Fortnightly Tax Table 2025–26 (2026) | ATO PAYG Withholding

The fortnightly tax table shows how much PAYG (Pay As You Go) tax is withheld from your fortnightly gross pay in Australia. This table is current for the 2025–26 financial year, which applies to payments made from 1 July 2025. It covers Australian residents who have claimed the tax-free threshold on their TFN declaration and includes the 2% Medicare levy. Use it to quickly look up your fortnightly withholding amount and estimate your take-home pay.

Fortnightly pay is common for salaried roles and payroll systems that bundle two working weeks into one pay run. That makes the fortnightly table particularly useful when you budget household bills, loan repayments, and salary-sacrifice deductions on the same fortnightly cycle.

Fortnightly Tax Table 2025–26

The table below shows the approximate PAYG withholding for fortnightly gross earnings from $700 to $8,000. These figures assume you are an Australian resident for tax purposes, you have claimed the tax-free threshold, and you do not have a HELP/HECS-HELP debt. The amounts include the 2% Medicare levy.

Note: These are approximate withholding amounts calculated from the 2025–26 income tax brackets, the 2% Medicare levy, and the low income tax offset (LITO). Actual ATO withholding amounts from the official NAT 1006 table may differ slightly due to rounding adjustments in the ATO’s coefficient-based formula. If your fortnightly gross falls between two amounts in the table, round down to the nearest row for a conservative estimate. For incomes below approximately $33,000, the actual Medicare levy may be reduced or eliminated under the low-income threshold rules, resulting in a smaller tax bill at lodgement.

How to Read the Fortnightly Tax Table

Using the table is straightforward:

1. Find your fortnightly gross pay in the left column. This is your total earnings before any deductions, including salary and wages, overtime, bonuses, and commissions paid in that fortnight.

2. Read across to the “Tax Withheld” column. This is the amount your employer withholds and sends to the ATO on your behalf.

3. Subtract the tax withheld from your gross pay to get your approximate take-home pay (already shown in the right column).

If your exact fortnightly gross is not listed, round down to the nearest amount shown. For example, if you earn $2,350 per fortnight, use the $2,300 row as a guide. Your actual withholding will be slightly higher than $378.

Worked Example: $2,400 Per Fortnight

Sarah earns $2,400 per fortnight as a full-time marketing coordinator. She has claimed the tax-free threshold and does not have a HELP debt.

• Fortnightly gross: $2,400
• Annual equivalent: $2,400 x 26 = $62,400
• Tax withheld per fortnight: approximately $411
• Take-home pay per fortnight: approximately $1,989

Over the full year, Sarah’s total tax withheld is approximately $10,686 (26 fortnights x $411). Her effective tax rate is about 17.1% of her gross income, which includes both income tax and the Medicare levy.

If Sarah also had a HELP debt, her employer would withhold an additional amount on top of the figures shown in this table. See the HELP/HECS section below for details.

Fortnightly vs Weekly Tax Table

Australian employers withhold PAYG tax based on how frequently they pay their employees. The ATO publishes separate tax tables for weekly, fortnightly, and monthly pay periods. Here are the key differences:

Pay cycle alignment. If you are paid fortnightly, your employer uses the fortnightly tax table (NAT 1006). If you are paid weekly, they use the weekly tax table (NAT 1005). Using the wrong table can result in incorrect withholding.

Rounding differences. The fortnightly withholding amount is not always exactly double the weekly amount. The ATO calculates each table independently using coefficient formulas, which means small rounding differences can occur. Over a full year these differences even out, but in any given pay period the numbers may not line up precisely.

Converting between tables. If you want to estimate your fortnightly withholding from the weekly table, you can multiply the weekly gross by 2, look up the fortnightly table, and read the result directly. Do not simply double the weekly withholding amount, as this may introduce rounding errors.

Which table your employer uses depends on your pay cycle, not your preference. If you are paid fortnightly but want to budget weekly, divide your fortnightly take-home by 2 for a rough weekly figure.

For the weekly version, see our weekly tax table guide.

2025–26 Income Tax Brackets

The fortnightly tax table is derived from the annual income tax brackets set by the Australian Government. Here are the 2025–26 brackets with their fortnightly equivalents:

The tax-free threshold is $18,200 per year, which works out to $700 per fortnight. If you earn $700 or less per fortnight and have claimed the tax-free threshold on your TFN declaration, no PAYG tax is withheld from your pay.

The 16% bracket applies to income between $18,201 and $45,000 per year. This was reduced from 19% as part of the Stage 3 tax cuts that took effect on 1 July 2024. If you earn $1,000 per fortnight ($26,000 per year), you fall within this bracket and your approximate withholding is $39 per fortnight.

The 30% bracket covers income from $45,001 to $135,000 — a wide range that captures most full-time Australian workers. The lower threshold was reduced from $37,001 as part of the same Stage 3 changes.

Medicare levy. The standard 2% Medicare levy is added on top of income tax for most taxpayers. The withholding amounts in the table above already include this levy. Lower-income earners may pay a reduced Medicare levy or no levy at all, depending on the published low-income thresholds and phase-in rules.

Low income tax offset (LITO). The LITO provides up to $700 in tax relief for lower-income earners. It reduces gradually for incomes between $37,500 and $66,667. The fortnightly withholding amounts in the table already account for the LITO, which is why the effective tax rate at lower income levels is lower than the marginal rate might suggest.

HELP/HECS Debt Impact on Fortnightly Withholding

If you have a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt — commonly referred to as a HECS-HELP debt — your employer withholds an additional amount on top of the standard PAYG tax. This additional withholding is not shown in the main table above.

New marginal system from 2025–26. The HELP repayment system changed significantly from 1 July 2025. Previously, once your income crossed the threshold, you repaid a flat percentage of your entire repayment income. From 2025–26, repayments are calculated on a marginal basis — you only repay on income above each threshold, similar to how income tax works. This means most borrowers will repay less each year.

2025–26 HELP repayment thresholds:

The minimum repayment threshold increased from $54,435 (2024–25) to $67,000 (2025–26). This means if you earn $62,400 per year, you no longer make compulsory HELP repayments under the new thresholds — a significant change from prior years.

Fortnightly impact. For someone earning $2,800 per fortnight ($72,800 per year) with a HELP debt, the repayment is 15% of the income above $67,000, which is 15% x $5,800 = $870 per year or approximately $33 per fortnight in additional withholding on top of the standard PAYG amount.

Voluntary repayments. You can make additional voluntary repayments at any time through the ATO. Voluntary repayments do not attract a bonus or discount — the 5% voluntary repayment bonus was removed from 1 January 2024.

Telling your employer. When you complete your TFN declaration, you must indicate whether you have a HELP debt. If you do, your employer uses the supplementary HELP withholding schedule alongside the standard fortnightly tax table to calculate your total withholding.

If you are unsure whether you have an outstanding HELP debt, you can check your balance through your myGov account linked to the ATO.

Stage 3 Tax Cuts: Impact on Fortnightly Pay

The Stage 3 tax cuts took effect on 1 July 2024 and continue through the 2025–26 financial year. These changes reduced withholding for almost every Australian worker:

What this means in fortnightly terms. A worker earning $2,000 per fortnight ($52,000/year) pays approximately $277 in withholding under the 2025–26 rates. Under the pre-Stage 3 rates, the same worker would have paid approximately $337 — a saving of roughly $60 per fortnight (about $1,560 per year).

A worker earning $4,000 per fortnight ($104,000/year) saves approximately $107 per fortnight ($2,782 per year) compared to pre-Stage 3 rates.

Future rate change (subject to legislation). The government has announced that from 1 July 2026, the 16% bracket will be reduced to 15%, and from 1 July 2027 to 14%. These changes are subject to legislation being passed and may be amended before taking effect.

Worked Example: $3,500 Per Fortnight (Higher Income)

James earns $3,500 per fortnight as an IT project manager. He has claimed the tax-free threshold and has a HELP debt.

• Fortnightly gross: $3,500
• Annual equivalent: $3,500 x 26 = $91,000
• Tax withheld per fortnight (standard): approximately $766
• Take-home pay before HELP: approximately $2,734

Because James earns above the new $67,000 HELP threshold, he also has compulsory HELP repayments. His repayment is 15% of ($91,000 - $67,000) = 15% x $24,000 = $3,600 per year, or approximately $138 per fortnight in additional withholding.

• Total fortnightly deductions (PAYG + HELP): approximately $904
• Take-home pay after HELP: approximately $2,596

Under the old HELP system (2024–25), James would have repaid 4.5% of his entire $91,000 income = $4,095 per year. The new marginal system saves him approximately $495 per year ($19 per fortnight).

Common Situations That Affect Fortnightly Withholding

Second Jobs and Multiple Employers

You can only claim the tax-free threshold from one employer. If you have a second job, you should not claim the tax-free threshold for that job. Your second employer will withhold tax at higher rates — effectively from the first dollar — because the tax-free threshold is already accounted for by your primary employer.

At the end of the financial year, your tax return reconciles all income from all sources. You may receive a refund if too much was withheld across your jobs, or you may owe additional tax if not enough was withheld.

Salary Sacrifice Arrangements

If you salary sacrifice into superannuation or other pre-tax benefits, your fortnightly gross pay (for withholding purposes) is reduced by the sacrifice amount. This means less tax is withheld per fortnight, but the sacrificed amount is taxed at the concessional super rate of 15% instead.

Overtime and Bonuses

Overtime payments, bonuses, and commissions paid in a particular fortnight are added to your regular earnings for that fortnight. Your employer calculates withholding on the total fortnightly amount. This can push you into a higher withholding bracket for that pay period, even if your regular salary would normally fall in a lower bracket. The over-withholding is corrected when you lodge your tax return.

Part-Year Employment

If you start or finish a job partway through the year, the fortnightly tax table still applies to each pay period you work. The withholding assumes you earn the same amount for the full year. If your actual annual income ends up being lower (because you only worked part of the year), you will likely receive a tax refund when you lodge your return.

Medicare Levy and the Fortnightly Tax Table

The standard 2% Medicare levy is built into the withholding amounts shown in the table above. You do not need to calculate it separately. However, there are situations where the Medicare levy may differ from the standard 2%:

Low-income exemption. If your annual taxable income is below $27,222 (singles) or $43,846 (families), you may pay a reduced Medicare levy or no levy at all. The withholding amounts in the table may slightly overstate tax for lower-income earners because the table uses a simplified formula that does not fully account for the low-income Medicare exemption. Any overstatement is corrected when you lodge your tax return.

Medicare levy surcharge (MLS). If you earn above $93,000 (singles) or $186,000 (families) and do not hold an appropriate level of private hospital cover, you may be liable for the Medicare levy surcharge of 1% to 1.5% on top of the standard 2% Medicare levy. The MLS is not included in the standard fortnightly tax table — it is assessed at tax time. If you know you will be liable, you can ask your employer to withhold additional amounts to avoid a tax bill.

How it affects your fortnightly pay. For a worker earning $2,400 per fortnight ($62,400/year), the 2% Medicare levy component of the withholding is approximately $24 per fortnight ($1,248 per year). At this income level, you are well above the low-income threshold, so the full 2% applies.

PAYG Withholding Variation for Investment Property Owners

If you are an employee who also owns an investment property, you may be having more tax withheld from your fortnightly pay than necessary. This is because the fortnightly tax table does not account for deductions you will claim at tax time, such as rental property losses from negative gearing.

The ATO allows you to apply for a PAYG withholding variation (form NAT 2036) if you expect your allowable deductions to significantly reduce your taxable income. Once approved, your employer withholds less tax each fortnight, effectively giving you the benefit of your deductions throughout the year rather than waiting for a lump sum refund.

Example. Sarah earns $2,400 per fortnight ($62,400/year) and owns a negatively geared investment property with annual rental losses of $8,000. Without a variation, she receives the $8,000 benefit as a tax refund after lodging her return. With a withholding variation, her fortnightly withholding drops by approximately $92 per fortnight ($8,000 x 30% marginal rate / 26 fortnights), increasing her take-home pay from $1,989 to about $2,081 per fortnight.

To apply, you submit the variation request through the ATO’s online services via myGov. You will need to estimate your expected deductions for the full financial year. The variation generally needs to be renewed each year.

Related Tax Resources

Looking for more detail on PAYG withholding and tax tables?

• Weekly Tax Table — the same information for employees paid weekly, with weekly gross amounts and withholding figures.
• PAYG Tax Table Guide — an overview of how the PAYG withholding system works, including employer obligations and the different table types.
• Weekly Tax Calculator — estimate your weekly or fortnightly take-home pay interactively, including HELP debt and Medicare settings.
• Income Tax Calculator — full Australian income tax calculator with Medicare levy, MLS, and the new 2025–26 HELP marginal repayment system.
• GST Calculator — if you also run a business, calculate GST on goods and services.
• BAS Calculator — estimate your quarterly Business Activity Statement obligations.

For Property Investors

If you are an employee who also owns investment property, your PAYG withholding may be higher than necessary. The ATO allows you to apply for a PAYG withholding variation if you expect to claim rental property deductions that will reduce your taxable income. This means less tax is withheld from your fortnightly pay during the year, rather than waiting for a lump sum refund at tax time.

• Negative Gearing Calculator — estimate your after-tax cost of holding a negatively geared investment property.
• Investment Property Calculator — model your total investment property cash flow including rental income, expenses, tax deductions, and capital growth.
• Capital Gains Tax Calculator — estimate CGT when you sell your investment property, including the 50% discount.
• Land Tax Calculator — check your state land tax liability across all Australian states and territories.
• Property Depreciation Calculator — estimate Div 40 and Div 43 depreciation deductions for investment property.
• EOFY Tax Planning Guide — strategies to reduce your tax bill before 30 June, including prepaid interest and depreciation.