The short version
- Working holiday makers in Australia pay 15% tax on the first AUD 45,000 they earn in an income year. Above that, the rate goes up to 30%, 37% and then 45%.
- You count as a working holiday maker if you hold a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) or a Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462).
- Your employer must register with the ATO to take out 15%. An employer that has not registered takes out 30% from every dollar.
- If you claim your superannuation after you leave Australia, the tax on that payment is 65%.
What is the working holiday maker tax rate?
It is 15% on every dollar of taxable income up to AUD 45,000 in an income year. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) sets higher rates for income above that.
These are the ATO's rates for the 2026-27 income year, which runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027:
| Taxable income | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| AUD 0 to 45,000 | 15% on each dollar |
| AUD 45,001 to 135,000 | 30% on each dollar over 45,000 |
| AUD 135,001 to 190,000 | 37% on each dollar over 135,000 |
| AUD 190,001 and over | 45% on each dollar over 190,000 |
The 15% starts from the first dollar. So the tax is AUD 6,750 on AUD 45,000, AUD 33,750 on AUD 135,000 and AUD 54,100 on AUD 190,000. Those totals come from the ATO's 2025-26 table, which uses the same bands and rates.
People often call this the backpacker tax. The ATO has a Simple tax calculator and an Income tax estimator on its working holiday maker tax rates page.
Who counts as a working holiday maker?
Anyone who holds a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) or a Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462). The ATO goes by your visa.
The working holiday maker tax table also covers a bridging visa that lets you work, if it was granted for a new 417 or 462 application and your last main visa was a 417 or 462. It does not cover the Seasonal Worker Programme or the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.
Which visa you get depends on your passport:
- Subclass 417: for passports such as the UK, Ireland, Germany and Japan. UK passports can apply up to age 35. See how to move to Australia from the UK.
- Subclass 462: for passports such as the US, Spain and Argentina. US passports can apply from 18 to 30. See how to move to Australia from the US.
Both visas give you 12 months in Australia, and a first one costs AUD 840 for most passports. Ages, stays and caps for every passport are on our Australia working holiday visa page. New to the idea? Read how a working holiday visa works.
Does tax residency change the rate?
For most working holiday makers, no. The ATO says your tax residency does not change the rate you pay, with one exception.
The exception is for people who are both Australian residents for tax purposes and nationals of a country whose tax treaty with Australia has a non-discrimination article. The ATO lists these countries:
- Chile, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Turkey and the United Kingdom
- Israel, for 2020-21 and later income years
This comes from a High Court case, Addy v Commissioner of Taxation, decided on 3 November 2021. A British citizen on a working holiday visa, who was found to be an Australian resident, won the right to be taxed like a resident Australian. The ATO says her residency was unique to her case.
If you fall in this group, the ATO says you pay whichever is lower: tax as a resident Australian with the same income, or tax at the working holiday maker rates. Your employer still takes out 15%. You can lodge a tax return, or ask the ATO to change how much your employer takes out.
Most working holiday makers are not in this group. The ATO says people who come to Australia for a holiday, even if they work while there, generally do not become residents for tax purposes. Iceland's treaty is the one that rules out the working holiday maker rates.
How much tax does your employer take out?
It depends on whether your employer has registered with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers:
| Employer | Tax taken out |
|---|---|
| Registered, with your tax file number | 15% up to AUD 45,000, then the higher rates |
| Not registered | 30% from every dollar up to AUD 135,000 |
| No tax file number given | 45% of every payment |
The ATO gives an example. On a weekly pay of AUD 1,000, a registered employer takes out AUD 150. An employer that is not registered takes out AUD 300.
The ATO says employers who hire people on a 417 or 462 visa must register, and penalties may apply if they do not. Your employer checks your visa, but the ATO also asks you to tell them you are a working holiday maker on your tax file number declaration.
Do you need a tax file number?
You do not have to have one, but without one you pay more tax. A tax file number (TFN) is your personal number in Australia's tax system.
- When to apply: online, once you have your work visa.
- What to give your employer: a completed tax file number declaration when you start work.
- Without one: the ATO's working holiday maker tax table tells employers to take out 45% of every payment.
Do working holiday makers have to lodge a tax return?
Not always. The ATO says you do not need to lodge a return, or a non-lodgment advice, if both of these are true for the income year:
- All your income was salary or wages earned while you were a working holiday maker.
- Your total taxable income was less than AUD 45,001.
You need to lodge a return if you want to claim deductions. The ATO also says you may want to lodge one if you think you were an Australian resident from one of the countries listed above.
Australia's income year runs from 1 July to 30 June. If you leave Australia for good before 30 June, you can lodge your return early. Your employer usually reports your pay, tax and super through Single Touch Payroll, and you see it as an income statement in ATO online services through myGov.
What is the tax on super when you leave?
It is 65%. Like other employees, working holiday makers get superannuation, a retirement fund that employers pay into. When you leave, you can ask for it back as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP). The ATO says the tax on a DASP paid to a working holiday maker on or after 1 July 2017 is 65%.
The ATO says you can generally claim a DASP when all of these apply:
- Your temporary visa has ended, by expiring or being cancelled.
- You have left Australia and hold no other active Australian visa.
- You are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident.
You can start the online application before you leave and submit it after. The online system is free. If you do not claim, your fund passes the money to the ATO once you have been gone for 6 months or more and your visa has ended. You may still be able to claim it from the ATO after that.
Do Americans also pay US tax on Australian wages?
US tax rules still apply to them. The IRS says US citizens are subject to tax on their worldwide income and must report it, and the filing rules are generally the same whether they live in the US or abroad. Our guide to the foreign earned income exclusion explains how that works for Americans living abroad.
Has the working holiday maker tax rate changed?
Yes, a few times since it started. The ATO says the working holiday maker rates apply to income earned from 1 January 2017. Before that, working holiday makers were taxed based on their residency.
| Income years | 15% band | Next rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 to 2019-20 | Up to AUD 37,000 | 32.5% |
| 2020-21 to 2023-24 | Up to AUD 45,000 | 32.5% |
| 2024-25 to 2026-27 | Up to AUD 45,000 | 30% |
The rates for each year are on the ATO's page. Rates and thresholds can change each income year, and each figure here was read on the ATO's site on the date shown below.