The two figures, and what sits between them
Every Australian pay slip is legally required to show both. Fair Work lists “gross and net pay” as mandatory content, so the two numbers appear together on every payday and the gap between them is the story of your tax.
For most employees only one thing sits in that gap: PAYG withholding, which is the income tax and Medicare levy your employer sends to the ATO on your behalf. Add a study loan, a salary sacrifice arrangement or an authorised deduction and the gap widens.
Reduces gross to get to net
- PAYG withholding (income tax and Medicare levy)
- Compulsory study loan repayments (HECS-HELP and similar)
- Salary sacrifice into super or a packaged benefit
- Deductions you authorised in writing, such as union fees
Does not reduce it
- Super guarantee, paid on top at 12% for 2026-27
- Work-related deductions, which apply at assessment
- Tax offsets such as LITO, which reduce tax owed at assessment
- Reimbursed expenses
Worked example on $80,000 for 2026-27
Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, no study loan, super paid on top of the salary. All figures computed on 2026-27 rates by the same engine behind every calculator on this site.
| Line | A year | A fortnight |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $80,000 | $3,077 |
| less income tax (after LITO) | $14,520 | $558 |
| less Medicare levy | $1,600 | $62 |
| Net pay | $63,880 | $2,457 |
| Super paid on top | $9,600 | $369 |
Note where the super line sits. It is below net pay because it never passes through it. The employer pays $9,600 into your fund in addition to the $80,000 wage. Run your own salary through the take-home pay calculator, or start from the net figure you want and work backwards with the net to gross calculator.
Super is on top, not taken out
This is the point people get wrong most often, and the pay slip rules settle it. Fair Work requires super contributions to be listed as their own item, separate from gross pay, net pay and from the deductions section. Deductions have to be itemised with the amount and the account they went to. Super sits outside that list because it is not money taken from you.
The super guarantee rate is 12% for 2026-27. On a $80,000 wage that is $9,600 a year going into your fund without touching your take-home pay. The super guarantee calculator works it out on any wage.
The one case where it does come out. A salary package quoted as including super is a different number. $80,000 including super means gross pay of about $71,429, because the 12% is carved out of the total first. Ask which basis an offer is quoted on before comparing it to your current wage.
What your pay slip must show
Fair Work sets the mandatory contents, and gross and net pay are only part of it. A compliant pay slip carries the employer and employee name, the employer's ABN, the pay period, the date of payment, gross and net pay, the hourly rate and hours worked where relevant, any loadings, allowances, bonuses or penalty rates, every deduction with its amount and destination account, and any super contributions with the fund name.
Pay slips have to be issued within one working day of pay day, even if you are on leave, and it is unlawful for an employer to issue one they know is false or misleading. If the gross figure looks right but the net does not, the deductions section is where to look first. Our payslip generator produces a compliant layout, and income statements covers how the same figures reach the ATO through Single Touch Payroll.
Why your net pay might not match a calculator
Four things account for nearly every mismatch. A compulsory study loan repayment is withheld on top of income tax. The tax-free threshold may not be claimed with that employer, which is normal and correct on a second job but pushes withholding up sharply. Salary sacrifice reduces gross before tax is worked out. And a package quoted as including super is a smaller wage than the same number quoted plus super.
Beyond those, small differences are expected. Payroll applies the ATO withholding schedules per pay event and rounds to whole dollars, while an annual calculation works on the year as a whole. A few dollars a fortnight either way is the schedules doing their job, and it washes out at assessment. If the difference is larger than that, why your PAYG is too high works through the causes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
What is net pay?
Is superannuation taken out of my gross pay?
Why is my net pay lower than the calculator says?
Does a salary "package" mean gross pay?
Is gross pay the same as taxable income?
What deductions can legally come out of my pay?
Does my pay slip have to show both figures?
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Pay slips. Source of the mandatory pay slip contents, the separate treatment of super contributions and deductions, and the one working day rule. Statutory basis: Fair Work Act 2009 sections 536 and 539, Fair Work Regulations 2009 regulations 3.45 to 3.48 and 4.04.
- ATO: Super guarantee rates. Source of the 12% rate for 2026-27.
- ATO: Tax tables overview. The withholding schedules payroll applies each pay event.