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PAYG Tax Withheld Calculator 2026–27

Replicates the ATO's Schedule 1 withholding formulas for payments made from 2026-07-01. Choose your pay period, whether you claimed the tax-free threshold and whether you have a study loan.

Updated 2026-10-03 · ATO and official government rates

Tax withheld per fortnight$598Take-home $2,402.00 per fortnight · ATO scale 2 · from 2026-07-01
PAYG withholding$598
Net pay$2,402.00
Withheld over a year (26 pays)$15,548

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What "tax withheld" means under PAYG withholding

Tax withheld is the amount your employer takes out of each pay and sends to the ATO on your behalf under the pay as you go (PAYG) withholding system. It is a prepayment, not your final tax: when you lodge your return, the ATO adds up all the tax withheld across the year and compares it with the tax actually assessed on your taxable income.

The amount for each pay comes from the ATO's Schedule 1 formulas (NAT 1004). The weekly, fortnightly and monthly tax tables print the same numbers. The 2026–27 versions apply to payments made from 1 July 2026. This calculator uses the same coefficients and rounding. It matches the ATO's own worked examples to the dollar: $33 on $563 a week with the tax-free threshold claimed, and $108 without it.

Which withholding scale applies to you

Your answers on the tax file number (TFN) declaration decide which scale your employer uses. The table shows what each scale withholds from $1,200 a week in 2026–27. The calculator above covers scales 1, 2 and 3. Scales 5 and 6 need a Medicare levy variation declaration as well.

ScaleWho it is forWithheld from $1,200/week
2Resident claiming the tax-free threshold from this payer$202
1Resident not claiming the tax-free threshold (usually a second job)$313
3Foreign resident for tax purposes$360
5Full Medicare levy exemption claimed$178
6Half Medicare levy exemption claimed$190
No TFNTFN not quoted: 47% for residents, 45% for foreign residents$564

The TFN declaration: three answers that set your tax

Complete a TFN declaration (NAT 3092) once you have started with a new employer. The ATO says to give your TFN only after you start work, never in a job application. Use your employer's own electronic form if it has one, the online form in ATO online services through myGov, or the paper form. Three questions decide how much tax is withheld:

If you do not give your employer a valid declaration within 14 days of starting, the employer must report this to the ATO. A new declaration replaces the old one. To change your answers later, for example to stop claiming the threshold or to add a study loan, give your employer a withholding declaration (NAT 3093). It takes effect from the next payment.

  • Question 8, residency: foreign residents and working holiday makers are taxed on different scales and must answer No to question 9. The exception is a foreign resident who receives an Australian Government pension or allowance. Working holiday makers are taxed under Schedule 15.
  • Question 9, tax-free threshold: answer Yes for one payer only, unless your total income from all payers will be $18,200 or less.
  • Question 10, study loans: answer Yes if you have a HELP, VSL, FS, SSL or AASL debt. The Trade Support Loan has been renamed the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL).

Second jobs: claiming the tax-free threshold from one payer

Claim the tax-free threshold from your highest-paying job and not from any other. The ATO lists claiming it from more than one job as one of the reasons people get a tax bill. Even when you claim it correctly, a second job can still leave you short, because each employer withholds as if its pay were your only income.

Worked example (2026–27): you earn $1,500 a week in your main job (scale 2) and $400 a week in a second job (scale 1). Over 52 weeks the main job withholds $15,548 and the second job $3,744, a total of $19,292. The tax and Medicare levy on your combined $98,800 come to $22,136, so you would still owe about $2,844. If you had wrongly claimed the threshold in the second job as well, only $312 would be withheld from it and the shortfall would grow to $6,276.

To avoid a bill, you can ask the second employer in writing to withhold more (an upward variation), or complete a withholding declaration in ATO online services. If too much is being withheld and you can show it, you can apply for a downward variation with a PAYG withholding variation application. The ATO aims to process these within 28 days online or 56 days on paper.

The study loan (HELP) component

Study loan repayments are worked out under a separate formula, Schedule 8 (NAT 3539), and added on top of the Schedule 1 amount. In 2026–27, nothing extra is withheld for a payee who claims the tax-free threshold until weekly pay reaches $1,337. That is about $69,524 a year, close to the $69,528 compulsory repayment threshold. At $1,800 a week, $395 is withheld for tax and $70 for the loan, $465 in total.

The loan amount is only an estimate. The real repayment is calculated on your repayment income in your tax return. Once your debt is fully repaid, give your employer a withholding declaration so the extra deduction stops. No study loan amount is withheld from lump-sum termination payments.

No TFN: why 47% is withheld

If you have not given your employer your TFN, they must withhold 47% from a resident's pay and 45% from a foreign resident's pay, ignoring cents. No offsets or Medicare adjustments are applied. On $900 a week that is $423, against $106 with a TFN and the threshold claimed. If you tell your employer on the declaration that you have applied for a TFN, you have 28 days to supply it before the higher rate applies. The amount withheld still counts as tax paid and is credited against your tax when you lodge your return.

Frequently asked questions

Why is more tax withheld than I expected?

Withholding assumes you earn the same amount every pay for a full year. If you have a second job where you did not claim the tax-free threshold, have a study loan, or got a bonus, more is withheld; any excess comes back at tax time.

How much tax is withheld if I do not claim the tax-free threshold?

Your employer uses scale 1, which withholds from the first dollar. In 2026–27, $1,200 a week has $313 withheld on scale 1, against $202 with the threshold claimed.

Can I claim the tax-free threshold from two jobs?

Only if your total income from all payers for the year will be $18,200 or less. Otherwise claim it from one payer. If you claim it twice, too little tax is withheld and you will probably get a bill at tax time.

Does tax withheld include the Medicare levy surcharge?

No. The ATO says the surcharge is not covered by the tax your employer withholds. If you owe it, it is added when your return is assessed.

How do I change the tax withheld from my pay?

Give your employer a withholding declaration (online through myGov or NAT 3093 on paper) to change your tax-free threshold or study loan answers. To have more withheld, ask your employer in writing. To have less withheld, apply to the ATO for a withholding variation.

Sources

Figures are taken from official government publications and were last reviewed on 2026-10-03.

  1. ATO: Tax rates – Australian resident (Resident tax rates 2026–27 and 2025–26)
  2. ATO: Tax rates – foreign resident (Foreign resident tax rates 2025–26)
  3. ATO: Tax rates – working holiday makers (Working holiday maker tax rates 2025–26)
  4. ATO: Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners (Table: Medicare levy thresholds for a single individual, 2025–26)
  5. ATO: Medicare levy reduction – family income (family taxable income thresholds 2025–26, +$4,338 per dependent child)
  6. ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates (MLS income thresholds and rates for 2026–27 and 2025–26)
  7. ATO: Low income tax offset ($700 max; −5c per $1 over $37,500; −1.5c per $1 over $45,000; nil from $66,667)
  8. ATO: Seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO rates and rebate income thresholds for 2025–26; 12.5c per $1 reduction)
  9. ATO: Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates (Table 1: 2026–27, Table 2: 2025–26)
  10. ATO: Schedule 1 (NAT 1004) – Using a formula (x = whole dollars + 99c; round to nearest dollar, 50c up)
  11. ATO: Personal income tax – new tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer (2026–27 SAPTO thresholds)
  12. ATO: Schedule 15 – Tax table for working holiday makers (Table A: rates for 2026–27, payments from 1 July 2026)
  13. ATO: Schedule 1 – Statement of formulas for calculating amounts to be withheld (NAT 1004), payments from 1 July 2026 – weekly coefficients
  14. ATO: Schedule 1 (NAT 1004) – Withholding amounts sample data, weekly (from 1 July 2026)
  15. ATO: Schedule 8 – Statement of formulas for calculating study and training support loans components (NAT 3539), payments from 1 July 2026
  16. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Contributions caps (Table 1.1 concessional, Table 4 non-concessional)
  17. ATO: Understanding concessional and non-concessional contributions (concessional contributions taxed in the fund at 15%)
  18. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Division 293 tax (Table 7: $250,000 threshold, 15% rate)
  19. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Super guarantee (Table 21 SG %, Tables 23–24 maximum contribution base)
  20. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Government contributions (Table 25 co-contribution thresholds; LISTO)
  21. ATO: Low income super tax offset (15% of concessional contributions, max $500, income $37,000 or less)
  22. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Transfer balance cap (Table 26)
  23. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Payments from super (Table 12 preservation age)
  24. ATO: Key super rates and thresholds – Employment termination payments (Table 17 ETP cap, Table 20 genuine redundancy limits)
  25. ATO: How ETP components are taxed (17%/32% incl. Medicare; $180,000 whole-of-income cap; 45% + 2% above cap)
  26. ATO: How GST works (10% rate)
  27. ATO: Registering for GST ($75,000 / $150,000 non-profit; taxi or limousine travel incl. ride-sourcing regardless of turnover)
  28. ATO: CGT discount (50% individuals and trusts, 33.33% complying super funds, 12-month ownership)
  29. ATO: Tax reform – Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax (applies from 1 July 2027)
  30. ATO: Changes to company tax rates (25% base rate entity, $50m aggregated turnover, 2021–22 and future years)
  31. ATO: Company tax rates 2025–26
  32. ATO: Instant asset write-off for eligible businesses (Table 1: $20,000, turnover under $10 million)
  33. ATO Small business newsroom: $20,000 instant asset write-off here to stay (permanent from 1 July 2026)
  34. ATO: Small business income tax offset (16%, max $1,000, turnover under $5 million, 2021–22 onwards)
  35. Fair Work Ombudsman: Minimum wage increase starts today (1 July 2025 – $948.00/week, $24.95/hour, casual $31.19)
  36. Fair Work Ombudsman: Minimum wage increase starts today (1 July 2026 – $1,004.90/week, $26.44/hour, casual $33.05)
  37. Fair Work Commission: Annual Wage Review 2026 ([2026] FWCFB 3500, announced 2 June 2026)
  38. ATO: Tax tables – July 2026 updates (NAT 1005 weekly, NAT 1006 fortnightly, NAT 1007 monthly)
  39. ATO: Weekly tax table (NAT 1005) – payments from 1 July 2026, incl. 53 pays and no-TFN rates
  40. ATO: Paper TFN declaration form for payees (NAT 3092) – questions 8 to 10
  41. ATO: Withholding declaration (NAT 3093)
  42. ATO: How to claim the tax-free threshold
  43. ATO: Multiple jobs or change of job
  44. ATO: Varying your PAYG withholding (processing 28 days online, 56 days paper)
  45. ATO: Why you may receive a tax bill
  46. ATO: Paying the Medicare levy surcharge