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The payroll tax annual return must be lodged and paid by Monday 21 July 2025. Now available in QRO online

Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office
Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office

Apprentice and trainee rebate for payroll tax

Find out how the rebate works and how it is calculated.

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    If your apprentice and trainee wages are exempt from payroll tax, you can also claim a payroll tax rebate that reduces your payroll tax amount for the particular liability (periodic, annual or final return).

    A 50% rebate is available for each financial year from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2026.

    The rebate is automatically calculated when you enter your apprentice and trainee wages and lodge a return in QRO Online.

    You can work out the rebate by multiplying 50% of the apprentice and trainee wages by the applicable payroll tax rate for each return period.

    A Brisbane-based company’s payroll tax liability for January 2025 was $10,000. That month, it paid $50,000 in exempt apprentice/trainee wages.

    • The initial payroll tax periodic liability (on all taxable wages) is $10,000.
    • The incentive rebate is $1,187.50 (($50,000 × 50%) × 4.75%).
    • The payroll tax periodic liability is $8,812.50 ($10,000 − $1,187.50).

    The rebate reduces the employer’s monthly periodic liability by $1,187.50.

    The maximum rebate you can claim in a return period is equal to your payroll tax amount for that liability.

    All rebate records must be kept for 5 years.

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    Last updated: 1 July 2025