Work & incomeAustralia
Tax on pay in Australia
How much of my salary never arrives?
Australia's tax on pay is 23.52 % — #14 of 37 countries on the atlas (lower is better). Period 2025.
23.52%
Source: OECD Taxing Wages + OECD Tax Database
Of every $100 of gross pay at the average wage in Australia, about $24 goes to income tax and employee social contributions.
Among 37 countries
- Rank
- #14 of 37
- lower is better
- Ranked behind
- 62 %
- 23 of 37 countries
vs median 24.93 %: −1.41 pp (better)
The neighbourhood
| # | Country | Tax on pay | vs Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | United Kingdom | 23.14 % | −0.38 pp |
| 13 | Estonia | 23.25 % | −0.28 pp |
| 14 | Australia | 23.52 % | — |
| 15 | Spain | 23.54 % | +0.02 pp |
| 16 | Slovakia | 24.27 % | +0.75 pp |
Income tax plus employee social contributions as a share of gross pay, for a single person at the average wage (OECD). The share of a salary that never arrives.
How to read this figure
The OECD net personal average tax rate: income tax plus the EMPLOYEE’s social contributions as a share of gross wage earnings, for a single person with no children at exactly the average wage. This is the rate you can apply to a salary. It is deliberately smaller than the tax wedge on the same page, which measures a wider bite (it adds the employer’s contributions) over a wider base (total labour cost) — two honest answers to two different questions.