Working holiday maker tax in Australia

Working holiday makers pay tax on every dollar from the first. There’s no $18,200 tax-free threshold like residents get, but the first bracket is a low flat rate:

Source: ATO, Schedule 15 – Tax table for working holiday makers (payments from 1 July 2026). Like residents, these are marginal rates: each rate applies only to the slice of income inside that band.

Your employer withholds a flat 15% on your pay up to $45,000 for the year, then the higher rates on anything above it. Working holiday makers generally can’t claim the Medicare levy adjustments or tax offsets like the low income tax offset when tax is withheld, so there’s no Medicare levy line on a typical backpacker payslip.

Here’s the tax and take-home pay at a range of yearly incomes for a working holiday maker in 2026-27 (income tax only, no Medicare levy, no HECS).

Worked example: on $60,000 you pay 15% on the first $45,000 ($6,750) and 30% on the remaining $15,000 ($4,500), so $11,250 in total and $48,750 in your pocket. Try your own number in the calculator by choosing “Working Holiday” as your residency.

The ATO’s long-standing view is that most working holiday makers are foreign residents for tax, however long they stay. That’s why the special rates exist. On a $30,000 income a resident pays about $1,070 in income tax once the low income offset is applied, while a working holiday maker pays $4,500, so the difference is real.

There is one notable exception. If you hold a 417 or 462 visa, count as an Australian tax resident for all or part of the year, and are a national of certain treaty countries (currently Chile, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Turkey or the UK), you can end up assessed at the lower of the resident and working holiday rates. Your employer still withholds 15%, and you claim the difference back in your return. If that’s you, check the ATO’s page on Australian-resident working holiday makers or ask a registered tax agent.

Two things decide whether you get the 15% rate at all.

• A tax file number. Apply online once your visa is granted and give your employer a TFN declaration on day one. With no TFN, employers must withhold 45% on all your pay, which you only get back at tax time.
• A registered employer. Employers of working holiday makers must register with the ATO for that purpose; you don’t register yourself. If yours hasn’t, they must withhold at foreign resident rates instead of the working holiday rates, so ask them if your first payslips look too heavy.

Working holiday makers are entitled to super like everyone else. Your employer pays 12% of your qualifying earnings into a super fund on top of your wages, and since 1 July 2026 they must get it to your fund within 7 business days of each payday instead of quarterly. It isn’t taken out of your pay. It’s an extra.

When you leave Australia and your visa has ended, you can claim that money as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). The catch: the tax on a DASP for working holiday makers is 65% of the taxable part, versus 35% for other temporary residents. If your super contributions during the year came to $3,000, you’d receive about $1,050 after tax.

You claim through the ATO’s online DASP system, which is free. You can start it before you go but can only submit after you’ve left. If you don’t claim, the fund eventually passes the money to the ATO and it just sits there, so it’s worth doing even after the 65% bite. A registered tax agent can also lodge it for you, though they charge a fee.

The Australian income year runs 1 July to 30 June. If all your income was wages earned as a working holiday maker and your taxable income was $45,000 or less, you generally don’t have to lodge a return, because the 15% withholding already matches the tax you owe.

You should lodge if you earned more than that, if you had other income, or if you want to claim deductions such as work-related expenses. If you’re leaving Australia permanently before 30 June you can lodge early. If you’re unsure, ask a registered tax agent, since your right answer depends on your visa history and where you’re from.