The highest effective marginal rate in Australia for 2026-27 is 57%, and it is faced by a resident with a HECS-HELP debt, not by the highest-paid resident without one. Australia's top statutory rate of 45% plus the 2% Medicare levy comes to 47%, which is the most anyone without a study loan ever gives up on their next dollar. A loan holder matches that 47% from $70,000, exceeds it from $129,000, and reaches 57% at $190,000. Part of that 57% is a debt repayment rather than a tax, which the sections below set out in full rather than gloss over.
Key facts
- Highest effective marginal rate in the dataset: 57%, from $190,000, with a study loan.
- Highest without a study loan: 47%, from $190,000.
- A loan holder first reaches 47% at $70,000 and first exceeds it at $129,000, both computed from the 2026-27 bands.
- 131 of the 183 incomes in this dataset put a loan holder at or above 47%. 72 put them above it.
- A registered nurse on the median of $113,984 with a loan keeps $530 of her next $1,000. Someone on $200,000 with no loan keeps $530.
What is the highest effective marginal tax rate in Australia?
57%, at $190,000 and above, for a resident carrying a Study and Training Support Loan. It is three charges landing on the same dollar: the 45% top bracket rate, the 2% Medicare levy, and 10c of compulsory loan repayment. None of the three is unusual on its own. Stacked, they put the ceiling at 57% rather than the 47%usually quoted as Australia's maximum.
The more consequential number is not the peak but the plateau. From $70,000 to $128,000 a loan holder faces exactly 47%, the same share of the next dollar as a person on $200,000 with no loan. That band is 59 of the 183 incomes in this dataset, and the median Australian full-time salary of about $90,532 sits inside it (ABS, August 2025; see average salary in Australia).
| Measure (2026-27) | Rate on the next $1,000 | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Top statutory bracket rate | 45% | Taxable income above $190,000 |
| Top rate plus the Medicare levy, no study loan | 47% | Taxable income above $190,000 |
| Highest rate with a study loan | 57% | $190,000 and above |
| Second-highest rate with a study loan | 56% | $135,000 to $185,000 |
How was this dataset computed?
Every row is the change in total annual liability across a $1,000 slice of taxable income, divided by 1,000, computed twice: once with the loan repayment included and once without. Liability is income tax on the 2026-27 resident scale, less the Low Income Tax Offset, floored at nil because the offset is non-refundable, plus the Medicare levy, plus the compulsory HELP repayment where the person holds a loan:
emtr(ti, loan) = (liability(ti + 1,000, loan) − liability(ti, loan)) / 1,000
The slice is $1,000 rather than $1. A one-dollar step is arithmetically purer but picks up cent-level rounding inside the engine and reports noise. A $1,000 slice is stable and still resolves every threshold in the system to within one grid row. The cost is that a slice straddling a threshold reports a blend of the rates on either side, which is exactly what happens at $69,528, $129,717 and $186,051, and it is visible in the dataset as single-row bands.
The grid starts at $18,200 and runs at every $1,000 to $200,000, giving 183 rows. The subject is a full-year Australian resident claiming the tax-free threshold, with no private health considerations and no deductions. The loan case assumes repayment income equals taxable income, which is true for a wage earner with no reportable fringe benefits, no net investment losses and no reportable super contributions. The functions are the same ones behind the HECS-HELP repayment calculator, so nothing here can drift from what that tool returns. Rates are reported to the nearest 0.1 of a percentage point.
At what income does a study loan push the rate past the top statutory rate?
Two answers, both read off the dataset rather than asserted. A loan holder first matches 47%, the highest rate any non-loan-holder faces, at $70,000. They first exceed it at $129,000, where the measured rate is 47.5%.
Both crossovers have a named statutory cause. The first is the $69,528 minimum repayment threshold: above it, 15c in the dollar of repayment lands on top of the 30% bracket and the 2% levy, which is exactly 47%. The second is the $129,717 boundary, where the repayment rate steps from 15c to 17c. The $129,000 row reads 47.5% rather than a clean value because its $1,000 slice straddles that boundary; the underlying step is at $129,717 itself.
| Crossover | Income | Rate there | Statutory cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| First reaches 47% | $70,000 | 47% | $69,528 minimum repayment threshold, 15c in the dollar above it |
| First exceeds 47% | $129,000 | 47.5% | $129,717 boundary, where the repayment rate steps to 17c |
| Reaches the dataset maximum | $190,000 | 57% | $190,000, where the 45% top bracket starts |
Crossovers located on the $1,000 grid. The statutory thresholds in the right-hand column are the exact points at which the underlying rate changes.
What is the effective marginal rate with and without a study loan?
The full dataset follows: 183 rows, both cases side by side, from the tax-free threshold to $200,000. The two columns are identical below $69,528 and diverge from there.
| Taxable income | No study loan | With a study loan | Added by the loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| $18,200 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $19,000 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $20,000 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $21,000 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $22,000 | 2% | 2% | 0% |
| $23,000 | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| $24,000 | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| $25,000 | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| $26,000 | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| $27,000 | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| $28,000 | 24.9% | 24.9% | 0% |
| $29,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $30,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $31,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $32,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $33,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $34,000 | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| $35,000 | 17.1% | 17.1% | 0% |
| $36,000 | 17% | 17% | 0% |
| $37,000 | 19.5% | 19.5% | 0% |
| $38,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $39,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $40,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $41,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $42,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $43,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $44,000 | 22% | 22% | 0% |
| $45,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $46,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $47,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $48,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $49,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $50,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $51,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $52,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $53,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $54,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $55,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $56,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $57,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $58,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $59,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $60,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $61,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $62,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $63,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $64,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $65,000 | 33.5% | 33.5% | 0% |
| $66,000 | 33% | 33% | 0% |
| $67,000 | 32% | 32% | 0% |
| $68,000 | 32% | 32% | 0% |
| $69,000 | 32% | 39.1% | +7.1% |
| $70,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $71,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $72,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $73,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $74,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $75,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $76,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $77,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $78,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $79,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $80,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $81,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $82,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $83,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $84,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $85,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $86,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $87,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $88,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $89,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $90,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $91,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $92,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $93,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $94,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $95,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $96,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $97,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $98,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $99,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $100,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $101,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $102,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $103,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $104,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $105,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $106,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $107,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $108,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $109,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $110,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $111,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $112,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $113,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $114,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $115,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $116,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $117,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $118,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $119,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $120,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $121,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $122,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $123,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $124,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $125,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $126,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $127,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $128,000 | 32% | 47% | +15% |
| $129,000 | 32% | 47.5% | +15.5% |
| $130,000 | 32% | 49% | +17% |
| $131,000 | 32% | 49% | +17% |
| $132,000 | 32% | 49% | +17% |
| $133,000 | 32% | 49% | +17% |
| $134,000 | 32% | 49% | +17% |
| $135,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $136,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $137,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $138,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $139,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $140,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $141,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $142,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $143,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $144,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $145,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $146,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $147,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $148,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $149,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $150,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $151,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $152,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $153,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $154,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $155,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $156,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $157,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $158,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $159,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $160,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $161,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $162,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $163,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $164,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $165,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $166,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $167,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $168,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $169,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $170,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $171,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $172,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $173,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $174,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $175,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $176,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $177,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $178,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $179,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $180,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $181,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $182,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $183,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $184,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $185,000 | 39% | 56% | +17% |
| $186,000 | 39% | 49.4% | +10.4% |
| $187,000 | 39% | 49% | +10% |
| $188,000 | 39% | 49% | +10% |
| $189,000 | 39% | 49% | +10% |
| $190,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $191,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $192,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $193,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $194,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $195,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $196,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $197,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $198,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $199,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
| $200,000 | 47% | 57% | +10% |
Full-year Australian resident, 2026-27, claiming the tax-free threshold. Liability is income tax net of LITO, floored at nil, plus the Medicare levy, plus the compulsory HELP repayment. Repayment income is assumed equal to taxable income. Every row computed from the pay-calculator.au tax engine at page render.
What are the distinct rate bands for a study loan holder?
The 183 rows collapse into 20 contiguous bands. The decomposition shows where each rate comes from: the five components sum to the effective rate exactly. The offset-floor column is negative only at the very bottom, where LITO already reduces income tax to nil so part of the bracket rate is charged on paper but not paid.
| Income | Bracket | LITO | Offset floor | Levy | Study loan | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18,200 to $21,000 | 15% | 0% | -15% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $22,000 | 15% | 0% | -13% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| $23,000 to $27,000 | 15% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 15% |
| $28,000 | 15% | 0% | 0% | 9.9% | 0% | 24.9% |
| $29,000 to $34,000 | 15% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 25% |
| $35,000 | 15% | 0% | 0% | 2.1% | 0% | 17.1% |
| $36,000 | 15% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 17% |
| $37,000 | 15% | 2.5% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 19.5% |
| $38,000 to $44,000 | 15% | 5% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 22% |
| $45,000 to $65,000 | 30% | 1.5% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 33.5% |
| $66,000 | 30% | 1% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 33% |
| $67,000 to $68,000 | 30% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 32% |
| $69,000 | 30% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 7.1% | 39.1% |
| $70,000 to $128,000 | 30% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 15% | 47% |
| $129,000 | 30% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 15.5% | 47.5% |
| $130,000 to $134,000 | 30% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 17% | 49% |
| $135,000 to $185,000 | 37% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 17% | 56% |
| $186,000 | 37% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 10.4% | 49.4% |
| $187,000 to $189,000 | 37% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 10% | 49% |
| $190,000 to $200,000 | 45% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 10% | 57% |
Components sum to the effective rate by construction. Rounding to 0.1 of a percentage point can make a row appear to sum one tenth out.
Only the bands the loan actually changes are listed below. Everything at or below $69,528 is identical to the no-loan curve, which is published in full as the companion study, Australia's effective marginal tax rates.
- $69,000, 39.1%. The $69,528 repayment threshold falls inside this slice, so only part of it carries the 15c rate.
- $70,000 to $128,000, 47%. The first full slice above the threshold: 15c in the dollar of loan repayment on top of tax and the levy.
- $129,000, 47.5%. The $129,717 rate step falls inside this slice, so it blends 15c and 17c.
- $130,000 to $134,000, 49%. The loan rate is now 17c in the dollar, still inside the 30% income tax bracket.
- $135,000 to $185,000, 56%. The 37% bracket starts while the loan rate is at its 17c maximum. This is the second-highest rate in the dataset.
- $186,000, 49.4%. The $186,051 boundary falls inside this slice, where the loan formula switches to a flat 10% of total income.
- $187,000 to $189,000, 49%. Above $186,051 each extra dollar adds 10c of repayment, down from 17c.
- $190,000 to $200,000, 57%. The 45% top bracket, plus the 2% levy, plus 10c of loan repayment. The highest rate in the dataset.
Does a nurse on the median face the same marginal rate as someone on $200,000?
On the next dollar, yes, and to the cent. A registered nurse on the representative full-time median of $113,984 with a study loan keeps $530 of her next $1,000. A senior manager on $200,000 with no study loan keeps $530 of theirs. Both face 47%, for entirely different reasons: the nurse from the 30% bracket plus the levy plus 15c of loan repayment, the manager from the 45% bracket plus the levy.
| 2026-27 | Registered nurse, median, with a study loan | Manager on $200,000, no study loan |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $113,984 | $200,000 |
| Income tax after LITO | $24,715 | $55,870 |
| Medicare levy | $2,280 | $4,000 |
| Compulsory HELP repayment | $6,668 | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $80,321 | $140,130 |
| Average tax rate (tax and levy) | 23.7% | 29.9% |
| All compulsory deductions as a share of gross | 29.5% | 29.9% |
| Kept out of the next $1,000 | $530 | $530 |
| Effective marginal rate on the next $1,000 | 47% | 47% |
Nurse salary is the representative full-time registered nurse median of $2,192 a week used across pay-calculator.au (Jobs and Skills Australia, from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025). See nurse take-home pay for the full award ladder behind it. Employer super of 12% is paid on top of both salaries.
The comparison is only about the next dollar, and it is important not to stretch it further. The manager earns $86,016 more in gross salary and keeps $59,809 more after everything. Their average rate on tax and levy is 29.9% against the nurse's 23.7%. The two are equal on one measure and nowhere near equal on any other. What the equality does mean is practical: an extra shift, an overtime block or a small pay rise is worth the same proportion to both of them, which is not what either would predict from the bracket table.
Why does the rate fall from 56% to 49.4% above $186,051?
Because the repayment formula changes shape rather than rate. Between $129,718 and $186,050 the loan takes 17c of every extra dollar, which stacked on the 37% bracket and the 2% levy gives 56%, the second-highest rate in this dataset. At $186,051 and above the repayment becomes a flat 10% of total repayment income, so an extra dollar adds only 10c. The effective marginal rate falls, then rises again at $190,000 when the 45% bracket starts.
| Taxable income | No study loan | With a study loan | Loan component |
|---|---|---|---|
| $184,000 | 39% | 56% | 17% |
| $185,000 | 39% | 56% | 17% |
| $186,000 | 39% | 49.4% | 10.4% |
| $187,000 | 39% | 49% | 10% |
| $188,000 | 39% | 49% | 10% |
| $189,000 | 39% | 49% | 10% |
| $190,000 | 47% | 57% | 10% |
| $191,000 | 47% | 57% | 10% |
| $192,000 | 47% | 57% | 10% |
The switch is deliberate and it is designed not to create a cliff in the amount repaid. At $186,050 the marginal formula gives $18,605, and at $186,051 the flat 10% gives $18,605: the same figure to the nearest dollar, so nobody sees their repayment jump at the boundary. What it does create is a dip in the marginal rate, which is why the loan-holder curve, like the no-loan curve in the companion study, is not monotonic. The design of the bands is set out in the HELP repayment thresholds guide.
Is a HECS-HELP repayment a tax?
No, and the distinction matters enough to state plainly before anyone quotes the 57%. A compulsory HELP repayment is the repayment of a debt the person chose to take on to fund tertiary study. It reduces a loan balance. It stops permanently once the balance reaches nil. No interest is charged on it, though the balance is indexed each 1 June. Income tax has none of those properties.
What it shares with a tax is the part this dataset measures. It is compulsory, it is assessed on income, it is collected by the ATO through the same return, and the taxpayer cannot decline it or defer it. On the question this page asks, how much of the next dollar do you keep, a repayment and a tax are indistinguishable. On the question of what you own at the end, they are opposites: the nurse's $6,668reduces what she owes, and the manager's $59,870 does not come back.
So 57% is accurate as an effective marginal rate and inaccurate as a statement about income tax. The top statutory rate in Australia is 45%, or 47% with the Medicare levy, and this page does not dispute that. Both facts are true at once, and the second is the one that belongs in a tax return.
What are the limits of this dataset?
- It is a marginal rate, not an average rate. Every figure describes the next $1,000, not the whole year. The nurse in the comparison above pays 23.7% of her gross in tax and levy across the year, and 29.5% once the loan repayment is counted, against a marginal rate of 47%. Quoting a marginal rate as though it were what someone pays overall is the single most common error in this subject. The distinction is set out in the marginal versus average rate guide.
- The loan is a debt, not a levy. See the section above. The repayment component of every rate here reduces a balance the taxpayer owes.
- No rate here is above 100%. An extra dollar always leaves a loan holder better off than before. The highest rate in the dataset, 57%, leaves $430 of every extra $1,000 in hand.
- Repayment income is assumed to equal taxable income. Repayment income adds back reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses and reportable super contributions, including salary sacrifice. Anyone with those add-backs faces the bands at a higher income than their taxable income suggests.
- The Medicare levy surcharge is excluded. A loan holder without private hospital cover on more than $105,000 pays a further 1% to 1.5% of their whole income. Because it is charged on the whole income rather than on the slice, it cannot be added to a marginal curve without distorting it.
- These are assessment-time rates. Your payslip uses ATO study and training support loan withholding tables that annualise a single pay period, so the STSL line on a payslip will not match a row here. See STSL on your payslip.
- Not everyone with a loan is a graduate. The bands apply to every Study and Training Support Loan, including VET Student Loans and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, so the population is wider than university graduates alone.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Every rate on this page is computed at render from the 2026-27 constants in the pay-calculator.au tax engine. Those constants are verified against the documents below. Last verified 5 August 2026.
- ATO, Study and training support loans rates and repayment thresholds, last updated 30 June 2026. Source for the 2026-27 minimum threshold of $69,528, the 15c band to $129,717, the $9,028 base plus 17c to $186,050, and the flat 10% of total repayment income from $186,051, and for the definition of repayment income.
- ATO, Study and training loans, what is new, last updated 30 June 2026. Source for the marginal repayment system that replaced the whole-income system.
- ATO, Compulsory repayments, last updated 3 June 2026. Source for the difference between payday withholding and the assessed repayment.
- ATO, Personal income tax: new tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer (new-legislation), last updated 13 May 2026. Source for the 2026-27 15% first marginal rate under the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026.
- ATO, Tax rates: Australian residents, last updated 1 June 2026. Source for the $18,200, $45,000, $135,000 and $190,000 thresholds.
- ATO, Low income tax offset, last updated 8 June 2026, and ATO, Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners, last updated 30 June 2026 (single thresholds $28,011 and $35,013, 2025-26 values carried forward pending 2026-27 publication).
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Registered Nurses (2544) occupation profile, from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025: representative full-time median $2,192 a week.
- pay-calculator.au, methodology: how every constant in the engine is verified and dated.
Reuse is welcome with attribution to pay-calculator.au and a link to this page. If you find an error in the dataset, tell us and it will be corrected on the page.