Salary Packaging Calculator Australia
Salary packaging calculator, 2026–27
| Without packaging | With packaging | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable income | ||
| Income tax + Medicare (+ HELP) | ||
| Spending money after tax and packaged bills |
Uses 2026–27 resident tax rates, the low income tax offset and 2% Medicare levy. Packaged amounts are capped at the ATO's FBT limits (about $15,900 or $9,010 a year, plus about $2,650 for meal entertainment). Provider administration fees are not included.
If you work for a charity, a public or not-for-profit hospital or a public ambulance service, you can pay part of your everyday living costs with money that has not been taxed. This salary packaging calculator shows how much extra take-home pay that is worth in 2026–27. Choose your employer type, enter how much you want to package and see the tax you save each year and each fortnight.
What is salary packaging?
Salary packaging lets you take part of your salary as benefits instead of cash. Normally that would trigger fringe benefits tax for your employer. Charities and hospitals are exempt from that tax up to a cap for each employee, so they can pay bills like rent, mortgage repayments or utilities for you from your pre-tax salary.
Because the packaged amount is never taxed, your taxable income falls and so does your income tax and Medicare levy. You spend the same money on the same bills, but more of your pay is left over at the end.
Salary packaging caps for 2026–27
The caps are set by the ATO and apply per fringe benefits tax year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.
| Employer type | Living expenses cap (approx.) | Extra meal entertainment cap (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Public benevolent institutions and health promotion charities | $15,900 | $2,650 |
| Public and not-for-profit hospitals, public ambulance services | $9,010 | $2,650 |
| Other employers | No exempt cap | — |
The ATO writes these limits as grossed-up values of $30,000, $17,000 and $5,000. The amounts in the table are the pre-tax spending they allow, which is what most people mean when they talk about their packaging cap.
How much could you save?
These examples use 2026–27 tax rates, assume the full cap is used and ignore provider fees.
| Example | Salary | Amount packaged | Tax saved per year | Extra per fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse, public hospital | $80,000 | $9,010 | $2,883 | $111 |
| Nurse, public hospital + meal entertainment | $80,000 | $11,660 | $3,731 | $144 |
| Paramedic, public ambulance | $95,000 | $11,660 | $3,731 | $144 |
| Disability support worker, charity | $60,000 | $15,900 | $5,223 | $201 |
| Case manager, charity | $75,000 | $18,550 | $6,089 | $234 |
| Program manager, charity | $100,000 | $18,550 | $5,936 | $228 |
Charity workers save more than hospital staff because their cap is higher. Within the 30% tax bracket, every $1,000 packaged saves about $320 in tax and Medicare levy.
What you can and cannot package
Usually allowed with an FBT-exempt employer
- Rent or mortgage repayments
- Electricity, gas, water and phone bills
- Credit card or personal loan repayments, depending on your provider
- Living expenses paid through a salary packaging card
- Meal entertainment, such as restaurant meals and venue hire, under its separate cap
Packaged separately, outside the caps
- Extra super contributions. See our salary sacrifice into super calculator for how that works.
- A novated lease on a car
- Some work-related items, such as a laptop used mainly for work
How to set up salary packaging
- Ask your payroll team whether your employer offers salary packaging and which provider manages it.
- Check the provider's administration fee, and compare it with your tax saving from the calculator above.
- Choose the bills you want paid and how much per pay, staying under your cap for the FBT year.
- Sign the agreement before the pay it applies to. Past salary cannot be packaged.
- Check your payslip: your taxable pay should fall and the tax withheld should drop with it. The PAYG tax calculator shows the new amount per pay.
Your pay before and after salary packaging: a worked example
This is what salary packaging looks like on a real payslip. Take a nurse at a public hospital on $80,000 who packages the full $9,010 living expenses cap (2026–27 rates, resident, no HELP debt):
| Without packaging | With packaging | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable income | $80,000 | $70,990 |
| Income tax + Medicare | $16,120 | $13,237 |
| Cash into your bank account | $63,880 | $57,753 |
| Bills paid from pre-tax pay | $0 | $9,010 |
| Total benefit to you | $63,880 | $66,763 |
| Per fortnight | $2,457 | $2,568 |
Your bank balance each payday is lower, because $346 a fortnight now goes straight to your bills. But you no longer pay those bills from your after-tax money, so you end up about $111 a fortnight ($2,883 a year) better off. This is the number the calculator above shows as your take-home gain. If you want to see your normal net pay first, check your fortnightly pay after tax.
Which cap applies to you? NSW Health, Victorian hospitals, charities and not-for-profits
Your cap depends on the type of employer, not your job title. Here is how the most common employers line up:
- NSW Health, Victorian public hospitals and other state public health services: the public hospital cap of about $9,010, plus up to about $2,650 for meal entertainment and holiday accommodation. This covers nurses, doctors, allied health and admin staff employed by the public hospital or local health district.
- Public ambulance services (such as NSW Ambulance or Ambulance Victoria): the same $9,010 cap as public hospitals.
- Private not-for-profit hospitals (for example, many church-run hospitals): also the $9,010 cap.
- Public benevolent institutions (PBIs) and health promotion charities: the higher cap of about $15,900, plus meal entertainment. Many disability, aged care, homelessness and community services charities are PBIs.
- Other not-for-profits (sports clubs, some associations and charities that are not PBIs): these are usually not FBT-exempt. They may get a partial FBT rebate, so some still offer packaging, but the savings are usually smaller. Ask your payroll team.
- Private companies and government departments: no living expenses cap. You can still salary sacrifice into super or use a novated car lease, which our salary sacrifice super calculator covers.
Not sure which one your employer is? Your employment contract, enterprise agreement or packaging provider's welcome pack will say which cap applies.
Salary packaging rent or mortgage: an example
Rent and mortgage repayments are the most popular things to package, because they are big, regular bills. Say you work for a disability charity on $70,000 and pay $500 a week in rent ($26,000 a year).
- You package $15,900 of your rent through your employer's provider. They pay your landlord directly, or reimburse you.
- Your taxable income drops to $54,100.
- Your tax and Medicare fall from about $12,920 to about $7,644 (you also get a little of the low income tax offset back).
- You save about $5,276 a year, or roughly $203 a fortnight.
- You pay the remaining $10,100 of rent from your normal take-home pay.
You'll usually need to give your provider a copy of your lease or loan statement, and they check that the amount you package matches what you actually pay.
Is salary packaging worth it?
For most eligible workers earning above about $45,000, yes. The saving grows with your tax bracket: in the 30% bracket, each $1,000 packaged saves about $320. It is worth less, or nothing, if:
- your income is already close to the $18,200 tax-free threshold
- your provider's admin fees eat up most of the saving (check the fees before you sign up)
- you rely on a Centrelink payment or child support that counts reportable fringe benefits
If you're unsure whether your pay is high enough to benefit, compare it with what Australians earn on average, and make sure you understand the difference between gross and net pay before you change anything.
Things to watch
Reportable fringe benefits
Packaged living expenses appear on your income statement as a grossed-up reportable fringe benefits amount. For a full $9,010 hospital package that is about $17,000. It does not increase your tax, but it is added back for HELP repayments, the Medicare levy surcharge income test, some Centrelink payments and child support.
Changing jobs part-way through the year
Caps apply per employer for each FBT year. If you leave, unused packaged funds are usually paid back to you as taxed salary, so try to keep your packaged balance low before you finish.
Low incomes
If your taxable income is already close to the $18,200 tax-free threshold, packaging saves little or no tax. The calculator shows this straight away.
Want to see your pay before and after packaging across a whole year, including super and the Medicare levy surcharge? Run your salary through our Australian take-home pay calculator, then compare it with your packaged figure here.
Salary package including super (TRP) is something different
Many Australian job ads use "salary package" to mean your total remuneration package, or TRP: your base salary plus the employer's 12% super, and sometimes extras like a car allowance. That is not the same as salary packaging, which is the tax-free benefit on this page.
To find the base salary inside a package, divide by 1.12. A $100,000 package including super is $89,286 of salary and $10,714 of super. A $90,000 package is $80,357 of salary and $9,643 of super. Your income tax is worked out on the base salary only.
| Package including super (TRP) | Base salary | Employer super |
|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $62,500 | $7,500 |
| $90,000 | $80,357 | $9,643 |
| $100,000 | $89,286 | $10,714 |
| $120,000 | $107,143 | $12,857 |
| $150,000 | $133,929 | $16,071 |
To see the take-home pay for any package, tick "Salary includes super" in our salary calculator. If your employer is a charity, hospital or ambulance service, you can then use the calculator above to see how much more of that package salary packaging lets you keep.
Salary packaging FAQs
What is the difference between salary packaging and salary sacrifice?
They work the same way: part of your salary is paid as benefits before tax. People usually say salary packaging when they mean the FBT-exempt benefits offered by charities and hospitals, such as rent, mortgage or bill payments, and salary sacrifice when they mean extra super or a novated lease.
Who can use salary packaging for everyday expenses?
Mainly employees of public benevolent institutions and health promotion charities, public and not-for-profit hospitals, and public ambulance services. These employers are exempt from fringe benefits tax up to a set cap for each employee.
Does salary packaging reduce my super?
No. Employers must calculate the 12% super guarantee on your salary before any amount is packaged, so your employer super stays the same.
Does salary packaging affect my HELP repayments or Centrelink?
It can. Packaged living expenses appear on your income statement as reportable fringe benefits, at a grossed-up value. That amount is added back when working out HELP repayments, the Medicare levy surcharge and many government payments. Meal entertainment is not reported this way.
When does the salary packaging cap reset?
Caps apply per fringe benefits tax year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March, not the usual 1 July financial year. Unused amounts do not carry over.
Can I package rent and groceries?
With an FBT-exempt employer, yes. Most providers let you pay rent, mortgage repayments, utilities and other living costs from your packaged amount, often through a salary packaging card. Meal entertainment covers restaurant meals and venue hire, not groceries.
Is a salary package the same as salary packaging?
No. A salary package (TRP) is your total pay including super. Salary packaging is a tax-free benefit that lets workers at charities, public hospitals and ambulance services pay some costs from their pre-tax pay.
How much can NSW Health staff salary package?
NSW Health staff fall under the public hospital cap, so they can package about $9,010 of living expenses a year, plus up to about $2,650 for meal entertainment and holiday accommodation.
What is the difference between a PBI and a not-for-profit for salary packaging?
Public benevolent institutions (PBIs) and health promotion charities get the higher cap of about $15,900. Other not-for-profits are usually not FBT-exempt, so they may not offer packaging, or the savings are smaller.
Can I salary package rent?
Yes. If you work for an eligible charity, hospital or ambulance service, you can package rent up to your cap. The provider pays your landlord or reimburses you, and you need to show your lease.
Are there fees for salary packaging?
Most employers use a packaging provider that charges an admin fee, often taken monthly from your pre-tax pay. Check the fee before you start, because it reduces your saving.