Convert a contractor rate into a salary equivalent

Day rates carry no leave, no super and no sick pay, and may carry GST. Work out the salary a contract rate really matches once those are priced back in.

Convert the rate › Full calculator ›

Estimates only, based on published Australian rules for the selected tax year. Not tax, legal or financial advice, and not a substitute for your payslip or an assessment from the ATO.

Contractor

AU-2026.27-v1

Day rate

$/day

Billable days a year

Rate excludes GST

Add 10% on invoices

Salary equivalent

$176,786 /year

Invoiced

$198,000

Super set aside

$21,214

Equivalent

$176,786

Take-home

—

Invoiced, excluding GST$198,000

GST collected and remitted$19,800

Super you fund yourself, 12%$21,214

Take-home on the equivalent—

A contract rate carries no super, leave or sick pay. The equivalent salary sets 12% aside and prices unbilled days at zero.

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This section answers one question: what actually lands in your account. Enter a salary, an hourly rate or a payslip figure and PayLens applies the 2026–27 resident rules, the Medicare levy, HELP and employer super, then shows every assumption it used so you can check the working line by line.

Tools in this section

Pay CalculatorGross to net with residency, HELP, super and packaging controls.
Take-Home PayOne salary field, one answer, for a quick sanity check.
Net to GrossWork back from the take-home you need to the salary that delivers it.
Payslip CheckerCompare a real payslip against the rules for your pay period.

How Contractor works

Day rates carry no leave, no super and no sick pay, and may carry GST. Work out the salary a contract rate really matches once those are priced back in.

What you enter

✓Day or hourly rate

✓Billable days

✓GST and super treatment

What you get

✓Annual invoiced

✓Salary equivalent

✓Cost of unbilled weeks

Applied Rule Set AU-2026.27-v1

Tax year2026–27

ResidencyAustralian resident

Medicare levyApplied, 2%

HELP treatmentNo debt held

Employer super12% on top of base

Rules verified21 Aug 2026

Sources: ATO individual income tax rates, Medicare levy and study and training loan thresholds; Federal Register of Legislation. Not modelled: offsets, deductions, Division 293, the Medicare levy surcharge or part-year employment.

Need every setting?

Residency, salary sacrifice, exemptions and other tax years live in the full calculator.

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Related guides

Australian income tax, explainedThe brackets, your effective rate and where your salary sits.
Why your payslip tax rarely matches your final taxHow PAYG withholding is estimated each pay run.
The Medicare levy, the surcharge, and the exemptionsWho pays, when it is reduced and how the surcharge differs.