), then 30% on the $15,000 between $45,001 and $60,000 ($4,500) = $8,520. (The LITO is fully phased out by this income level, so it does not apply.)
Medicare levy: 2% of $60,000 = $1,200.
Total tax: $9,720 (an effective rate of about 16.2%).
Take-home pay: $50,280 a year — about $967 a week, $1,934 a fortnight or $4,190 a month.
Your employer would also pay $7,200 in super on top, which does not touch this figure. Notice the marginal rate here is 32% (30% tax plus the 2% levy) — every extra dollar earned above $45,000 keeps 68 cents. Try it yourself with the Australia take-home pay calculator and change the salary to see how the marginal rate moves.
What does a $90,000 salary leave you?
At $90,000, LITO has fully phased out, so the calculation is clean:
Income tax: $4,020 on the first $45,000 plus 30% of the $45,000 above it ($13,500) = $17,520.
Medicare levy: 2% of $90,000 = $1,800.
Total tax: $19,320 (an effective rate of about 21.5%).
Take-home pay: $70,680 a year — about $1,359 a week, $2,718 a fortnight or $5,890 a month.
Super on top from your employer: $10,800. For context, this is roughly the level where a full-time professional salary sits in many Australian cities, and the effective tax rate — a little over a fifth of gross pay — is far lower than the 30% marginal rate because the lower brackets shelter the first $45,000. Australia's structure is close in spirit to the UK take-home pay calculator and Canada paycheck calculator we offer — progressive federal tax, a health levy, and no state income tax layers to untangle.
What does a $120,000 salary leave you?
At $120,000 you are well into the 30% bracket but still below the 37% threshold, which starts at $135,001:
Income tax: $4,020 on the first $45,000 plus 30% of the $75,000 above it ($22,500) = $26,520.
Medicare levy: 2% of $120,000 = $2,400.
Total tax: $28,920 (an effective rate of about 24.1%).
Take-home pay: $91,080 a year — about $1,752 a week, $3,503 a fortnight or $7,590 a month.
Employer super on top: $14,400. Note that even at $120,000, the effective rate is under 25% because the tax-free threshold and lower brackets still apply to the first dollars. The 45% top rate only ever touches income above $190,001.
Try It Yourself
Want your exact figure? Run your salary through our free Australia take-home pay calculator — weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual figures in seconds, using the verified 2026-27 rates.
What should movers and expats know about Australian take-home pay?
If you are moving to Australia or comparing offers across countries, a few quirks are worth knowing before you do the math. First, residency for tax purposes is not the same as holding a visa — the ATO's tests look at where you actually live and work, and non-residents are taxed from the first dollar with no $18,200 tax-free threshold and no Medicare levy. Second, working holiday makers (subclass 417 and 462) are taxed under their own separate rates. Third, the financial year starting 1 July means a January pay rise lands mid-year, so annual take-home figures are always quoted for July-to-June periods, not calendar years. And finally, salary figures in job ads are usually quoted as base salary "plus super," which means the 12% super is genuinely extra — one more reason to run the numbers through our Australia take-home pay calculator rather than guessing from the headline figure.
How can I estimate my own take-home pay?
The examples above cover single residents with straightforward salaries, but real life adds wrinkles: HECS/HELP student debt repayments are withheld through PAYG once you pass the repayment threshold, second jobs change your withholding, salary-sacrifice arrangements redirect part of your pay into super before tax, and non-residents face different brackets with no tax-free threshold. If any of those apply, a worked example will not be enough — use the Australia take-home pay calculator to plug in your actual salary and see your weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual figures instantly. It uses the verified 2026-27 rates, including the new 15% bracket and the 2% Medicare levy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is take-home pay in Australia?
Take-home pay in Australia is your gross salary minus the income tax and the 2% Medicare levy that your employer withholds through the PAYG system. For a single resident in 2026-27, a $90,000 salary leaves about $70,680 a year, or roughly $1,359 a week. Superannuation is paid by your employer on top of your salary, so it does not reduce your take-home pay.
How much tax do I pay on $100,000 in Australia?
On a $100,000 salary in 2026-27, a single resident pays $20,520 in income tax plus the 2% Medicare levy of $2,000, for a total of $22,520 — an effective rate of about 22.5%. That leaves take-home pay of $77,480 a year, or about $1,490 a week. The new 15% second-bracket rate is already included in these figures.
Is superannuation taken out of my salary in Australia?
No, not normally. The 12% Super Guarantee is paid by your employer on top of your salary, so a $100,000 salary means $12,000 extra goes into your super fund and your take-home pay is calculated on the $100,000. The exception is a total-remuneration or "including super" package, where the 12% comes out of the headline figure — always check whether an offer says "plus super" or "including super".
Do I pay Social Security tax in Australia?
No. Australia has no Social Security or FICA-style employee charge like the United States. Retirement savings are handled through employer-paid superannuation, and health coverage is funded by the 2% Medicare levy, which is much smaller than the roughly 7.65% US workers pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes. Tax is collected from your pay through the PAYG withholding system instead.
What is the Medicare levy and who pays it?
The Medicare levy is a flat 2% of taxable income charged on top of income tax, and it helps fund Australia's public Medicare health system. Almost all Australian residents for tax purposes pay it, and it is withheld automatically through PAYG. Low-income earners pay a reduced levy or are exempt, and foreign residents are generally exempt. It is separate from the Medicare Levy Surcharge, which only affects higher-income earners without private hospital cover.
Does Australia have state income taxes?
No. Australia has a single federal income tax system run by the ATO — there are no state-level income taxes layered on top, unlike the United States where most states levy their own income tax. Your take-home pay depends only on the federal brackets, the Medicare levy and any applicable offsets, which makes estimating it much simpler than in the US.