Fortnightly Tax Table Australia 2025–26: PAYG Withholding Explained

If you pay employees every two weeks — or if you receive a fortnightly pay cheque — the ATO’s fortnightly tax table is one of the most practical documents in Australia’s tax system. Yet it trips up thousands of employers and employees every single year.

Get it wrong as an employer, and you’re facing ATO penalties, underpaid tax, and unhappy staff. Get it wrong as an employee, and you could end up with a nasty tax bill at EOFY when you were expecting a refund.

This guide explains everything you need to know about the fortnightly tax table — what it is, how to read it, how to apply it correctly for 2025–26, which special circumstances change your withholding, and how to avoid the most common mistakes Australian employers and payroll teams make.

Whether you’re running payroll for a small business, double-checking your own payslip, or onboarding a new employee, this is the definitive reference you need.

What Is the Fortnightly Tax Table?

The fortnightly tax table is an official ATO tool that tells employers exactly how much PAYG (Pay As You Go) withholding tax to deduct from an employee’s fortnightly pay. It’s part of Australia’s broader PAYG withholding system, under which employers collect income tax from wages before the employee ever sees the money — sending it directly to the ATO on the employee’s behalf.

The table (formally known as NAT 1006) is updated by the ATO each financial year to reflect any changes to tax rates, income thresholds, or offsets. For the 2025–26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026), the core fortnightly tax table rates remain unchanged from those introduced on 1 July 2024 — when the Stage 3 tax cuts took effect.

Businesses managing employee wages should also ensure their withholding obligations align with broader state-based Payroll Tax requirements, particularly when total wage thresholds exceed state limits.

Key fact:

The fortnightly tax table is a reference published by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) showing the correct amount of PAYG withholding tax to deduct from employee payments made every two weeks. It accounts for the tax-free threshold, Medicare levy, income tax brackets, and study loan repayments.

Who Needs to Use the Fortnightly Tax Table?

The fortnightly tax table applies to any employer or payer who makes the following types of payments on a fortnightly basis:

• Salary, wages, allowances, and leave loading to employees
• Paid parental leave
• Directors’ fees
• Salary and allowances to office holders (including members of parliament, statutory office holders, defence force members, and police officers)
• Payments to labour-hire workers
• Payments to religious practitioners
• Government education or training payments
• Compensation, sickness, or accident payments calculated at a periodical rate when paid because a person is unable to work

The fortnightly tax table is also used for payments to foreign residents employed in Australia.

Important: Separate, specialised tables apply to shearers, horticultural workers, performing artists, and daily or casual workers. If you employ someone on a working holiday visa, you must use Schedule 15 — the Tax Table for Working Holiday Makers — for all their payments.

Current Tax Rates Underlying the 2025–26 Fortnightly Table

The fortnightly tax table reflects Australia’s progressive income tax system. For the 2025–26 financial year, the rates for Australian tax residents are:

Taxable Income	Marginal Rate
$0 – $18,200	0% (tax-free threshold)
$18,201 – $45,000	16%
$45,001 – $135,000	30%
$135,001 – $190,000	37%
$190,001 and above	45%

Plus the 2% Medicare levy for most taxpayers.

These brackets reflect the Stage 3 tax cuts that took effect from 1 July 2024, which reduced the 19% rate to 16%, reduced 32.5% to 30%, and restructured the upper thresholds. Importantly, no further changes apply for 2025–26 — the next legislated adjustment (reducing the 16% rate to 15%) is scheduled for 1 July 2026.

The tax-free threshold sits at $18,200 — unchanged since 2012–13. This means employees who earn below this amount annually pay no income tax, and they can claim the tax-free threshold on their tax file number (TFN) declaration to reduce fortnightly withholding.

Employees wanting to estimate their annual refund or potential tax payable can also use a Tax return calculator alongside the fortnightly withholding table for more accurate EOFY planning.

How to Read and Use the Fortnightly Tax Table

Step 1: Calculate Total Fortnightly Earnings

Add together all payments being made in that pay period — the base wage or salary, any allowances, irregular payments, and leave loading that are to be included in this fortnight. Ignore cents. For example, earnings of $2,347.65 become $2,347 for table purposes.

Step 2: Find the Earnings Row

Locate the employee’s gross fortnightly earnings amount in the left-hand column of the table. The table is organised in incremental ranges.

Step 3: Choose the Correct Column

The table has two key withholding columns:

• Column 2 (With tax-free threshold): Use this if the employee has claimed the tax-free threshold on their TFN declaration. This is the most common scenario for an employee who has only one job and is an Australian resident.
• Column 3 (Without tax-free threshold): Use this if the employee has NOT claimed the tax-free threshold — for example, if this is a second job, or if they are a foreign resident.

Example from the ATO: An employee has fortnightly earnings of $989.80. Ignoring cents, you look up $989.

• If they claim the tax-free threshold: withhold $42 (Column 2).
• If they don’t claim the tax-free threshold: withhold $188 (Column 3).

The difference is substantial. Getting this wrong costs employee money — either too much withheld throughout the year, or an unexpected bill at tax time.

Step 4: Apply Tax Offset Adjustments (If Applicable)

If an employee is entitled to a tax offset — such as the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) — use the ATO’s Ready Reckoner for Tax Offsets to convert their annual offset estimate into a fortnightly value, then subtract this from the amount found in Step 3.

The LITO is worth up to $700 for the 2025–26 year, available to eligible lower-income earners. Note: the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO) expired after 2022–23 and no longer applies.

Step 5: Apply Medicare Levy Adjustments (If Applicable)

If an employee qualifies for a reduced or full Medicare levy exemption (for example, due to low income, certain medical conditions, or specific Medicare levy variation declarations), subtract the relevant adjustment amount. Use the Medicare Levy Adjustment Fortnightly Tax Table for this.

The standard Medicare levy for most taxpayers is 2% of taxable income. For the 2025–26 year, the single-income Medicare levy exemption threshold is $28,011.

Step 6: Add Study and Training Loan Repayments (HELP/HECS/VSL)

If an employee has disclosed a study loan debt on their TFN declaration or Withholding Declaration — covering HELP, VSL, Financial Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL), or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL) — you need to add additional withholding from the Study and Training Support Loans Fortnightly Tax Table.

The Fortnightly Table vs. Other Pay Period Tables

One of the most common payroll errors in Australia is using the wrong pay-period table. The ATO publishes three standard tax tables: weekly, fortnightly, and monthly. These are not interchangeable.

Pay Period	ATO Table	NAT Number
Weekly	Weekly tax table	NAT 1008
Fortnightly	Fortnightly tax table	NAT 1006
Monthly	Monthly tax table	NAT 1007

Each table is calibrated specifically for its pay frequency. Using the weekly tax table for a fortnightly employee — or vice versa — will produce incorrect withholding amounts every single pay run, compounding into significant discrepancies by EOFY.

The logic is simple: all three tables are based on the same annual tax brackets, but they divide withholding differently. The fortnightly table assumes 26 pay periods per year (with specific provisions for years with 27 fortnights — more on that below).

The 27-Fortnight Year: A Critical Edge Case

Because the Australian financial year is 365 days, and a fortnight is 14 days, most payroll cycles produce exactly 26 fortnights per year. But depending on when your pay cycles align with the financial year, some years produce 27 fortnightly pay periods.

When this happens, the standard table — which assumes 26 pays — can result in insufficient withholding across the year. The ATO addresses this directly by providing additional withholding amounts:

Fortnightly Earnings	Additional Withholding
$1,750 to $5,149	$12 per fortnight
$5,150 to $7,249	$26 per fortnight
$7,250 and above	$47 per fortnight

Employers are encouraged to notify affected employees when a 27-fortnight year occurs, so they can request the additional withholding if concerned about an EOFY shortfall.

Special Situations That Change Fortnightly Withholding

Foreign Residents

Foreign residents for tax purposes do not pay the Medicare levy and are not entitled to the tax-free threshold. The fortnightly tax table still applies, but you must use the foreign resident rate (Column 3 equivalent for foreign residents), which produces a higher withholding figure. If a foreign resident fails to provide a TFN, withhold 45% flat.

Employees Without a TFN

If a resident employee has not provided a valid TFN within the required timeframes (14 days of commencing employment, or 28 days if they’ve indicated they’ve applied), you must withhold 47% from all payments. Do not apply any tax offsets or Medicare levy adjustments in this scenario.

Employees with Salary Sacrifice Arrangements

Salary sacrifice reduces an employee’s gross taxable income for withholding purposes. If an employee salary sacrifices into superannuation, for example, their gross fortnightly earnings for PAYG purposes are lower, meaning the table lookup amount is reduced accordingly. This is a legitimate and common strategy for reducing ongoing withholding.

Seniors and Pensioners

If an employee qualifies as a senior Australian or pensioner and is entitled to the Seniors and Pensioners Tax Offset (SAPTO), you should use the Schedule 9 — Tax table for seniors and pensioners rather than the standard fortnightly table.

Working Holiday Makers

Employees on specific working holiday maker visas (subclass 417 or 462) have their own flat tax rate and are governed by Schedule 15. You cannot use the standard fortnightly table for these employees, regardless of their earnings.

Allowances, Bonuses, and Irregular Payments

Regular Allowances

Most allowances (travel, meal, uniform, etc.) are added to the employee’s normal earnings and the table is applied to the total. Always check whether a specific allowance is subject to withholding or is an exempt reimbursement.

Bonuses and Commissions

For back payments, bonuses, commissions, and similar irregular payments made with the regular pay, use Schedule 5 — Tax table for back payments, commissions, bonuses and similar payments. From 1 July 2025, Schedule 5 was updated to remove the $1,200 Lump Sum E threshold — meaning all back payments that accrued more than 12 months before the payment date are now treated as lump sum E regardless of amount.

Leave Loading

Include regular leave loading as part of normal earnings — it is added to the fortnightly figure and the table is applied to the total. However, unused annual leave paid out on termination uses Schedule 7 instead.

Holiday Pay and Termination Payments

The fortnightly tax table applies to holiday pay and long service leave payments for employees who continue working for you — include them in normal fortnightly earnings.

For employees who leave, different rules apply:

• Unused annual leave and leave loading on termination → Schedule 7
• Employment termination payments (ETPs) → Schedule 11
• Do not withhold STSL from lump sum termination payments

How Payroll Software Handles the Fortnightly Tax Table

Most modern Australian payroll software platforms — Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Payroll, Employment Hero, Reckon — build the ATO tax tables directly into their engines. When the ATO releases updated tables, compliant platforms push automatic updates so employers don’t need to manually recalculate.

This automation is valuable, but it doesn’t make understanding the underlying table irrelevant. Payroll software is only as accurate as the employee data you feed it. If an employee’s TFN declaration is misconfigured — claiming the wrong tax-free threshold status, for instance — the software will faithfully apply the wrong column, compounding errors across every pay run.

Best practice: Treat payroll software as a time-saving tool, not a decision-making replacement. Know the rules well enough to spot when something looks wrong. Employers should also maintain detailed payroll records to minimise compliance risks and avoid common ATO Tax Return Audit Red Flags triggered by inconsistent reporting.

Using the ATO’s Own Tools

The ATO provides two direct resources for employers who want to verify or manually calculate withholding:

• Withholding Lookup Tool (XLSX): A downloadable spreadsheet that takes an earnings input and returns the correct withholding amount. The quickest option for one-off checks.
• Tax Withheld Calculator (online): The ATO’s web-based calculator for more complex scenarios — useful when multiple adjustments apply simultaneously.

How to Check Your Own Fortnightly Tax Withholding

If you’re an employee wondering whether your employer is withholding the right amount, here’s how to verify:

1. Identify your gross fortnightly pay — the total before any deductions, including allowances included in your pay.
2. Confirm your tax-free threshold status — did you claim it on your TFN declaration with this employer?
3. Check for study loans — if you have a HELP/HECS debt, additional withholding will apply.
4. Look up the ATO fortnightly table — find your earnings row and your relevant column.
5. Compare with your payslip — the “tax withheld” line should match (approximately) what the table shows.

If your payslip shows significantly more or less than the table suggests, check these variables before assuming an error: salary sacrifice amounts, tax offset elections, Medicare levy variations, and whether any allowances or bonuses are included in that fortnight’s pay. These are the factors most likely to explain an apparent discrepancy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using the Wrong Pay-Period Table

Using the weekly table for fortnightly employees — or vice versa — is one of the most common and costly payroll errors. Each table is purpose-built for its pay frequency.

2. Using an Outdated Table

ATO tables update at the start of each financial year, and sometimes mid-year (as occurred in September 2025 for STSL tables). Always verify you’re using the current version.

3. Misapplying Tax-Free Threshold Status

The difference between Column 2 and Column 3 is significant at most earnings levels. If an employee has two jobs and incorrectly claims the tax-free threshold with a second employer, they will be under-withheld and face an EOFY bill.

4. Ignoring HELP/HECS Debt Declarations

If an employee discloses a study loan on their TFN declaration but you don’t apply the additional STSL withholding, you’re legally liable for the shortfall. Using the wrong table (standard instead of STSL version) is one of the most avoidable payroll compliance failures.

5. Forgetting to Adjust for the 27-Fortnight Year

This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it can leave employees with unexpected tax debts. Communicate proactively with staff when a 27-fortnight year is approaching.

6. Overlooking Salary Sacrifice Adjustments

Salary packaging reduces gross taxable earnings for PAYG purposes. Failing to apply this correctly means over-withholding — which frustrates employees and creates reconciliation problems.

Fortnightly Tax Table: Quick Reference for Common Earnings (2025–26)

The following figures are indicative examples based on the current ATO fortnightly table for 2025–26. They are for guidance only — always refer to the official ATO table or withholding lookup tool for your exact situation.

Fortnightly Gross Earnings	Withholding (With TFT)	Withholding (Without TFT)
$989	$42	$188
$1,072	$64	~$210
$1,500	~$150	~$330
$2,500	~$448	~$680
$3,500	~$828	~$1,050
$5,000	~$1,438	~$1,680

TFT = Tax-Free Threshold claimed. Figures approximate; HELP debts and Medicare levy adjustments affect actual amounts.

Key Takeaways

• The ATO fortnightly tax table (NAT 1006) tells employers how much PAYG withholding to deduct from employees paid every two weeks.
• The table has been updated to reflect the Stage 3 tax cuts (from 1 July 2024) and remains unchanged for 2025–26 for standard employees.
• STSL (HELP/HECS) tables changed on 24 September 2025 following new legislation reducing compulsory repayments.
• Always choose the correct column — Column 2 for tax-free threshold claimants, Column 3 for those not claiming (including second-job employees and foreign residents).
• Special tables exist for foreign residents, seniors, working holiday makers, and employees with study loans.
• Most years have 26 fortnights; years with 27 require additional withholding at specific earnings bands.
• Payroll software automates the table lookup but only produces correct results with accurate employee configuration.
• The ATO’s Withholding Lookup Tool (XLSX) and Tax Withheld Calculator are free tools to verify calculations.

Conclusion

The fortnightly tax table sits at the heart of Australian payroll compliance. For employers, it’s a legal requirement — the responsibility for correct PAYG withholding rests with you, not your employees. For employees, understanding how it works puts you in a position to catch errors, optimise your take-home pay, and avoid EOFY surprises.

For 2025–26, the key points to lock in are: core withholding rates are unchanged from July 2024; STSL (HELP/HECS) tables updated on 24 September 2025; and the next legislated income tax rate change doesn’t arrive until 1 July 2026, when the 16% bracket drops to 15%.

Whether you’re doing payroll manually, overseeing a payroll system, or just checking your payslip, always verify you’re using the right table for the right year — and the right column for your employee’s circumstances.

If you’re unsure about your specific situation, the ATO’s Tax Withheld Calculator and Withholding Lookup Tool are excellent first resources. For complex scenarios — salary packaging, termination payments, mixed residency status, or multiple study loans — consulting a registered tax agent is always a sound investment.

Access the current ATO fortnightly tax table directly at: ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-table-fortnightly