Payroll tax by state — thresholds, rates and levies compared
Every Australian state and territory runs its own payroll tax regime with a different threshold, rate, regional concession and mental health levy. Sortable comparison of NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT.
Payroll tax is the single biggest state-government revenue line and the most variable across jurisdictions. There is no Commonwealth payroll tax — every state and territory sets its own threshold, rate, surcharge structure, regional concession and grouping rules. An employer with staff in three states deals with three different annual reconciliations on three different forms with three different lodgement portals.
This matrix shows the headline settings each state revenue office publishes for the 2025-26 financial year. Use it to size your exposure, but always confirm the live threshold and rate with the cited revenue office before lodging — surcharges in particular (mental health levy, COVID debt levy, regional concessions) change more often than the headline rate.
Group employers face an additional trap: a single threshold is shared across the whole group in each state, even if the group's wages straddle multiple jurisdictions. The grouping rules and how the threshold is apportioned vary, so a payroll that sits below threshold in any single state can still be liable once group wages are aggregated.
For the full plain-English explainer, see our companion guide: Payroll tax by state 2026.
Comparison matrix
Click any column header to sort.
Tax-free threshold (annual) Annual Australian taxable wages below this threshold are not subject to payroll tax in that jurisdiction. | $1.2 million Revenue NSW | $900,000 SRO Vic | $1.3 million QRO | $1 million RevenueWA | $1.5 million RevenueSA | $1.25 million SRO Tas | $2 million ACT Revenue Office | $1.5 million Territory Revenue Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tax-free threshold (monthly) Monthly returns use the apportioned monthly threshold. | $100,000 Revenue NSW | $75,000 SRO Vic | $108,333 QRO | $83,333 RevenueWA | $125,000 RevenueSA | $104,166 SRO Tas | $166,667 ACT Revenue Office | $125,000 Territory Revenue Office |
Headline rate Standard rate applied to wages above the threshold (before surcharges or regional concessions). | 5.45% Revenue NSW | 4.85% SRO Vic | 4.75% QRO | 5.5% RevenueWA | 4.95% RevenueSA | 4.0% (to $2M) / 6.1% (above $2M) SRO Tas | 6.85% ACT Revenue Office | 5.5% Territory Revenue Office |
Regional or concessional rate Reduced rate for employers based in designated regional areas, where available. | — Revenue NSW | 1.2125% regional employer rate SRO Vic | 1% discount for regional employers (effective ~3.75%) QRO | — RevenueWA | — RevenueSA | — SRO Tas | — ACT Revenue Office | — Territory Revenue Office |
Mental health / wellbeing levy Additional surcharge tied to mental health funding — applies above stated payroll levels. | — Revenue NSW | +0.5% above $10M; +1% above $100M (Mental Health and Wellbeing Surcharge) SRO Vic | +0.25% above $10M; +0.5% above $100M (Mental Health Levy) QRO | — RevenueWA | — RevenueSA | — SRO Tas | — ACT Revenue Office | — Territory Revenue Office |
Grouping rules Whether related entities share a single threshold and how the rules attach. | Yes — single shared threshold; designated group employer (DGE) lodges Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW) | Yes — single shared threshold; DGE lodges for the group Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic) | Yes — single shared threshold; mental health levy aggregated at group level Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld) | Yes — diminishing-deduction threshold shared across group Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA) | Yes — single shared threshold; DGE lodges Payroll Tax Act 2009 (SA) | Yes — single shared threshold per group Payroll Tax Act 2008 (Tas) | Yes — single shared threshold per group Payroll Tax Act 2011 (ACT) | Yes — single shared threshold per group Payroll Tax Act 2009 (NT) |
Annual reconciliation due Date employers lodge the annual return that reconciles monthly payments. | 28 July Revenue NSW | 21 July SRO Vic | 21 July QRO | 21 July RevenueWA | 21 July RevenueSA | 21 July SRO Tas | 28 July ACT Revenue Office | 21 July Territory Revenue Office |
Administering revenue office Where employers register, lodge and pay. | Revenue NSW Revenue NSW | State Revenue Office Victoria SRO Vic | Queensland Revenue Office QRO | RevenueWA (Dept of Finance) RevenueWA | RevenueSA RevenueSA | State Revenue Office Tasmania SRO Tas | ACT Revenue Office ACT Revenue Office | Territory Revenue Office Territory Revenue Office |
Every cell links to the cited source. Rules Mate links and summarises — it does not reproduce statutory text. Confirm with the cited regulator before relying on any cell.
Frequently asked
Is there a single Australian payroll tax?
No. Payroll tax is administered by each state and territory under its own Act. There is no Commonwealth payroll tax. An employer with staff in multiple jurisdictions will register, lodge and pay in each state where its wages exceed the apportioned threshold.
Which state has the highest payroll tax rate?
On the headline rate, the ACT is the highest at 6.85%. Victoria, however, layers additional surcharges (the mental health and wellbeing surcharge plus a higher-tier rate for very large payrolls) that can take its effective top rate above the headline.
How does grouping affect the threshold?
Every Australian payroll tax regime groups related entities and applies one threshold across the group, not one threshold per entity. The grouping tests look at common control, common employees and tracing through trusts. The Designated Group Employer (DGE) typically lodges and the threshold is shared.
What is the mental health levy and where does it apply?
Victoria and Queensland have introduced surcharges tied to mental health funding that apply above large-payroll thresholds (around $10M and $100M tiers). NSW, SA, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT do not currently impose an equivalent surcharge, though their headline rates and surcharges differ in other ways.
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