Payroll Tax · Reference

Payroll tax rates and thresholds 2026-27

Payroll tax is a state tax, so there are eight sets of rules rather than one. For 2026-27 the tax-free threshold runs from $1M in VIC to $2.5M in NT, and the general rate from 4% to 8.75%. Every figure below comes from the revenue office that administers it.

Rates and thresholds, every state and territory

Jurisdiction	Tax-free threshold	General rate	Surcharge or levy	Regional rate
NSW — New South Wales	$1,200,000	5.45%	—	—
VIC — Victoria	$1,000,000	4.85%	1% above $10M, 2% above $100M.	1.2125% for regional employers.
QLD — Queensland	$1,300,000	4.75% · $6.5M or less 4.95% · Over $6.5M	Mental health levy 0.25% above $10M, plus 0.5% above $100M.	1% discount off the general rate for regional employers.
WA — Western Australia	$1,000,000	5.5%	—	—
SA — South Australia	$1,500,000	4.95%	—	—
TAS — Tasmania	$1,250,000	4% · $1.25M to $2M 6.1% · Over $2M	—	—
ACT — Australian Capital Territory	$1,750,000	6.75% · Up to $20M 6.85% · Over $20M 7.35% · Over $50M 7.85% · Over $100M 8.75% · Over $150M	—	—
NT — Northern Territory	$2,500,000	5.5% · Under $100M 6.5% · $100M or more	—	—

Rates above the entry band are selected by Australia-wide wages, not by the wages you pay in that jurisdiction — and for a group, by the group's combined Australia-wide wages.

What you would actually pay

Annual payroll tax for an employer whose wages are all paid in one jurisdiction for a full financial year, with no grouping. These come from the same calculation engine as the eight calculators, so they include each jurisdiction's taper, shade-in and surcharge rather than just applying the headline rate.

Jurisdiction	$1M	$1.3M	$1.75M	$2.5M	$5M	$10M	$20M
NSW	Nil	$5,450	$29,975	$70,850	$207,100	$479,600	$1,024,600
VIC	Nil	$14,550	$36,375	$72,750	$242,500	$485,000	$1,070,000
QLD	Nil	Nil	$24,429	$65,143	$200,857	$492,171	$1,015,000
WA	Nil	$19,038	$47,596	$95,192	$253,846	$550,000	$1,100,000
SA	Nil	Nil	$56,925	$94,050	$217,800	$465,300	$960,300
TAS	Nil	$2,000	$20,000	$60,500	$213,000	$518,000	$1,128,000
ACT	Nil	Nil	Nil	$50,625	$219,375	$556,875	$1,231,875
NT	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	$206,250	$550,000	$1,100,000

Read the row, not the rate: at $5M of wages the bill ranges from $200,857 in QLD to $253,846 in WA, and the ordering changes as wages rise because the thresholds disappear at different speeds.

How each threshold behaves

No jurisdiction simply gives every employer its full threshold. This is where most of the difference in the table above comes from.

Jurisdiction	Threshold treatment
NSW	Full threshold, then a flat rate on the excess.
VIC	Threshold phases out between $3M and $5M of Australian wages, and is gone above that.
QLD	Deduction falls by $1 for every $7 of Australian wages above the threshold, reaching zero at $10.4M.
WA	Threshold diminishes between $1M and $7.5M of Australian wages, and is gone above that.
SA	Rate shades in from 0% to 4.95% between $1.5M and $1.7M; maximum deduction $600,000.
TAS	Full threshold, then two marginal bands on the excess.
ACT	Full threshold, then one general rate set by Australia-wide wages applies to all taxable wages.
NT	Deduction diminishes between $2.5M and $7.5M of Australian wages, and is gone above that.

What changed on 1 July 2026

Six jurisdictions carried their 2025-26 settings into 2026-27 unchanged. Two did not.

ACT — Threshold cut from $2M to $1.75M

The ACT replaced its flat 6.85% general rate plus separate surcharges with five general rate tiers running from 6.75% to 8.75%, selected by Australia-wide wages. The tax-free threshold fell at the same time.

NT — New 6.5% rate for large employers

Employers and groups with Australia-wide wages of $100M or more pay 6.5% instead of 5.5%. The $2.5M threshold and the deduction settings are unchanged, and the test is applied at group level.

Grouping and interstate wages

The figures above assume the simplest case. Two rules move almost every real employer away from it. Grouping treats related businesses as one employer: the group gets one threshold between them, and where the rate is set by wage level the test is applied to the group's combined Australia-wide wages, so a small member can pay a large employer's rate. Interstate wages cut your threshold in each jurisdiction to the share of your Australia-wide wages paid there — QLD, NSW and the rest each give you a proportion, never a full threshold in every state at once.

Part-year employment is prorated the same way. Each calculator below takes interstate wages and days employed as inputs.

Work out your own liability

NSW payroll tax calculator

New South Wales — 5.45% over $1.2M, with grouping and interstate wages.

VIC payroll tax calculator

Victoria — 4.85% over $1M, with grouping and interstate wages.

QLD payroll tax calculator

Queensland — 4.75% over $1.3M, with grouping and interstate wages.

WA payroll tax calculator

Western Australia — 5.5% over $1M, with grouping and interstate wages.

SA payroll tax calculator

South Australia — 4.95% over $1.5M, with grouping and interstate wages.

TAS payroll tax calculator

Tasmania — 4% over $1.25M, with grouping and interstate wages.

ACT payroll tax calculator

Australian Capital Territory — 6.75% over $1.75M, with grouping and interstate wages.

NT payroll tax calculator

Northern Territory — 5.5% over $2.5M, with grouping and interstate wages.

Annual reconciliation

Reconcile what you paid across the year against the annual liability, in any jurisdiction.

Payroll compliance checker

PAYG withholding, super guarantee and STP obligations for a small business.

Employer super contributions

Super is taxable wages for payroll tax — work out the contributions first.

Frequently asked questions

What is the payroll tax threshold in 2026-27?

There is no single national threshold — payroll tax is a state tax and each jurisdiction sets its own. For 2026-27 they run from $1M in Victoria to $2.5M in Northern Territory. Your threshold is also reduced if you pay wages in more than one state or you are part of a group.

Which state has the lowest payroll tax?

It depends on the size of your payroll, because thresholds, tapers and surcharges interact. At $5 million of wages paid in a single jurisdiction for a full year, the lowest bill in 2026-27 is QLD at $200,857 and the highest is WA at $253,846. The table above shows every jurisdiction at seven wage levels.

Do I pay payroll tax in every state I employ people in?

You pay in each state where you pay wages, but you do not get a full threshold in each one. Every jurisdiction reduces your threshold or deduction in proportion to the share of your Australia-wide wages paid there, so splitting a payroll across borders does not multiply your tax-free amount.

Is superannuation included in payroll tax?

Yes. Employer super contributions are taxable wages for payroll tax in every jurisdiction, along with salary and wages, most allowances, bonuses, commissions, directors' fees, fringe benefits and many contractor payments.

What changed on 1 July 2026?

Two jurisdictions moved. The ACT replaced its flat 6.85% general rate plus separate surcharges with five general rate tiers running from 6.75% to 8.75%, selected by Australia-wide wages. The tax-free threshold fell at the same time. Employers and groups with Australia-wide wages of $100M or more pay 6.5% instead of 5.5%. The $2.5M threshold and the deduction settings are unchanged, and the test is applied at group level. The other six kept the settings they had in 2025-26.

Does the group's payroll or my own decide my rate?

Where a jurisdiction sets its rate by wage level — Queensland, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Victoria's surcharges — the test is Australia-wide wages, and for a group it is the group's combined Australia-wide wages. A small employer inside a large group can therefore pay the large-employer rate on its own comparatively modest local wages.

Tax Accuracy & Sources

Reviewed: March 2026 · Tax year: 2026-27

Every threshold, rate, taper and levy on this page is taken from the revenue office that administers it, checked against the published 2026-27 settings on 31 July 2026. The payable figures are produced by the same engine as the eight jurisdiction calculators and assume a single-jurisdiction employer paying wages for the full financial year with no grouping. Payroll tax settings change at state budgets, not only on 1 July.