Pay Rise Calculator Australia
What your rise is worth after tax in 2026-27, per year and per fortnight. Enter the new salary or the percentage, and see exactly where the extra dollars go.
Pay Rise Calculator 2026-27
How Is a Pay Rise Taxed?
Only the extra dollars are touched. The table shows what each extra dollar costs at different salaries.
Australia taxes income in slices. A rise sits on top of your salary, so it is taxed at the rate for the top slice, your marginal rate, plus the 2% Medicare levy for most residents. Between $45,000 and $66,667 the low income tax offset also tapers away, which quietly adds up to 1.5c per dollar. Below is the all-in marginal rate the 2026-27 engine computes on the next $1,000 at each salary.
| Current salary | Each extra $1 loses | You keep per $1 | What is in the rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | 25% | 75% | ML shade-in zone: 15% tax plus 10c Medicare phase-in, offset by LITO |
| $40,000 | 22% | 78% | 15% tax, 2% Medicare, 5c LITO taper |
| $50,000 | 33.5% | 66.5% | 30% tax, 2% Medicare, 1.5c LITO taper |
| $60,000 | 33.5% | 66.5% | 30% tax, 2% Medicare, 1.5c LITO taper |
| $80,000 | 32% | 68% | 30% tax, 2% Medicare |
| $100,000 | 32% | 68% | 30% tax, 2% Medicare |
| $140,000 | 39% | 61% | 37% tax, 2% Medicare |
| $200,000 | 47% | 53% | 45% tax, 2% Medicare |
Computed from the 2026-27 resident rates, LITO and Medicare levy. Medicare low-income thresholds are the 2025-26 amounts carried forward, as the ATO has not yet published 2026-27 figures. Note the quirk: a rise at $60,000 is taxed harder than one at $80,000, because the LITO taper ends at $66,667.
Can a Pay Rise Put You in a Higher Bracket and Cost You Money?
No. Here is the claim tested at all three 2026-27 bracket boundaries.
The fear goes: cross a tax bracket and the higher rate hits your whole salary, so a small rise leaves you behind. That is not how Australian brackets work, and it never has been. The higher rate applies only to the dollars above the threshold. The table takes a $2,000 rise straight across each 2026-27 boundary and computes the result.
| Scenario | Take-home before | Take-home after | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossing the 30% bracket at $45,000 ($44,000 to $46,000) | $39,625 | $41,070 | +$1,445 |
| Crossing the 37% bracket at $135,000 ($134,000 to $136,000) | $100,600 | $101,890 | +$1,290 |
| Crossing the 45% bracket at $190,000 ($189,000 to $191,000) | $134,220 | $135,360 | +$1,140 |
Computed from the 2026-27 resident scale with LITO and the 2% Medicare levy. Every row is positive. The rise that loses you money does not exist in the income tax system.
What people are half-remembering is real but different: the rise is taxed at a higher rate than your average. On $90,000 your marginal rate is 32c in the dollar including Medicare, while your average rate is about 21.5%. The rise feels smaller than the salary suggests, but it is never negative. The full reasoning lives in the marginal vs average tax rate guide.
What Is a $5,000 Rise Worth at Your Salary?
The same rise at six salary levels, 2026-27 resident rates, no HECS-HELP.
| Salary | Extra take-home per year | Extra per fortnight | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 to $55,000 | $3,325 | $128 | 66.5% |
| $70,000 to $75,000 | $3,400 | $131 | 68% |
| $90,000 to $95,000 | $3,400 | $131 | 68% |
| $130,000 to $135,000 | $3,400 | $131 | 68% |
| $150,000 to $155,000 | $3,050 | $117 | 61% |
| $200,000 to $205,000 | $2,650 | $102 | 53% |
Computed at render from the 2026-27 engine. Superannuation rises too: at the 12% super guarantee, a $5,000 rise adds $600 a year to your fund on top of these figures, assuming your salary is quoted excluding super.
What Does a 3% Rise Actually Deliver?
The common annual-review figure, converted to money at five salaries.
| Salary | 3% rise (gross) | After tax, per year | After tax, per fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $1,800 | $1,197 | $46 |
| $80,000 | $2,400 | $1,632 | $63 |
| $100,000 | $3,000 | $2,040 | $78 |
| $120,000 | $3,600 | $2,448 | $94 |
| $150,000 | $4,500 | $2,745 | $106 |
Computed from the 2026-27 resident rates. Use the percentage mode in the calculator above for your own figure, including HECS-HELP if you are repaying.
How Does HECS-HELP Change the Picture?
A rise while repaying a study loan loses another 15c to 17c per dollar, and the old cliff is gone.
Above the 2026-27 threshold of $69,528, each extra dollar carries a 15c HECS-HELP repayment, rising to 17c above $129,717. On a $90,000 salary with a loan, a $5,000 rise delivers $2,650 after tax, Medicare and the repayment, against $3,400 without a loan. The gap is money off your debt, not money vanished.
The good news is what no longer happens. Until 2024-25, one rate applied to your whole repayment income, so a small rise could jump the rate on every dollar you earned. From 2025-26 the marginal system ended that cliff: a rise only ever adds the marginal rate on the new dollars. The HECS-HELP repayment calculator has the full bands, and the guide to how HECS-HELP repayments work explains the system change.
Is There Any Cliff Left in the System?
One, and it is not income tax. The Medicare levy surcharge has a genuine threshold effect.
The Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) applies if you have no private patient hospital cover and your income for MLS purposes passes a threshold. For 2026-27 the single base threshold is $105,000. Unlike income tax, the surcharge applies to your whole income for MLS purposes, not the slice above the line, so crossing it by one dollar switches on 1% of everything.
A worked case, computed here: a single with no hospital cover rising from $104,000 to $106,000 keeps $1,360 of the $2,000 rise on income tax alone, then pays $1,060 of MLS (1% of $106,000, assuming income for MLS purposes equals taxable income). The rise still wins, but only by about $300. Income for MLS purposes is broader than taxable income (it adds reportable fringe benefits and reportable super, among others), so your own threshold position needs checking. The MLS calculator covers the tiers.
Source: ATO, Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates, last updated 22 June 2026. Single tiers for 2026-27: $105,000, $123,000, $164,000 at 1%, 1.25% and 1.5%.
Who Uses This Pay Rise Calculator?
The moments when the after-tax number matters.
The salary negotiator
Walking into a review with a number
- Converts an offer to fortnightly take-home on the spot
- Knows the keep-rate at their salary band
- Counters in gross, budgets in net
The job switcher
Comparing an offer against the current package
- Compares salaries on the same 2026-27 engine
- Checks whether super is inside or on top of each offer
- Sees the real fortnightly difference, not the headline gap
The bracket worrier
Heard a rise can backfire
- Sees the boundary-crossing table above
- Learns the higher rate only touches new dollars
- Stops declining overtime and rises for tax reasons
The HECS-HELP repayer
A rise while paying down a study loan
- Sees the 15c to 17c repayment slice explicitly
- Knows the repayment cliff ended with 2024-25
- Budgets the rise net of the loan deduction
What Changed for Pay Rises on 1 July 2026?
The 2026-27 updates that alter what a rise is worth.
| Change | 2026-27 position | Effect on a rise |
|---|---|---|
| First marginal rate | 16% cut to 15% | Rises inside $18,201 to $45,000 keep 1c more per dollar |
| HECS-HELP threshold | Indexed to $69,528 | Rises below the threshold carry no repayment at all |
| MLS thresholds | Single base indexed to $105,000 | The surcharge cliff moved up from $101,000 |
| Standard work deduction | New $1,000 deduction at tax time | Does not change payday take-home, claimed in your return |
Sources: ATO individual income tax rates 2026-27, ATO study and training loan thresholds, ATO Medicare levy surcharge thresholds (updated 22 June 2026). Last verified 23 July 2026.
Common Mistakes With Pay Rises
Where the mental maths goes wrong.
Budgeting the gross rise
The payslip pays net, not gross
- A $5,000 rise is not $192 a fortnight
- On $90,000 it is about $131
- Commit the net figure, not the headline
Fearing the bracket
The cliff does not exist
- Higher rates touch only the new dollars
- Every boundary crossing tests positive above
- Declining a rise for tax reasons always loses
Ignoring the loan slice
HECS-HELP rides on every extra dollar
- 15c above $69,528, 17c above $129,717
- It repays debt, it is not extra tax
- Toggle it on in the calculator above
Forgetting super moves too
The rise is bigger than the payslip shows
- 12% super guarantee applies to the rise
- $600 a year on a $5,000 rise
- Check whether an offer quotes super inside or on top
Pay Rise FAQ
Common questions about pay rises and tax in Australia.
Where These Figures Come From
Every rate-bearing claim on this page traces to a published document.
- ATO, individual income tax rates 2026-27 (resident scale, 15% first marginal rate, low income tax offset).
- ATO, Medicare levy (2%) and Medicare levy low-income thresholds. The 2026-27 low-income thresholds are not yet published, so 2025-26 amounts are used and flagged where relevant.
- ATO, Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates, last updated 22 June 2026 (single base $105,000 for 2026-27).
- ATO and StudyAssist, study and training loan repayment thresholds 2026-27 ($69,528, marginal system in force since 2025-26).
- Superannuation guarantee legislation (12% from 1 July 2025).
Every table is computed from this site’s 2026-27 engine at render time. See the methodology page for how figures are verified. Last verified 23 July 2026.