Free Payroll Tax Calculator Australia (All States) (WA)
For WA employers near or over the $1M threshold: estimate RevenueWA payroll tax at 5.5%, with the diminishing threshold explained.
Last updated 31 May 2026
This WA payroll tax calculator estimates what your business owes RevenueWA once total Australian wages cross the Western Australian threshold. For the current financial year, WA applies a tax-free threshold of around $1,000,000 and a headline rate of 5.5%, but the threshold tapers away as wages grow and disappears entirely above $7.5M, with higher tiered rates for very large payrolls. You pay only on wages above the deductible amount. Enter your projected full-year wages, including superannuation and grossed-up fringe benefits, and the calculator returns your estimated payroll tax, taxable wages above the threshold and effective rate. WA's diminishing threshold means your effective deduction shrinks as you grow, so a simple flat-threshold estimate can understate the bill. Grouping and interstate wages also affect your result, so treat this as a planning estimate and confirm current figures with RevenueWA or your accountant.
How to use this tool
- 1
Enter your total annual Australian wages
Include gross salaries and wages, most allowances, bonuses, commissions, directors' fees, the grossed-up value of taxable fringe benefits and superannuation. Use your projected full financial-year figure for the most useful estimate.
- 2
Select your state or territory
Choose where the work is performed. The calculator applies that jurisdiction's current tax-free threshold and headline rate, since NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT each set their own.
- 3
Read your estimate and email it to yourself
See your estimated payroll tax, taxable wages above the threshold and effective rate. Use the email option to send the result to yourself or your bookkeeper for budgeting and BAS planning.
How payroll tax actually works in Australia
Payroll tax is levied by each state and territory, not the federal government, so there is no single Australian rate. You become liable once your total annual taxable wages exceed your state's tax-free threshold, and you pay only on the portion above that threshold, not the whole wage bill. That distinction matters: a business on $1.5M of wages in a state with a $1.2M threshold pays tax on $300,000, not $1.5M. Taxable wages are broader than many owners expect. They include gross salaries and wages, directors' fees, most allowances, bonuses and commissions, the superannuation guarantee (now 12% from 1 July 2025), and the grossed-up taxable value of fringe benefits. Contractor payments can also be caught if the arrangement looks like employment under the relevant contractor provisions. Registration is generally required within seven days of the month you first exceed the threshold, and returns are usually lodged monthly with an annual reconciliation. Because the calculator works off a full-year figure, treat it as a planning estimate rather than a substitute for your monthly lodgement, where the threshold is pro-rated across the months you employed staff.
Thresholds and rates differ in every state
This is where employers most often get caught out, especially when they hire across borders. As a rough guide for the current financial year, NSW applies roughly a $1.2M threshold at 5.45%, Victoria a $1M threshold at 4.85% (with a lower regional rate), Queensland a $1.3M threshold at 4.75% for payrolls up to $6.5M, and WA a $1M threshold at 5.5% with the tax-free amount tapering away as wages climb. SA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT each set their own figures again, and several states add surcharges or levies on large payrolls, such as Queensland's mental health levy and Victoria's mental health and wellbeing surcharge. If you employ staff in more than one state, you do not get a full threshold in each. The threshold is shared and apportioned based on the proportion of your Australian wages paid in that state, which often pushes your effective rate higher than the headline figure suggests. Always confirm the current-year numbers on your state revenue office website before you budget against them, as rates and thresholds are reviewed regularly.
Grouping rules can quietly increase your bill
One of the biggest surprises for growing Australian businesses is grouping. State revenue offices can treat related entities as a single group for payroll tax: companies under common control, businesses sharing employees, or entities linked through trusts and holding structures. When you are grouped, the group gets only one tax-free threshold between all members, and every entity becomes jointly liable. A common trap is splitting a business into an operating company and a service or labour-hire entity, assuming each gets its own threshold, then discovering the wages are combined and the threshold is claimed only once by a designated group member. The grouping provisions are deliberately broad and catch arrangements you might not think of as connected. If your structure involves multiple trading entities, a family group, or shared administration staff, get specific advice before you rely on any single-entity estimate. This calculator assumes a standalone employer, so grouped businesses should run their combined Australian wages through it to get a realistic group-level figure.
From manual wage tracking to automated reporting
Most payroll tax mistakes are not deliberate. They come from manual tracking: wages spread across spreadsheets, fringe benefits and superannuation added late, interstate splits done by hand at year end, and monthly thresholds calculated under time pressure before each lodgement. The risk grows as you approach and cross the threshold, exactly when cash flow is already tight. A one-off calculator like this is a good sense check, but it cannot watch your wages month to month or flag the month you tip over. That is the gap where a connected payroll and reporting setup pays off. When your payroll system (Xero, MYOB, Employment Hero or similar) feeds clean, categorised wage data into a reporting layer, your payroll tax position can be tracked continuously, interstate wages apportioned automatically, and lodgement-ready figures produced without manual reconciliation. If you keep recalculating payroll tax by hand each month, that recurring task is a strong candidate for automation, and it is the kind of finance workflow Clever Ops builds for mid-market Australian employers.
Payroll tax for WA employers
Western Australia stands out for its diminishing (tapering) threshold, which trips up employers used to a flat deduction. The annual tax-free threshold starts at around $1,000,000 with a headline rate of about 5.5%, but the deductible amount reduces as your total Australian taxable wages rise, phasing out completely once wages reach roughly $7.5M. Above $100M, higher tiered rates of around 6% apply. RevenueWA administers the tax through Online Payroll Tax, with monthly returns and an annual reconciliation. WA taxable wages include gross salaries, directors' fees, most allowances, bonuses, the superannuation guarantee, grossed-up fringe benefits and certain contractor payments. Because the threshold tapers, two WA businesses on different wage levels get different effective deductions even at the same headline rate, so the effective rate figure is especially useful here. WA grouping provisions follow the national approach: grouped entities share a single diminishing threshold and are jointly liable, which can sharply reduce the deduction available to each member. If you employ staff in other states, your WA threshold is also apportioned. This calculator uses the base threshold and rate as a starting estimate, so larger WA payrolls should confirm their exact deductible amount with RevenueWA before budgeting, as the taper materially changes the result.
Worked example
A mid-market NSW employer projects its full financial-year wages, including superannuation, to estimate payroll tax for budgeting.
- Total annual Australian wages
- $1,500,000
- State or territory
- New South Wales
- Tax-free threshold
- $1,200,000
- Headline rate
- 5.45%
Taxable wages above threshold: $300,000. Estimated payroll tax: $16,350. Effective rate across the full wage bill: 1.09%.
Although the headline NSW rate is 5.45%, the business pays tax only on the $300,000 above the $1.2M threshold, so $16,350. Spread across the full $1.5M wage bill, the effective rate is just 1.09%, which is the figure worth using in cash-flow planning rather than the headline rate.
Who uses this tool
A Perth business above the threshold
A Perth employer on $1.5M of wages estimates RevenueWA payroll tax at 5.5% on wages above the $1M deductible amount before lodging through Online Payroll Tax.
A scaling WA employer near the taper-out
A business approaching $7.5M in wages uses the tool to see how its shrinking deductible amount lifts its effective rate, then confirms the exact figure with RevenueWA.
A Bunbury bookkeeper
A bookkeeper estimates a client's WA payroll tax for the budget, flags the diminishing threshold, and emails the result for review ahead of monthly returns.
Frequently asked questions
Is payroll tax a federal or state tax in Australia?
Payroll tax is a state and territory tax, not a federal one. Each of the eight jurisdictions sets its own tax-free threshold, headline rate, deductions and surcharges, and administers its own registration and lodgement. There is no single national payroll tax rate, which is why this calculator asks you to choose your state before estimating your liability.
What wages are included in the payroll tax calculation?
Taxable wages are broad. They cover gross salaries and wages, directors' fees, most allowances, bonuses and commissions, the superannuation guarantee (12% from 1 July 2025), and the grossed-up taxable value of fringe benefits. Some contractor payments are caught too. Enter your total Australian wages including super for the most accurate estimate, then confirm inclusions with your accountant.
Do I pay payroll tax on my whole wage bill?
No. You pay only on the portion of wages above your state's tax-free threshold. If your wages are below the threshold, you generally pay nothing and may not need to register. The calculator shows the threshold, the taxable wages above it, and an effective rate that spreads the tax across your entire wage bill so you can see the true cost.
How accurate is this payroll tax calculator?
It gives a solid planning estimate using each state's current threshold and headline rate. It does not model grouping, interstate apportionment, regional rates, large-payroll surcharges, or the pro-rated monthly threshold used at lodgement. Treat it as a budgeting guide and confirm the final figure with your accountant or state revenue office before you lodge or pay.
What happens if I employ staff in more than one state?
You do not get a full tax-free threshold in each state. The threshold is shared and apportioned based on the proportion of your Australian wages paid in that jurisdiction. This usually pushes your effective rate above any single headline rate. Multi-state employers should run their combined Australian wages through the tool, then get advice on the apportionment.
When do I have to register for payroll tax?
Generally, you must register once your total Australian wages exceed your state's tax-free threshold, often within seven days of the end of the month you first go over. Returns are usually lodged monthly with an annual reconciliation. Check your specific state revenue office for exact registration deadlines, as the rules and timing vary by jurisdiction.