Why use this calculator
Almost nobody can explain their own payslip. Gross is clear enough, but the gap between gross and the amount that lands in the bank is made up of a withholding figure calculated from annualised income, a levy, sometimes a study loan repayment, and a set of post-tax deductions that are easy to miss.
That matters in three situations. A contractor deciding what to charge needs to know what an equivalent employee actually keeps. A new employee wants to check that the first pay run looks right before a mistake compounds across a year. A small employer running payroll for the first time wants a sanity check against what the software produced.
This tool rebuilds those lines from the published Australian resident rates so you can see where each dollar went, or applies a flat percentage for United States pay where withholding depends on a W-4 rather than a national scale. It is deliberately an estimator: it does not produce a document, because an official-looking pay stub is a thing people misuse.
How to use it
- Choose the tax basis first, since it changes which of the later inputs actually does anything.
- Enter gross pay for the period exactly as it appears on the top line of the payslip, before any tax or deduction.
- Set the pay frequency to match the contract, because the annualised income that drives the Australian brackets depends on it and a monthly figure taxed as though it were weekly will be badly wrong.
- Tick the study loan option if the employee answered yes to the study and training loan question on their tax file number declaration.
- In United States mode, enter the combined federal, state and FICA percentage that a recent stub implies, which you get by dividing total withholding by gross.
- Set the employer contribution rate, which is the super guarantee percentage in Australia or your plan match in the United States.
- Finally add any other deductions listed on the stub, such as salary packaging, union fees or private health cover.
What each result means
- Gross pay this period
- Total earnings before any tax or deduction, including overtime and allowances that appear above the tax line.
- Tax or withholding estimate
- The amount an employer should remit to the revenue authority for this pay run, derived from annualised income in Australian mode.
- Other deductions
- Post-tax amounts such as union fees, salary packaging or health cover that come out after tax is worked out.
- Net pay this period
- The figure that should reach the bank account. Compare it against your statement to catch payroll errors early.
- Net pay over a year
- This pay's take-home amount multiplied by the number of pays in a year, with the weekly equivalent, which is the figure to build a household budget on.
- Effective tax rate on this pay
- Withholding as a percentage of gross. It is always lower than your top marginal rate because earlier brackets are taxed less.
- Annualised gross
- This pay period scaled to a full year. It drives which tax brackets apply and is the figure lenders ask for.
- Employer super or retirement contribution
- Money the employer adds on top of gross into a fund. It is not part of take-home pay and must not be deducted from it.
- Status
- A plain reminder that this is an estimate for checking arithmetic, not a payroll document or a substitute for tax advice.
The formula
Annualised income in dollars = gross pay for the period multiplied by the number of pay periods in a year, which is 52 weekly, 26 fortnightly, 24 twice monthly or 12 monthly
In Australian mode, annual tax = resident income tax on that annualised income, less the low income tax offset, plus the Medicare levy at 2 per cent of taxable income
Plus any compulsory study loan repayment; tax for the period = annual tax divided by the number of periods
In United States mode, tax for the period = gross multiplied by the withholding percentage you enter
Net pay = gross minus tax minus other deductions
Employer contribution = gross multiplied by the contribution rate, and it is paid on top of gross rather than deducted from it
How this number is used in practice
The most common payroll error this catches is a frequency mismatch. Australian withholding is worked out by annualising the pay period, so if payroll is set to weekly but the employee is actually paid fortnightly, the software annualises half the real income and withholds far too little.
Nothing looks wrong on any single payslip, because each one is internally consistent, and the employee discovers it as a tax bill at the end of the year. Multiply your gross by the number of pays you actually receive and check that the annualised figure matches the salary in your contract. If it does not, the problem is the frequency setting rather than the tax.
The second real use is contractor pricing. An employee on 52,000 dollars a year also receives super on top and paid leave, so an equivalent day rate is not the salary divided by 260. Run the salary through here, note the net and the employer contribution, then add back the value of leave and the costs a contractor carries alone, such as insurance, unbilled time and the absence of sick pay.
Contractors who price off gross salary alone systematically undercharge, and the gap is far larger than the headline tax difference suggests.
A word on what this tool will not do. It deliberately produces no printable payslip or pay stub. Fabricated stubs are used to obtain credit, tenancies and visas dishonestly, and in Australia and the United States that is fraud. If you need a real payslip, it has to come from the employer, and Australian employers are legally required to issue one within one working day of payday showing the employer and employee details, the pay period, gross and net amounts, deductions and superannuation contributions.
Worked examples
Australian employee on 2,000 dollars a fortnight with no study loan
About 266.92 dollars withheld, roughly 1,733.08 dollars net, and 240.00 dollars of employer super on a 52,000 dollar annualised salary
Australian employee on 3,500 dollars a fortnight with a HELP debt
Withholding rises to about 879.26 dollars a fortnight once the study loan repayment starts on 91,000 dollars annualised
United States employee on 3,000 dollars twice a month at 22 per cent withholding
660.00 dollars withheld and 2,340.00 dollars net, against a 72,000 dollar annualised gross
When people use it
- Checking that a first payslip from a new employer looks arithmetically right
- Converting an advertised annual salary into the net amount that arrives each fortnight
- Sanity-checking payroll software output before a small business runs its first pay
- Teaching an apprentice or new bookkeeper how gross, tax, deductions and net relate
- Comparing take-home pay across weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay cycles at the same salary
Tips
- Multiply gross by your number of pays a year and check the total matches your contract salary. A mismatch means the pay frequency is set wrongly.
- Compare the withholding here with the figure on your payslip. A gap of a few dollars is rounding; a gap of tens of dollars is worth raising.
- Employer superannuation is on top of gross, never inside it. If a job ad quotes a package including super, subtract it before comparing to a salary.
- Salary sacrifice reduces taxable income, so run the reduced gross through this tool rather than the original figure.
- In the United States, divide total withholding by gross on a recent stub to get the percentage to enter here rather than guessing.
- Keep every payslip. Australian employers must issue one within a working day of paying you, and it is your evidence if a dispute arises.
What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate
- Australian mode applies resident income tax rates, the low income tax offset and the 2 per cent Medicare levy on annualised income. Real pay-as-you-go withholding uses the published withholding schedules, which round differently and can differ by a few dollars a pay.
- Assumes the employee has provided a tax file number and claims the tax-free threshold with this employer. Without either, withholding is substantially higher than shown here.
- Ignores the Medicare levy surcharge, the Medicare levy reduction for families, tax offsets other than the low income tax offset, salary sacrifice effects on taxable income, and foreign resident rates.
- United States mode applies one flat percentage. Real withholding depends on Form W-4 elections, filing status, the FICA wage base, state and local rules, and is not a single rate.
- Not accurate for irregular pay: back pay, bonuses, termination payments, commissions and leave loading are all withheld under separate rules.
- The employer contribution is shown gross of contributions tax. In Australia, concessional contributions are generally taxed at 15 per cent inside the fund, so the amount credited to the member is less than shown.
Terms used on this page
- Gross pay
- Total earnings for a pay period before tax, levies or deductions of any kind are taken out.
- Withholding
- Tax an employer deducts from wages and remits to the revenue authority on the employee's behalf each pay run.
- Net pay
- The amount actually paid into a bank account after tax and all deductions.
- Superannuation guarantee
- The minimum percentage of ordinary time earnings an Australian employer must contribute to an employee's super fund.
- Effective tax rate
- Total tax divided by total income, always lower than the marginal rate applying to the last dollar earned.
Questions people ask
- Why does my real payslip differ by a few dollars?
- Australian employers use published pay-as-you-go withholding schedules that work in rounded coefficients per pay period, while this tool annualises income and applies the tax rates directly. The two methods agree closely but not exactly, and a difference of a few dollars a pay is normal and squares up when you lodge your return.
- Can I use this to produce a payslip?
- No, and that is deliberate. It shows numbers on screen and does not generate a document. A real payslip must come from your employer, who is legally required to issue one showing the pay period, gross and net pay, every deduction and the superannuation contributions made on your behalf.
- Is superannuation taken out of my pay?
- No. The superannuation guarantee is paid by the employer on top of your gross wages into your chosen fund, so it never appears as a deduction reducing net pay. Some employment contracts quote a total package that includes super, which is why an advertised figure can be higher than the salary actually taxed.
- Why does a study loan change my withholding so much?
- Compulsory study loan repayments are collected through the same withholding as income tax once your repayment income passes the annual threshold, and the rate steps up through tiers as income rises. Because it is applied to the whole repayment income rather than just the amount above the threshold in older systems, crossing a tier can move a pay noticeably.
- What withholding percentage should I enter for United States pay?
- Take a recent pay stub, add federal income tax, state income tax and the Social Security and Medicare lines, then divide that total by gross pay for the same period. That gives the effective percentage this tool needs. Typical combined rates run from about 15 to 35 per cent depending on income and state.
- Does this handle overtime and bonuses?
- Not correctly. Irregular payments such as bonuses, back pay, commissions and leave loading are withheld under separate schedules that spread the amount across the year rather than treating it as your normal pay. Entering a bonus pay period here will overstate the withholding considerably.
Use this with
Payslip and Paystub Field Estimator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Salary After Tax Calculator, Paycheck Calculator, Hourly to Salary Converter, Superannuation Calculator and HECS-HELP Repayment Calculator.
Where these figures come from
Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.
- ATO: Tax rates for Australian residents. Resident income tax brackets for 2026-27
- ATO: PAYG withholding. How employers calculate and remit withholding each pay period
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Pay and wages. Payslip content and record-keeping obligations for Australian employers
- IRS: Tax Withholding Estimator. Authoritative United States withholding estimate based on Form W-4
Payslip and Paystub Field Estimator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.