Payroll tax rates and thresholds
Payroll tax rate
The payroll tax rate is:
- 4.75% for employers or groups of employers who pay $6.5 million or less in Australian taxable wages
- 4.95% for employers or groups of employers who pay more than $6.5 million in Australian taxable wages.
Regional employers may be entitled to a 1% discount on the rate until 30 June 2023.
Mental health levy
From January 2023, a mental health levy applies to payroll tax to fund mental health and associated services.
The levy applies to:
- employers and groups of employers who pay more than $10 million in annual Australian taxable wages
- annual Queensland taxable wages.
Read about the mental health levy, including calculating the levy and reporting requirements.
| Australian taxable wages (annual) | Levy rate (applied to Qld taxable wages exceeding the thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Up to $10 million | Nil |
| More than $10 million (primary threshold) | 0.25% (primary rate) |
| More than $100 million (additional threshold) | 0.25% (primary rate) + 0.5% (additional rate) |
Threshold
The current threshold is $1.3 million in annual Australian taxable wages.
If your annual Australian taxable wages are $1.3 million or less, you may not have to pay payroll tax, but you might still need to register for payroll tax.
If you are a member of a group of employers, the $1.3 million threshold is calculated on the group members’ combined annual Australian taxable wages.
If you do not employ for a full financial year, the $1.3 million threshold is calculated proportionately on the number of days you paid, or were liable to pay, wages.
This table details the weekly, monthly and yearly threshold for the 2012–13 financial year onwards.
| Financial year | Threshold | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Monthly | Yearly | |
| 2019–20 to 2022–23 | $25,000 | $108,333 | $1,300,000 |
| 2012–13 to 2018–19 | $21,153 | $91,666 | $1,100,000 |
Also consider…
- Use our payroll tax calculators to work out how much you need to pay.
- Find out if you can claim a deduction on your annual Australian wages.
- Read about exemptions for payroll tax.
- See previous payroll tax rates and thresholds.