Does this study measure bracket creep?

No, and deliberately not. Bracket creep — fiscal drag — is what happens when wages rise in nominal terms and push an earner into higher brackets against thresholds that have not moved. This study does the opposite on purpose: it holds each salary fixed and changes only the tax scale, so what it isolates is the effect of legislated policy. Measuring bracket creep would mean indexing these salaries to wage growth and rerunning them, which is a separate exercise and a different number. Read every figure here as "what this salary would have paid under that year's rules", not as what any real worker's tax bill did over the period.

Do these figures include the Medicare levy?

Yes. Every dollar and every rate on this page is income tax under the year's resident scale, less the low income tax offset and (where it applied) the low and middle income tax offset, plus the Medicare levy at 2% of taxable income. Excluding the levy would understate each figure. The Medicare levy surcharge, HECS-HELP repayments, superannuation, deductions and every other offset are excluded — the study assumes an Australian resident with private hospital cover and no HELP debt.

What was the largest single-year change in the tax on $50,000?

An increase of $1,500, in 2022–23, when the low and middle income tax offset ended. No tax rate or threshold changed that year. It is the largest single-year move of the whole period at $50,000 and $60,000.

Did the scale ever sit completely still?

Yes, in 3 of the 12 years studied not one bracket, rate or offset parameter moved from the year before. Australia does not index its thresholds, so in a frozen year any pay rise is taxed against a scale that has not moved. This study cannot put a number on that, because it holds pay still — but the frozen-year count is the condition under which fiscal drag happens.

How much did the 2024–25 tax cuts save?

Across the salaries we tested, between $929 a year at $50,000 and $3,729 a year at $150,000. That is the range over our six salary points, not the range across all incomes — the cut keeps growing above $150,000, which this study does not model. It is the largest single-year move of the period at $80,000, $100,000, $120,000 and $150,000.

At what salary does tax reach a quarter of your pay?

$86,094 under 2015–16 rules; $135,218 under 2026–27 rules — income tax after offsets plus the Medicare levy, as a share of salary. The line moved up by $49,124 in nominal terms, so more can be earned before tax takes a quarter. Whether that kept pace with earnings over the period is a separate question this study does not answer.

The same salary, 12 tax years: what $50,000 to $150,000 actually paid

Name: Average Australian income tax rate on fixed salaries, 2015–16 to 2026–27
Creator: TaxTakeHome
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We took six salaries — $50,000, $60,000, $80,000, $100,000, $120,000, $150,000 — held them fixed in nominal terms, and ran each one through every published Australian resident tax scale from 2015–16 to 2026–27. Holding the pay still is what makes the read clean: the only thing that moves between one row and the next is the law. Every figure is income tax after offsets plus the 2% Medicare levy.

$1,500 the largest single-year rise, on $50,000

It landed in 2022–23, and not one rate or threshold changed that year. The low and middle income tax offset simply stopped. For anyone on $50,000, $60,000, $80,000, the tax bill in 2022–23 came back to exactly what it had been in 2019–20 — to the dollar.

What this study measures — and what it does not

It measures legislated policy. Each salary is held fixed in nominal terms and run through every year's tax scale, so the only variable is the law. “Tax” means income tax under the resident scale, after the low income (and, where it applied, low and middle income) tax offset, plus the 2% Medicare levy — the levy is in every dollar and every rate on this page.

It does not measure bracket creep. Fiscal drag is nominal wage growth pushing an earner into higher brackets while thresholds sit still. This design excludes it by construction: no salary here ever rises. Measuring creep means indexing these salaries to wage growth and rerunning them — a separate analysis with a different answer. Nothing on this page should be read as what a real worker's tax bill did over the period.

Three findings

$3,027less tax on a salary held at $80,000 across the period — an average rate of 23.93% in 2015–16 against 20.15% in 2026–27. On the same nominal pay, the rate fell.
3years in which the scale did not move at all. Australia corrects its thresholds in occasional lumps rather than indexing them, so a frozen year taxes any pay rise against a line that has not shifted. This study holds pay still, so it counts those years without pricing them.
$49,124further up the income scale you must now earn before tax takes a quarter of your pay: $86,094 in 2015–16, $135,218 in 2026–27.

Average tax rate — income tax after the low income (and, where it applied, low and middle income) tax offset, plus the Medicare levy — on a salary held fixed in nominal terms. Vertical rules mark 2020–21, 2022–23 and 2024–25. Source: Australian Taxation Office.

The finding: a $1,500 rise nobody set a rate for

The steepest single-year increase in this whole series is 2022–23, and it is the one year a reader is least likely to remember as a tax change — because on paper there wasn't one. The brackets, the rates and the low income tax offset were all identical to the year before. What ended was the low and middle income tax offset, a temporary offset worth up to $1,500 in its final year.

The effect was not evenly spread. At $50,000, $60,000, $80,000 the reversal was total: the 2020–21 tax cut had been worth almost precisely what the offset was worth, so when the offset stopped, those salaries paid exactly the 2019–20 figure again. Higher up, the bracket changes were worth more than the offset, so the clawback only took part of the gain back.

The mechanism is the point. Australia corrects its thresholds in occasional lumps rather than indexing them, and one of those corrections was substantially unwound the moment its temporary component expired — without a single line of the rate table changing. A reader tracking rates and brackets would have seen nothing happen in 2022–23.

Average tax rate on the same salary, 2015–16 to 2026–27

Income tax after offsets plus the Medicare levy, as a share of salary. Australian resident, no HELP debt, private hospital cover held.
Financial year	$50,000	$60,000	$80,000	$100,000	$120,000	$150,000
2015–16	17.09%	20.24%	23.93%	26.95%	28.96%	30.96%
2016–17	17.09%	20.24%	23.93%	26.63%	28.69%	30.75%
2017–18	17.09%	20.24%	23.93%	26.63%	28.69%	30.75%
2018–19	14.93%	18.45%	22.58%	25.72%	28.43%	30.66%
2019–20	14.93%	18.45%	22.58%	25.72%	28.43%	30.66%
2020–21	12.77%	16.64%	21.23%	24.19%	26.41%	29.04%
2021–22	11.93%	15.95%	20.71%	23.77%	26.06%	29.04%
2022–23	14.93%	18.45%	22.58%	24.97%	26.56%	29.04%
2023–24	14.93%	18.45%	22.58%	24.97%	26.56%	29.04%
2024–25	13.08%	16.48%	20.48%	22.79%	24.32%	26.56%
2025–26	13.08%	16.48%	20.48%	22.79%	24.32%	26.56%
2026–27	12.54%	16.03%	20.15%	22.52%	24.1%	26.38%

The same table in dollars

Total tax paid — income tax after offsets, plus the Medicare levy.
Financial year	$50,000	$60,000	$80,000	$100,000	$120,000	$150,000
2015–16	$8,547	$12,147	$19,147	$26,947	$34,747	$46,447
2016–17	$8,547	$12,147	$19,147	$26,632	$34,432	$46,132
2017–18	$8,547	$12,147	$19,147	$26,632	$34,432	$46,132
2018–19	$7,467	$11,067	$18,067	$25,717	$34,117	$45,997
2019–20	$7,467	$11,067	$18,067	$25,717	$34,117	$45,997
2020–21	$6,387	$9,987	$16,987	$24,187	$31,687	$43,567
2021–22	$5,967	$9,567	$16,567	$23,767	$31,267	$43,567
2022–23	$7,467	$11,067	$18,067	$24,967	$31,867	$43,567
2023–24	$7,467	$11,067	$18,067	$24,967	$31,867	$43,567
2024–25	$6,538	$9,888	$16,388	$22,788	$29,188	$39,838
2025–26	$6,538	$9,888	$16,388	$22,788	$29,188	$39,838
2026–27	$6,270	$9,620	$16,120	$22,520	$28,920	$39,570
Change over the period	−$2,277	−$2,527	−$3,027	−$4,427	−$5,827	−$6,877

What changed, year by year

The policy change in each year, and what it did to the tax bill on $80,000.
Year	What changed	Tax on $80,000	Change
2015–16	Baseline. 32.5% band ends at $80,000; Temporary Budget Repair Levy on income over $180,000.	$19,147	—
2016–17	32.5% band ceiling lifted to $87,000.	$19,147	—
2017–18	No change to the scale. Budget Repair Levy ends.	$19,147	—
2018–19	32.5% band ceiling lifted to $90,000; LMITO introduced.	$18,067	−$1,080
2019–20	No change to the scale.	$18,067	—
2020–21	Stage 2 brought forward: 19% band to $45,000, 32.5% band to $120,000, LITO up to $700. LMITO retained.	$16,987	−$1,080
2021–22	No change to the scale. LMITO topped up by a one-off $420.	$16,567	−$420
2022–23	No change to any rate or threshold. LMITO ends.	$18,067	+$1,500
2023–24	No change to the scale.	$18,067	—
2024–25	Stage 3 (revised): 19% → 16%, 32.5% → 30% to $135,000, 37% band to $190,000.	$16,388	−$1,679
2025–26	No change to the scale.	$16,388	—
2026–27	Second bracket cut from 16% to 15%.	$16,120	−$268

Where the average-rate lines sit

Another way to see the same thing: the salary at which tax first reaches a given share of pay. These are nominal figures — whether they kept pace with earnings over the period is the question the indexation debate turns on.

Salary at which income tax plus the Medicare levy first reaches each share of pay.
Tax takes…	2015–16	2026–27	Moved by
20% of your pay	$59,078	$78,999	+$19,921
25% of your pay	$86,094	$135,218	+$49,124
30% of your pay	$133,923	$200,766	+$66,843

Get the data

Every figure above, all 12 years by all 6 salaries, as a CSV: same-salary-twelve-tax-years.csv. It is generated from the same dataset that renders this page, so it cannot drift from the tables. Free to republish with attribution to TaxTakeHome; data: Australian Taxation Office.

Embed this table

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<figure style="margin:0;font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,sans-serif;max-width:760px">
  <figcaption style="font:600 15px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;margin-bottom:8px">Average tax rate on the same salary, 2015–16 to 2026–27</figcaption>
  <table style="border-collapse:collapse;width:100%">
    <thead><tr><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">Financial year</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$50,000</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$60,000</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$80,000</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$100,000</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$120,000</th><th style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:600 11px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#5a655f;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd7cb">$150,000</th></tr></thead>
    <tbody>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2015–16</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">17.09%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.24%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">23.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.95%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">28.96%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">30.96%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2016–17</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">17.09%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.24%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">23.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.63%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">28.69%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">30.75%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2017–18</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">17.09%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.24%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">23.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.63%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">28.69%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">30.75%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2018–19</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">14.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">18.45%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.58%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">25.72%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">28.43%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">30.66%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2019–20</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">14.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">18.45%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.58%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">25.72%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">28.43%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">30.66%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2020–21</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">12.77%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">16.64%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">21.23%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.19%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.41%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">29.04%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2021–22</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">11.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">15.95%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.71%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">23.77%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.06%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">29.04%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2022–23</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">14.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">18.45%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.58%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.97%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.56%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">29.04%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2023–24</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">14.93%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">18.45%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.58%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.97%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.56%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">29.04%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2024–25</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">13.08%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">16.48%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.48%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.79%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.32%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.56%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2025–26</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">13.08%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">16.48%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.48%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.79%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.32%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.56%</td></tr>
    <tr><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:left;font:400 13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">2026–27</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">12.54%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">16.03%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">20.15%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">22.52%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">24.1%</td><td style="padding:6px 10px;text-align:right;font:400 13px/1.5 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;color:#1c2420;border-bottom:1px solid #f0ece2">26.38%</td></tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
  <figcaption style="font:400 12px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#5a655f;margin-top:8px">Income tax after LITO/LMITO plus the Medicare levy; Australian resident, no HELP debt, no surcharge. Source: <a href="https://taxtakehome.com.au/reports/same-salary-twelve-tax-years" rel="nofollow">TaxTakeHome</a>, data: Australian Taxation Office.</figcaption>
</figure>

Method, and what is deliberately not in these numbers

What is included

Income tax under the resident scale published by the Australian Taxation Office for each income year.
The low income tax offset for every year, and the low and middle income tax offset in the years it applied. Both reduce income tax only, never below zero.
The Medicare levy at 2% of taxable income — it is in every dollar figure and every average rate on this page, not stripped out.
The Temporary Budget Repair Levy in the two years it applied. It was payable only above $180,000, so it does not touch any salary in this study.

What is excluded, and why

The Medicare levy low-income reduction. Its thresholds have not been verified for every year back to 2015–16, so the engine refuses to compute below $40,000 rather than guess. Every salary here is well above that, and above the highest single-taxpayer threshold the ATO has ever published, so the reduction cannot affect a figure on this page.
The Medicare levy surcharge — the study assumes private hospital cover.
HECS-HELP repayments, which are not income tax and follow their own thresholds.
Superannuation, which is paid by the employer on top of salary and taxed in the fund.
Deductions and every other offset — SAPTO, spouse, zone, invalid, private health rebate, franking credits. Salary is treated as taxable income.
Inflation, wage growth and therefore bracket creep. Salaries are held fixed in nominal terms. That is the point of the design: it isolates the effect of legislated policy. It also means fiscal drag is excluded by construction — a real worker's pay rose over the period, moving them up the scale and producing a different, higher path. Putting a number on that requires indexing these salaries to wage growth, which is a separate study.

Sources

ATO - Tax rates for Australian residents (all income years) — every resident scale from 2015–16 to 2026–27.
Medicare Levy Act 1986 s 6(1) (ATO Legal Database) — the levy rate, and the amendment fixing it at 2% from 2014-15.
ATO Legal Database - Treasury Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Plan) Act 2018 explanatory memorandum, para 1.10 — the $445 low income tax offset and its taper.
ATO - Low income tax offset; start year from the Treasury Laws Amendment (A Tax Plan for the COVID-19 Economic Recovery) Act 2020 explanatory memorandum, para 1.33-1.35 — the $700 offset that replaced it, and the year it began.
ATO - Low and middle income earner tax offsets — both low and middle income tax offset schedules.
ATO - Tax rates for Australian residents (note under the 2015-16 and 2016-17 tables).

Every scale was read from the ATO's own published tables and independently cross-checked against a second source for each year before it was committed. Per-year cross-check references are listed in the dataset that drives this page. Where a figure could not be verified against a canonical source, it is not modelled at all — see the exclusions above.

Frequently asked

Does this study measure bracket creep?: No, and deliberately not. Bracket creep — fiscal drag — is what happens when wages rise in nominal terms and push an earner into higher brackets against thresholds that have not moved. This study does the opposite on purpose: it holds each salary fixed and changes only the tax scale, so what it isolates is the effect of legislated policy. Measuring bracket creep would mean indexing these salaries to wage growth and rerunning them, which is a separate exercise and a different number. Read every figure here as "what this salary would have paid under that year's rules", not as what any real worker's tax bill did over the period.
Do these figures include the Medicare levy?: Yes. Every dollar and every rate on this page is income tax under the year's resident scale, less the low income tax offset and (where it applied) the low and middle income tax offset, plus the Medicare levy at 2% of taxable income. Excluding the levy would understate each figure. The Medicare levy surcharge, HECS-HELP repayments, superannuation, deductions and every other offset are excluded — the study assumes an Australian resident with private hospital cover and no HELP debt.
What was the largest single-year change in the tax on $50,000?: An increase of $1,500, in 2022–23, when the low and middle income tax offset ended. No tax rate or threshold changed that year. It is the largest single-year move of the whole period at $50,000 and $60,000.
Did the scale ever sit completely still?: Yes, in 3 of the 12 years studied not one bracket, rate or offset parameter moved from the year before. Australia does not index its thresholds, so in a frozen year any pay rise is taxed against a scale that has not moved. This study cannot put a number on that, because it holds pay still — but the frozen-year count is the condition under which fiscal drag happens.
How much did the 2024–25 tax cuts save?: Across the salaries we tested, between $929 a year at $50,000 and $3,729 a year at $150,000. That is the range over our six salary points, not the range across all incomes — the cut keeps growing above $150,000, which this study does not model. It is the largest single-year move of the period at $80,000, $100,000, $120,000 and $150,000.
At what salary does tax reach a quarter of your pay?: $86,094 under 2015–16 rules; $135,218 under 2026–27 rules — income tax after offsets plus the Medicare levy, as a share of salary. The line moved up by $49,124 in nominal terms, so more can be earned before tax takes a quarter. Whether that kept pace with earnings over the period is a separate question this study does not answer.

Want the current year rather than the history? Use the take-home pay calculator, or read the current rates hub and the low income tax offset explainer.