Tasmania Payroll Tax Calculator 2026–27

Tasmanian payroll tax: two rates, no taper

Tasmania uses a two-step marginal scale. Wages above $1,250,000 are taxed at 4.00% up to $2,000,000, and wages above that at 6.10%. The threshold never phases out, so even a very large employer keeps the benefit of the tax-free band and the lower rate band.

Worked examples for a Hobart employer

With $1,800,000 of wages, all paid in Tasmania, only the $550,000 above the threshold is taxed, all of it at 4.00%: $22,000 for the year. With $5,000,000, the $750,000 in the middle band costs $30,000 and the $3,000,000 above $2,000,000 costs $183,000, a total of $213,000 (4.26%).

Monthly returns use a monthly version of each threshold based on the number of days in the month. For a 31-day month the tax-free amount is 31 ÷ 365 × $1,250,000 = $106,164. Because months differ, monthly payments rarely add up exactly to the annual liability, and that is what the annual adjustment return is for.

Interstate employers: apportioning the Tasmanian thresholds

A business with $3,000,000 of Australian wages, $1,200,000 of it paid in Tasmania, cannot use the full Tasmanian thresholds. SRO Tasmania’s annual adjustment return guideline scales both by the Tasmanian share of Australian wages, here 40%: the tax-free amount becomes $500,000 and the top of the 4.00% band becomes $800,000. Tasmanian payroll tax is then 4.00% × ($800,000 − $500,000) + 6.10% × $400,000 = $36,400. The calculator above assumes all wages are paid in Tasmania, so use this method if you also employ interstate.

Registration, returns and the 21 July annual adjustment return

Registration, returns and amendments all go through Tasmanian Revenue Online (TRO). You register as a new user first, then register the business for payroll tax. Have your ABN or ACN, trading names, contact and bank details, grouping information and documents such as company extracts, trust deeds or partnership agreements ready.

Monthly returns are due by the 7th of the following month. Every registered employer then lodges an annual adjustment return (AAR) by 21 July, which reconciles the year and works out a refund or extra payment. For monthly lodgers the AAR replaces the June return, so you do not lodge both.

What counts as taxable wages in Tasmania

Tasmanian taxable wages include salaries and wages, commissions, bonuses, prizes and incentive payments, and annual, long service and sick leave. Pay in lieu of notice, non-monetary superannuation contributions and make-up pay on top of workers compensation are also taxable, as are travel and accommodation allowances above the prescribed rates.

Grouping and de-grouping

Businesses are grouped if they are related corporations under section 50 of the Corporations Act 2001, if an employee of one does work solely or mainly for another, or if the same people have controlling interests in both. Group members share one set of thresholds and are jointly and severally liable for each other’s payroll tax.

The Commissioner can exclude a business from a group if it is run independently of, and is not connected with, the other members. The SRO looks at management, shared resources, common customers, financial links and how intertwined the operations are. You apply through the Company Grouping section of TRO. Related corporations cannot be de-grouped.

Contractors, exempt employers and the rebate scheme

Contractor payments are taxable wages unless the contract is excluded. The SRO lists seven exclusions: labour ancillary to supplying the contractor’s goods; services you do not ordinarily need, from a contractor who offers them to the public; services you need for less than 180 days a year; a single contractor working no more than 90 days in total in the financial year; a Commissioner’s determination that the contractor serves the public generally; contractors who engage labour to perform the services; and owner-drivers conveying goods in their own vehicle.

Under Part 4 of the Payroll Tax Act 2008, wages paid by religious institutions, non-profit private hospitals, private schools up to secondary level, the defence forces, public benevolent institutions and non-profit charitable organisations are exempt, as are apprentice and trainee wages paid by non-profit group training organisations registered with the Tasmanian Traineeships and Apprenticeships Committee.

The SRO’s payroll tax rebate scheme refunds the payroll tax paid on wages of eligible apprentices who started between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2026 for up to two years. That means apprentices who started recently can still be claimed for in 2026–27. The trainee and youth employee rebates covered people who started in 2024–25. You can only claim after paying the payroll tax for the claim period, and the rebate is capped at the lower of the payroll tax on eligible wages and the total payroll tax paid.