Monthly Tax Calculator Australia (FY2025-26)
If you are paid monthly — common in executive, contractor and senior professional roles — see exactly what lands in your account on the 28th. Updated for FY2025-26 Stage 3 brackets, with HECS and private health toggles to match your real payslip.
About this calculator
Monthly pay is the standard cycle for executive, board, senior contractor and certain industry roles in Australia, particularly in finance, technology, consulting and international subsidiaries where head office payroll runs on a monthly calendar. While only about 15% of Australian employees are paid monthly, those workers tend to sit in higher tax brackets where small calculation errors compound into hundreds of dollars per pay. Our monthly calculator divides your annual salary by 12 and applies FY2025-26 brackets, the 2% Medicare Levy and LITO, mirroring exactly what your finance team's payroll software computes.
Monthly-paid Australians face a specific risk known as bracket creep around year-end. If you receive a December bonus or a pay rise effective 1 January, your remaining six monthly paychecks fall into a higher annualised bracket. ATO Schedule 4 (the monthly withholding table) applies the new annualised rate prospectively, but the first six months were withheld at the lower rate. The result: you can owe $1,000 to $4,000 at lodgement despite no fault in payroll. Our calculator helps you model the new monthly net immediately after a raise so you can adjust spending or set aside the differential.
Cash flow management is the other monthly-cycle challenge. Going from $7,500 in your account on the 28th to spending it down across 30+ days requires more discipline than a fortnightly cycle. Many monthly-paid workers split their pay on day one — moving the mortgage portion to the loan account, the savings portion to a high-interest account, and leaving only the spending allowance in the everyday account. Knowing the exact net per month makes this split mechanical. The calculator output is your starting number for that allocation.
How to use
- 1Enter your annual gross salary — typically the figure quoted in your offer letter.
- 2Toggle HECS if you have a study debt and private health if you hold hospital cover.
- 3We apply Stage 3 brackets, Medicare and LITO to the annual figure, then divide by 12.
- 4Read your monthly net pay, with PAYG and HECS components shown separately.
- 5Use the AI assistant to model a December bonus or 1 July raise on monthly take-home.
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Frequently asked questions
I just got a pay rise mid-year — why does my new monthly net feel too low?
Two effects compound. First, your new annualised income may have crossed a bracket boundary (for example $135,000 to $190,000), pushing the marginal rate from 30% to 37% on the portion above. Second, ATO Schedule 4 withholds prospectively at the new annualised rate, but you were under-withheld in earlier months. Some payroll teams correct this by adding a small make-up tax to remaining months — others leave it for lodgement. Our calculator shows the steady-state monthly net at the new salary; the first one or two paychecks after a raise may withhold even more if payroll is catching up.
How do December bonuses interact with monthly tax in Australia?
Australian financial year-end is 30 June, not 31 December — so a December bonus simply adds to your H2 monthly cycle. ATO Schedule 5 applies a marginal-rate withholding to the bonus portion, often resulting in 37% to 47% withheld depending on your annualised income. This sometimes produces a refund at lodgement if the marginal-rate calculation over-withholds. For executives, the calendar-year bonus model is standard but the tax model is fiscal-year — model both your base monthly take-home and the after-tax bonus separately to plan effectively.
I am a contractor paid monthly via my company — should I use this calculator?
Only as a rough guide. If you operate through a Pty Ltd or trust structure, your tax position depends on how you draw money — director's salary (PAYG, similar to this calculator), franked dividends (different effective rate), or a combination. The calculator treats you as a PAYG employee paid monthly, which models the salary-only scenario. For company structures, ask the AI assistant about your specific draw mix or speak to a registered tax agent — the optimal structure depends on income level, super contributions and family situation.
Do international companies in Australia withhold tax differently for monthly pay?
No. Any employer with an Australian Business Number paying Australian-tax-resident employees must follow ATO PAYG withholding rules regardless of where the parent company is headquartered. What can differ is the timing of pay — some US or UK parents push monthly pay on the last business day rather than the 28th, others on the 15th. The withholding amount is identical. If you have international stock plans or RSU vesting, those create separate tax events at vest and at sale, neither of which our base calculator covers.
How accurate is the monthly calculator for someone earning over $200,000?
Very accurate for the base salary calculation — within a few dollars per month against your payslip. Where high earners need extra modelling is around: 1) Medicare Levy Surcharge if you do not hold hospital cover ($93k+ income triggers 1% to 1.5% extra), 2) Division 293 tax on super contributions over $250k income (additional 15% on concessional super), and 3) HECS, which at this income level can be 8% to 10% of repayment income. Toggle the HECS and private health switches and the monthly result will reflect the major effects. Use the AI assistant for Division 293 modelling.
Authoritative sources
All rates and thresholds used in this calculator are sourced from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Want a full refund estimate?
Our main refund calculator combines all these rules — enter your salary and deductions for a full annual refund estimate.
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