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Australian resident rates

Three bracket structures in four years

The brackets changed in 2024-25 and again on 1 July 2026, and the two changes behaved nothing alike. Here they are side by side, from the ATO’s own tables, with what each was worth in dollars.

FY 2026-27 rates · verified

Rates verified against the official sources — how we check.

The last four years, side by side

Resident rates only. The Medicare levy is not in any of these numbers — it sits on top of every row, which is the single most common reason a bracket does not match a payslip.

Australian resident income tax brackets for 2023-24 through 2026-27, from the ATO
Taxable income2026-272025-262024-252023-24
$0 – $18,200NilNilNilNil
$18,201 – $45,00015c16c16c19c
$45,001 – $135,00030c30c30c32.5con $45,001 – $120,000
$135,001 – $190,00037c37c37c37con $120,001 – $180,000
$190,001 and over45c45c45c45con $180,001 and over

Rows are this year’s income bands. Where an older year used different boundaries, the band it actually applied to is shown underneath the rate. Source: ATO — Tax rates for Australian residents (QC73320), last updated 13 August 2026.

What the 1 July 2026 cut was actually worth

One number moved: the rate between $18,201 and $45,000 went from 16c to 15c. Because that band has a ceiling, the saving does too — and it lands identically on everybody above it.

Income tax before and after the 1 July 2026 rate cut, by salary
SalaryTax in 2025-26Tax in 2026-27Difference
$30,000$1,888$1,770−$118
$45,000$4,288$4,020−$268
$60,000$8,788$8,520−$268
$80,000$14,788$14,520−$268
$100,000$20,788$20,520−$268
$150,000$36,838$36,570−$268
$200,000$56,138$55,870−$268

Income tax only, before the Medicare levy and any offset. Computed from the bracket tables above, not quoted from anywhere.

Why 2024-25 felt bigger than 2026-27

The two changes are different species. In 2024-25 four things moved at once: the bottom rate fell from 19c to 16c, the 32.5c rate became 30c, its ceiling rose from $120,000 to $135,000, and the top threshold moved from $180,000 to $190,000. Moving a threshold shifts dollars out of a higher rate entirely, so the benefit keeps growing with income.

The 2026-27 change moved one rate inside one capped band. Nobody has more than $26,800 of income in it, so nobody can save more than one cent on each of those dollars. That is the whole reason a headline about a tax cut can be true and still describe a figure that stops growing at $45,000.

To see this on your own salary rather than the samples above, the pay calculator works out the current year line by line, including the levy and any study loan.

What sits on top of these rates

A bracket is not the whole deduction, and three things change the answer after it.

  • The Medicare levy — 2% of taxable income, phased in over the low-income thresholds rather than switched on at one.
  • The low income tax offset — up to $700, reducing tax owed to nil at most, and applied when your return is assessed rather than through your pay.
  • A study loan — worked out on repayment income, which is not taxable income. The HECS repayment calculator explains the difference.

Your employer applies none of this the way the table implies. What actually comes out of a pay is set by a withholding schedule, and the weekly and fortnightly tax tables show what that produces at each level of earnings.

Frequently asked questions

Did the brackets change on 1 July 2026?
Yes, but only one number moved. The rate on income between $18,201 and $45,000 fell from 16c to 15c. Every threshold stayed exactly where it was, and every rate above $45,000 is unchanged. Because that band is capped, the saving is capped with it — it is the same $268 whether you earn $60,000 or $200,000, and less than that only if you earn under $45,000.
Why did my tax fall by the same amount as someone earning twice as much?
Because the change was inside one band rather than a shift of the thresholds. A one-cent cut applies only to the dollars sitting in that band, and nobody has more than $26,800 of them. Once your income clears $45,000 you have the full amount and no more of it, so everyone above that line gets an identical dollar saving. A threshold change behaves completely differently — the 2024-25 restructure moved four of them at once, which is why its effect kept growing with income.
What happened in 2024-25?
The structure itself changed, not just a rate. The 19c band became 16c, the 32.5c band became 30c and was widened from $120,000 to $135,000, and the top threshold moved from $180,000 to $190,000. Four moving parts in one year, against 2026-27's one. That is why comparing a 2023-24 payslip with a current one shows a much larger difference than the last change alone would suggest.
Do these brackets include the Medicare levy?
No, and that catches people comparing a bracket to a payslip. The levy is a separate 2% on taxable income, with its own low-income thresholds that phase it in rather than switching it on. So the first rate anyone actually pays above the phase-in is 17%, not 15%. The brackets on this page are the income tax alone, exactly as the ATO publishes them.
Is a bracket the rate on all of my income?
No. Each rate applies only to the dollars inside its own band, which is why the ATO states the table as a dollar amount plus a rate on the excess. Someone in the 30c bracket pays nil on their first $18,200 and 15c on the next slice regardless. The rate on your last dollar and the rate across your whole income are different numbers, and the second is always the smaller one.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page is the ATO’s published resident rate table for the year concerned, transcribed into a dated data file with its source, and the dollar comparisons are computed from those tables rather than quoted. How we check sets out the process.