Payroll Tax Calculator WA 2025-26

What this calculator works out

This calculator estimates a Western Australian employer's annual payroll tax liability for FY 2025-26, including:

• The $1,000,000 tax-free threshold on Australia-wide group taxable wages.
• The tapering deduction between $1m and $7.5m of wages ($2 reduction per $13 above the threshold).
• The base 5.5% rate on taxable wages, plus the higher 6.0% / 6.5% tiers above $100M and $1.5B for very large employers.
• The treatment of group employers (only the designated group employer claims the threshold deduction).
• An optional WA-only wage share to apportion the result for employers with wages spread across states.

Numbers come from RevenueWA's payroll tax overview and rates and thresholds pages. This is a general estimate, not a substitute for Revenue Online lodgement or professional advice.

The formula and where the rates come from

WA payroll tax for FY 2025-26 uses these settings:

• Annual threshold: $1,000,000 of Australia-wide group taxable wages.
• Tapering deduction: deduction = max(0, $1,000,000 − (wages − $1,000,000) × 2/13), phasing out at $7,500,000.
• Base rate: 5.5% on the taxable amount (wages minus deduction).
• Diminishing rate scale: 6.0% on the slice above $100,000,000; 6.5% on the slice above $1,500,000,000.

Worked formula:

deduction      = max(0, 1_000_000 − (wages − 1_000_000) × 2/13)
                 (only if employer is single / DGE)
taxableAmount  = max(0, wages − deduction)
tax            = taxableAmount × 5.5%
                 + (slice of wages above $100M) × 0.5%
                 + (slice of wages above $1.5B) × 0.5%

Group rule: A payroll-tax group must lodge through a designated group employer (DGE). Only the DGE claims the $1m deduction; other group members pay 5.5% on every dollar of their WA taxable wages.

Taxable wages include salary, wages, allowances, fringe benefits (grossed up at the FBT rate), termination payments (other than tax-free components), employer super contributions including SG, and certain contractor payments. Specific exemptions apply for parental leave, workers compensation, and some apprentice / trainee wages — see RevenueWA Revenue Rulings.

How to read the inputs

• Australia-wide group annual wages — the total taxable wages across the whole group, every state. The threshold and taper are determined here.
• WA share of wages — 1.0 if all wages are paid in WA, lower if you have NSW/VIC/QLD payrolls. The calculator computes the WA-applicable tax then apportions for display.
• Single employer or DGE — uncheck for non-DGE group members so the deduction is removed.

Worked examples

1. Single WA employer with $900,000 of annual wages. Below the $1m threshold → tax $0. The deduction equals the full wage bill.

2. Single WA employer with $4,000,000 of wages. Deduction = $1,000,000 − ($3,000,000 × 2/13) = $1,000,000 − $461,538 = $538,462. Taxable amount = $4,000,000 − $538,462 = $3,461,538. Tax = 5.5% × $3,461,538 ≈ $190,385. Effective rate ≈ 4.76%.

3. Single WA employer at the $7,500,000 phase-out point. Deduction = $0; full bill taxed at 5.5% → $412,500. Effective rate is the headline 5.5%.

4. Large national employer with $20,000,000 of group wages, all in WA. Deduction = $0; tax = 5.5% × $20,000,000 = $1,100,000. The 6% / 6.5% tiers do not apply because total wages are below $100M.

5. National employer with $4,000,000 group wages but only 50% paid in WA. The threshold and taper still use the full $4m group figure (deduction = $538,462; tax on the full Australia-wide footing = $190,385). Apportioned to the WA half = $95,192. The other states' portions are taxed under their own state regimes.

6. Group of three companies totalling $3,000,000, with non-DGE members. The DGE claims the full deduction calculation against the $3m group total (deduction = $1,000,000 − $307,692 = $692,308; group tax = ($3,000,000 − $692,308) × 5.5% = $126,923). Non-DGE members pay 5.5% on their slice of WA wages without claiming any deduction directly — the deduction is consolidated at the group level.

Common pitfalls

• Forgetting the Australia-wide test. A WA-only payroll of $800,000 looks below threshold, but if the corporate group also has NSW wages of $400,000, the group is over $1m and starts paying WA payroll tax on its WA portion.
• Letting non-DGE members claim the deduction. Only the DGE claims it. Non-DGE members are taxed at 5.5% on every WA dollar.
• Missing fringe benefit gross-ups. The grossed-up Type 2 fringe benefits value (FBT base × 1/(1 − FBT rate)) is included in taxable wages, not the cash cost.
• Forgetting employer super. SG and salary-sacrificed super are wages for payroll-tax purposes — about 11.5% of cash wages baseline (rising to 12% from FY 2026-27).
• Treating contractors as out of scope. Some contractor arrangements are deemed wages under Part 4 of the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA) and the Contractor Provisions. The 90-day, $200/day and ancillary tests need to be checked individually.
• Late lodgement penalties. Monthly returns are due by the 7th of the following month. RevenueWA charges penalty tax and interest on overdue amounts.

Related calculators

• Payroll Tax Calculator NSW — equivalent calculation for the NSW threshold and rate.
• Payroll Tax Calculator VIC — VIC SRO settings and metro/regional rates.
• Payroll Tax Calculator QLD — QRO threshold, mental-health levy and progressive rates.
• Salary Sacrifice Super Calculator — sacrificed super counts as wages for payroll tax.
• Take Home Pay Calculator (AU) — employee-side tax estimate for the workforce being modelled.

Sources:

• RevenueWA — Payroll tax
• RevenueWA — Payroll tax rates and thresholds
• RevenueWA — Deduction entitlement
• RevenueWA — Revenue Rulings (payroll tax)
• Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA)