Compare Job Offers with an Aus Salary Calculator: Know Your Take-Home Pay

How to Compare Job Offers Using After-Tax Pay

When you receive a job offer, the headline salary can be misleading. What really matters is the amount that lands in your bank account each fortnight after income tax and the Medicare levy. That’s where an aus salary calculator becomes your best friend. By entering the base salary and knowing whether super is included, you can compare offers on an equal footing.

Start with the Base Salary

First, identify the annual base salary. In Australia, job ads often state a figure ‘plus super’. For example, $80,000 plus super means the employer adds 12% super (from 1 July 2026) on top, so your taxable income is $80,000. If the ad says ‘$80,000 inclusive of super’, your taxable income is lower (about $71,429 before super). Always clarify this before using the calculator.

Apply the Tax Brackets

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) sets the 2026–27 resident tax rates:

• $0 – $18,200: no tax
• $18,201 – $45,000: 15 cents per dollar over $18,200
• $45,001 – $135,000: $4,020 plus 30 cents per dollar over $45,000
• $135,001 – $190,000: $31,020 plus 37 cents per dollar over $135,000
• Over $190,000: $51,370 plus 45 cents per dollar over $190,000

Your tax is reduced by the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO). The maximum LITO is $700 for incomes up to $37,500, then it phases out. For a salary of $80,000, the LITO is $325 minus 1.5 cents per dollar over $45,000, which works out to about $216. The calculator does this automatically.

Add the Medicare Levy

The Medicare levy is a flat 2% on your taxable income, but there are exceptions. The latest published single-person thresholds are $28,011 and $35,013. If you earn below $28,011, you pay no levy. Between $28,011 and $35,013, you pay 10 cents per dollar over the lower threshold. Above $35,013, you pay the full 2%. For a full-time worker on the national minimum wage ($26.44 per hour, $1,004.90 per week, $52,255 annual), the levy is $1,045.10.

Check Your Take-Home Pay

Using the calculator, a single person earning $80,000 (plus super) would have:

• Income tax: about $16,467 (after LITO)
• Medicare levy: $1,600
• Total deductions: $18,067
• Annual take-home: $61,933
• Fortnightly take-home: about $2,382

Compare that to a $75,000 offer with a better super guarantee. The calculator helps you see the real difference.

Remember Super Is Separate

Super is not deducted from your take-home pay. It’s an employer contribution (12% from 1 July 2026) that goes into your super fund. The maximum contribution base is $270,830 per year. When comparing offers, consider the total remuneration package: salary plus super. But for your day-to-day cash flow, focus on the after-tax amount.

Use the Benchmarks

Fair Work sets the national minimum wage at $26.44 per hour and $1,004.90 per week (from 1 July 2026). The ABS reports average weekly earnings: all employees $1,579.20, full-time ordinary $2,083.70. These benchmarks help you see where an offer sits. For more details, see our Take-home pay guide and Tax and Medicare page.

Common Pitfalls

• Salary packaging: If you salary sacrifice (e.g., for a car or laptop), your taxable income drops, reducing tax and Medicare. The calculator on this site does not include packaging – use it as a starting point.
• HELP/HECS repayments: These are deducted by your employer after tax. The calculator excludes them. Check your repayment rate on the ATO website.
• Medicare levy surcharge: If you earn over a threshold and don’t have private hospital cover, you may pay an extra 1% to 1.5%. This is not included in the standard calculator.

Final Tip

Always ask the employer for a total remuneration breakdown. Then plug the numbers into the aus salary calculator to see what hits your account. That’s the number you’ll actually spend.