Weekly tax table with no and half Medicare levy

For payments made on or after 13 October 2020

Use the Medicare levy adjustment tool to quickly work out a Medicare levy adjustment (XLSX 34KB)This link will download a file.

Using this table

Use this table if you make payments to a prescribed person entitled to a full or half Medicare levy exemption. Prescribed persons include members of the defence force and certain recipients of repatriation and social security pensions and benefits.

You should use this table if you make any of the following payments to these payees on a weekly basis:

• salary, wages, allowances and leave loading paid to employees
• paid parental leave
• directors' fees
• salary and allowances paid to office holders (including members of parliament, statutory office holders, defence force members and police officers)
• payments to labour-hire workers
• payments to religious practitioners
• government education or training payments
• compensation, sickness or accident payments that are calculated at a periodical rate and made because a person is unable to work (unless the payment is made under an insurance policy to the policy owner).

If you make payments to these payees on a monthly or quarterly basis, you will need to convert their payments into weekly earnings. For more information, refer to Working out the monthly or quarterly withholding amounts.

If you make fortnightly payments, refer to Fortnightly tax table with no and half Medicare levy.

For this table to apply, your payee must have completed both of the following:

• a valid Tax file number declaration claiming the tax-free threshold
• a Medicare levy variation declaration claiming a full or half levy exemption from their Medicare levy.

Other tax tables may apply if you made payments to shearers, workers in the horticultural industry, performing artists and those engaged on a daily or casual basis.

This tax table does not apply to individuals who are not prescribed persons. This includes foreign residents, or individuals employed in the seasonal workers programme or under a working holiday maker visa.

See also:

• You can download a printable version of Weekly tax table with no and half Medicare levy (PDF 2.1MB)This link will download a file (NAT 1008) in Portable Document Format (PDF).

Medicare levy adjustments

To claim the Medicare levy adjustment available in certain situations, your payee must give you a Medicare levy variation declaration with their Tax file number declaration.

If a payee has claimed a half levy exemption from the Medicare levy and has also answered yes to questions 10 and 12 on the Medicare levy variation declaration, they may be entitled to a Medicare levy adjustment if their weekly earnings are $739 or more. Refer to Medicare levy adjustment to half levy for instructions on working out the Medicare levy adjustment to half levy.

Eligibility for a full exemption

To obtain a full exemption from the Medicare levy, your payee must have completed section A of the Medicare levy variation declaration and answered yes to the following:

• Question 5 ‘Do you qualify for a Medicare levy exemption?’
• Question 6 ‘Do you want to claim a full exemption from the Medicare levy?’.

Eligibility for a half levy exemption

To obtain a half levy exemption from the Medicare levy, your payee must have completed section A of the Medicare levy variation declaration and answered yes to the following:

• Question 5 ‘Do you qualify for a Medicare levy exemption?’
• Question 7 ‘Do you want to claim a half levy exemption from the Medicare levy?’.

Working out the withholding amount

To work out the withholding amount:

1. Calculate your employee's total weekly earnings – add any allowances and irregular payments that are to be included in this week’s pay to the normal weekly earnings, ignoring any cents.
2. Input the amount from step 1 into the Withholding lookup tool (XLSX 33KB)This link will download a file as per instructions in the tool.
3. Use the appropriate column to find the amount to withhold. If your employee is:  
   • claiming full Medicare levy exemption, use column 2
   • claiming half Medicare levy exemption, use column 3.
    
4. Adjust the withholding amount found in step 3 if the following applies to your employee:  
   • they have an entitlement to a tax offset
   • they are entitled to an adjustment for the Medicare levy – half levy
   • they have advised you of an accumulated Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL) or Trade Support Loan (TSL), see Study and training support loans weekly tax table.
    

Working out the monthly or quarterly withholding amounts

First calculate the weekly equivalent of monthly or quarterly earnings. If you pay:

• monthly – obtain the sum of the monthly earnings and the amount of any allowances subject to withholding (if the result is an amount ending in 33 cents, add one cent), multiply this amount by three and then divide by 13. Ignore any cents in the result and then add 99 cents.
• quarterly – divide the sum of the quarterly earnings and the amount of any allowances subject to withholding by 13. Ignore any cents in the result and then add 99 cents.

Then calculate monthly or quarterly withholding amounts as follows:

• monthly – work out the rounded weekly withholding amount applicable to the weekly equivalent of earnings, before any adjustment for tax offsets. Multiply this amount by 13, divide the product by three and round the result to the nearest dollar.
• quarterly – work out the rounded weekly withholding amount applicable to the weekly equivalent of earnings, before any adjustment for tax offsets. Multiply this amount by 13.

Using a formula

The withholding amounts shown in this table can be expressed in a mathematical form.

If you have developed your own payroll software package, refer to Statement of formulas for calculating amounts to be withheld.