Lesson title: income tax tables

Do Now

Calculate the taxable income for each person:

  1. AFL player: Gross income $450,000, allowable deductions $8,500
  2. Tennis coach: Gross income $65,000, allowable deductions $3,200
  3. Swimming instructor: Gross income $38,500, allowable deductions $1,800

Learning Intentions

By the end of today’s lesson, you will be able to:

  • Use Australian income tax tables to calculate tax owed
  • Explain how marginal tax rates work
  • Identify common misconceptions about tax brackets

Australian Income Tax Rates 2024-25

Taxable Income Marginal Tax Rate Tax Payable
$0 - $18,200 0%
$18,201 - $45,000 19%
$45,001 - $120,000 32.5%
$120,001 - $180,000 37%
$180,001+ 45%

The Big Misconception

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WRONG: “I earn $200,000 in a year. I pay 45% (almost half) of my income in tax.”

RIGHT: “If I earn $200,000, only the $20000 above $180,000 gets taxed at 45%”

Complete Tax Table

Taxable Income Marginal Tax Rate Tax Payable
$0 - $18,200 0% $0
$18,201 - $45,000 19% 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$45,001 - $120,000 32.5% $5,092 + 32.5c for each $1 over $45,000
$120,001 - $180,000 37% $29,467 + 37c for each $1 over $120,000
$180,001+ 45% $51,667 + 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Worked Example: NRL Player

Marcus (NRL player) has taxable income of $85,000

This uses the simplified version of the tax table provided by the ATO. \[\begin{align*} & 5,092 + 32.5c \text{ for each } \$1 \text{ over } \$45,000 \\ =& 5,092 + (\$85,000 - \$45,000) × 32.5\% \\ =& \$5,092 + \$13,000 \\ =& $18,092 \end{align*}\]

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Check Your Understanding

Calculate the tax owed on a taxable income of $52,000

Show your working in steps like the previous example.

Your turn - silent work

Check Your Understanding

True or False: Explain your reasoning

  1. “A netball player earning $46,000 pays 32.5% tax on all her income”

  2. “Moving from $44,999 to $45,001 income means you lose money overall due to higher tax”

Your turn - silent work

Independent Practice

Calculate tax owed:

  1. Basketball player: $67,500 taxable income
  2. Cricket coach: $125,000 taxable income
  3. Dance instructor: $34,800 taxable income
  4. Golf pro: $95,000 taxable income

Extension questions:

  1. A swimmer’s taxable income is $78,000. What’s her average tax rate?
  2. Two rugby players earn $119,000 and $121,000. How much extra tax does the higher earner pay?
  3. At what income does someone start paying the 37% marginal rate?

Complete the questions in your book

Marginal vs Average Tax Rate

Using the NRL player example (taxable income $85,000, tax $18,092):

Marginal tax rate: 32.5% (the rate on the last dollar earned)

Average tax rate: $18,092 ÷ $85,000 = 21.3%

Which rate matters more for decision making?

Real World Application

Tennis player dilemma:

Sarah earns $118,000 and is offered coaching work worth $5,000. Her friend says “Don’t do it - you’ll move into the 37% tax bracket!”

Is her friend right? Calculate to find out.

Discuss with the person next to you

Summary

Key points:

  • Tax brackets are marginal - only income above each threshold is taxed at that rate
  • Moving to a higher bracket never reduces your take-home pay
  • Average tax rate shows overall burden, marginal rate affects decisions

Next lesson: How employers calculate PAYG tax from your pay

PAYG Tax Slides (Next Lesson)

PAYG Tax System

Pay As You Go (PAYG)

Instead of paying all your tax at the end of the year, employers deduct tax from each pay and send it to the ATO.

Benefits:

  • Spreads tax payments across the year
  • Reduces large tax bills
  • Ensures government receives revenue regularly

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How PAYG is Calculated

Your employer uses:

  1. Your annual salary - to determine tax bracket
  2. PAYG withholding tables - provided by the ATO
  3. Tax-free threshold declaration - affects how much is withheld

The system estimates your annual tax and spreads it across pay periods.

PAYG Example: Fortnightly Pay

Basketball player: $78,000 annual salary

Step 1: Annual tax = $15,967 (we calculated this last lesson) Step 2: Fortnightly tax = $15,967 ÷ 26 = $614.12

Each fortnight, $614.12 is deducted from pay and sent to the ATO.

Watch and listen

Tax-Free Threshold

Important choice when starting a job:

Claim tax-free threshold: Normal PAYG deductions ❌ Don’t claim: Higher deductions (no $18,200 tax-free amount)

Rule: Only claim at ONE job if you have multiple employers

Practice Problems

##A

A soccer player earns $65,000 annually and is paid fortnightly. Calculate: 1. Annual tax owed 2. PAYG tax per fortnight

##B

A swim coach works two jobs: - Pool A: $35,000 annually
- Pool B: $25,000 annually

Where should they claim the tax-free threshold? Why?

##C

An athletics coach’s payslip shows $520 PAYG deducted fortnightly. Estimate their annual salary.

Your turn - work through each tab