PAYG Withholding Checker
Check if your employer is withholding the correct amount of tax from each pay. Compare your payslip against ATO withholding schedules — for FY 2026-27, FY 2025-26 and FY 2024-25.
Your Payslip Details
Under-withheld — you may owe tax
Your employer is withholding $140 less per pay period than expected. At this rate, you'll be under-withheld by $3,640 for the year — you may need to pay extra when you lodge your tax return.
You are in the $45,001–$135,000 bracket (30%) — annualised gross: $84,994
Expected Withholding
$682
per fortnight
Actual Withholding
$542
per fortnight
Difference
-$140
per fortnight (under)
Annual Projection
-$3,640
projected shortfall
Expected Annual Tax
$17,732
on $84,994 gross
Effective Tax Rate
20.5%
marginal: 30.0%
Expected Withholding Breakdown
| Component | Fortnightly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| PAYG income tax + Medicare | -$682 | -$17,732 |
| Expected Total | -$682 | -$17,732 |
| Actual Withheld | -$542 | -$14,092 |
| Under-withheld | -$140 | -$3,640 |
Why might your withholding be lower than expected?
Rounding differences
Employers use ATO withholding tables which round to whole dollars. Small differences (under $2/pay) are almost always due to rounding and will wash out at tax time.
Multiple employers
If you have more than one job, each employer withholds as if they're your only employer. This means the tax-free threshold and lower brackets are applied multiple times, resulting in too little total tax being withheld.
Mid-year salary change
If your pay changed during the year (pay rise, reduced hours, new job), your current withholding rate may not match the blended rate across the full year. The ATO taxes your total annual income, not each period's rate separately.
Finding these numbers
On your payslip, look for "Gross Earnings" or "Gross Pay" (before tax) and "PAYG Withholding" or "Tax Withheld". Make sure you use the figures for a single pay period, not year-to-date totals.
PAYG Withholding: Is Your Employer Taking the Right Amount?
How it works
Every pay period, your employer withholds tax from your gross pay and sends it to the ATO using PAYG withholding schedules.
This calculator applies the ATO's published Schedule 1 formula to your weekly, fortnightly or monthly earnings. If you have told your employer you have a study or training loan, it also applies the matching Schedule 8 formula and separates the additional STSL amount. The prescribed whole-dollar rounding and pay-frequency conversion rules are applied before the result is compared with your payslip.
The difference tells you whether you're on track for a refund (over-withheld) or may owe tax (under-withheld) when you lodge your return. We also identify the most likely reasons for any discrepancy based on your situation.
When to use this calculator
- Your payslip shows a tax amount and you want to check if it's correct
- You started a new job and want to verify the first few payslips
- You had a pay rise and want to see if withholding has been updated correctly
- You have multiple jobs and suspect not enough tax is being withheld overall
- You have a HECS/HELP debt and want to check if the right repayment rate is being applied
- You're getting large refunds every year and want to understand why (and potentially reduce withholding for better cash flow)
- You received a PAYG variation from the ATO and want to verify the new amount
Key concepts
- ATO withholding schedules
- The ATO publishes tax tables that employers use to look up the correct withholding amount based on your gross earnings per period and your TFN declaration details (residency, tax-free threshold claim, HECS status). These tables produce slightly rounded amounts, which is why small differences of $1–2 per pay are completely normal.
- Tax-free threshold and multiple jobs
- The $18,200 tax-free threshold means the first $18,200 of your income is tax-free. You should only claim it at one employer. If you claim it at two jobs, each employer treats your income as if it starts from $0, applying the threshold twice — which results in too little tax being withheld overall. You'll owe the difference at tax time.
- HECS/HELP withholding
- If you have a study loan and told your employer on your TFN declaration, they withhold compulsory repayments on top of regular tax. The repayment rate is based on your annualised income from that job alone. If you have other income (second job, investments, rental), the actual HECS bracket based on your total income may be higher, leading to a shortfall.
- Over-withholding and refunds
- Being over-withheld isn't necessarily bad — it means you get a refund at tax time. However, large systematic over-withholding means you're giving the ATO an interest-free loan all year. If you consistently get large refunds, you can apply for a PAYG withholding variation to reduce the amount withheld and improve your cash flow during the year.
- PAYG withholding variation
- If your withholding is consistently too high or too low, you can apply to the ATO for a withholding variation (form NAT 2036). This instructs your employer to withhold a different amount. Common reasons include large deductions, investment losses, or income from multiple sources. The variation lasts for the financial year and must be renewed.
Worked example — "My payslip shows $542 tax on $3,269 fortnightly"
Sarah earns $3,269 gross per fortnight (before tax). Her payslip shows $542 withheld as PAYG tax. She has no HECS debt and has private health insurance.
Step 1 — Annualise the gross pay:
$3,269 × 26 fortnights = $84,994 annual gross salary
Step 2 — Apply the FY 2026-27 fortnightly Schedule 1 formula:
The ATO formula converts the pay to a weekly earnings figure, applies the coefficient for a resident claiming the tax-free threshold, rounds to whole dollars, then doubles it for a fortnightly pay. The expected withholding is $682 per fortnight.
Step 4 — Compare:
| Per Fortnight | Annual | |
|---|---|---|
| Expected | $682.00 | $17,732 |
| Actual | $542.00 | $14,092 |
| Difference | −$140.00 | −$3,640 |
What this tells Sarah:
- Her employer is under-withholding by $140 per fortnight compared with the schedule
- If the same pay continues all year, that's $3,640 less than the schedule amount
- This is a significant discrepancy — she should check her TFN declaration to ensure the correct details are recorded, or she may have another job where the tax-free threshold is also claimed
- If she can't resolve it with her employer, she should consider making voluntary PAYG payments to the ATO to avoid a surprise bill at tax time
PAYG Withholding Checker FAQ
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