Working Holiday Visa Tax Calculator

Working holiday makers on a 417 or 462 visa pay a special 'backpacker tax' rate: 15% on the first $45,000 of income, then standard resident marginal rates above that. There is no tax-free threshold.

Use the working holiday rates if you are a foreign resident for tax, or an Australian resident who is not a national of a non-discrimination article (NDA) country. Nationals of Chile, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Turkey or the United Kingdom who are Australian residents for tax purposes are taxed on the same basis as a resident Australian national instead — which means the tax-free threshold rather than 15% from the first dollar. The High Court decided that in Addy v Commissioner of Taxation on 3 November 2021. If that might be you, check your residency before assuming the backpacker rate is your answer.

Your employer has to be registered with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers to use the 15% rate. If they are not registered they must withhold 30% from every dollar you earn up to $135,000, and foreign-resident rates above that — so an unregistered employer is the usual reason a backpacker's pay looks far lower than this calculator says. You claim the difference back when you lodge your tax return.

Whether you pay the 2% Medicare levy depends on your tax residency, not on your visa. Foreign residents are not required to pay it, and most working holiday makers are foreign residents. If you are an Australian resident for tax purposes the levy applies unless you claim a Medicare levy exemption, which needs a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia — and if your country has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia you are generally entitled to Medicare, so you may not qualify for that exemption. The calculator applies the levy on the Working Holiday Maker setting; tick "Medicare exemption" under Deductions & Obligations to turn it off.