Subby to Salary Calculator
This subby to salary calculator shows what your ABN hourly rate is worth as a wage once you count the super, paid leave and costs a boss would cover. It works the other way too: enter a wage offer and see the subby rate that matches it, at 2026-27 rates.
$110,400 a year is over the $75,000 GST threshold. Add GST to your invoices; it is not part of your rate or your income.
| After tax, 2026-27 | As a subby | On wages |
|---|---|---|
| Income before tax | $102,400 | $91,429 |
| Tax and Medicare levy | $23,288 | $19,777 |
| Take-home | $79,112 | $71,651 |
| Super paid for you | $0 | $10,971 |
The two sides carry the same total value. As a subby, any super you want comes out of your take-home.
What a subby rate has to cover
A wage comes with things a subby pays for out of the rate:
- Super at 12% of the wage for 2026-27, unless the builder pays it to you.
- Four weeks of paid annual leave a year under the National Employment Standards.
- Ten days of paid sick and carer's leave a year.
- Paid public holidays.
- Tools, the ute, insurance and the phone, which an employer usually supplies.
The calculator handles the leave through the weeks you invoice. The default of 46 weeks matches the 230 billable days the contractor pay calculator works through: 52 weeks less four weeks of annual leave, the public holidays and a few sick days.
Subby to salary: a worked example
$60 an hour for 40 hours a week over 46 weeks is $110,400 invoiced, excluding GST. Take off $8,000 of costs and the profit is $102,400. A wage of $91,429 plus 12% super carries the same value, which is $43.96 an hour paid for every week of the year.
So $60 an hour as a subby is worth about $43.96 an hour on wages, not $60. At that turnover you also need to be registered for GST.
Salary to subby: what $40 an hour on wages is worth
To match $40 an hour on wages with the same hours, weeks and costs, you need to invoice $54.99 an hour if you fund your own super. If the builder pays 12% super on top of your rate, $49.10 an hour does it. Anything under that is a pay cut for the same work.
Does the builder have to pay your super?
Often, yes. The ATO treats a contractor as an employee for super when the contract is mainly for their labour: more than half the dollar value is labour, payment is for personal labour and skills rather than a specified result, and the work cannot be delegated. Having an ABN does not change it. Pick "The builder pays super on top" in the calculator if that is your arrangement.
ABN to wages: tax is not the big difference
Your profit is taxed at the same individual rates as a wage, and nobody withholds it, so set it aside or pay PAYG instalments. Business income can also get the small business income tax offset of up to $1,000 a year, but not if it is personal services income and you are not a personal services business. That is why the offset is off by default above. The sole trader tax calculator shows the full tax bill, and the PAYG calculator shows the wage side.
Frequently asked questions
How much more should a subby charge than a wage?
Do subbies get paid holidays or sick leave?
Do builders have to pay super to a subby?
Do I need to register for GST as a subby?
Sources
Each source below was retrieved on 6 October 2026 and returned a live page.
- ATO: Super guarantee (last updated 17 April 2026). 12.00% for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
- ATO: Super for independent contractors. When a contract mainly for labour makes the contractor an employee for super.
- ATO: Registering for GST (last updated 14 September 2026). The $75,000 GST threshold.
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Annual leave and Paid sick and carer's leave. Four weeks and 10 days a year for full-time employees.
- ATO: Small business income tax offset (QC49023, last updated 7 May 2025). 16%, capped at $1,000, and the personal services income exclusion.