Am I Owed a Tax Refund in Australia? PAYG vs Actual Tax Explained (2026-27)

Most likely yes, if you have any work-related deductions to claim and a single, steady PAYG job. On a $95,000 salary paid fortnightly with $580 in deductions claimed (400 work-from-home hours at the ATO's fixed rate, plus $300 of tools), PayMetric's own model estimates about $20,930 withheld through the year against $20,734 of actual tax payable, a refund of roughly $196. The exact figure depends entirely on your own salary, pay frequency, and deductions, use the Tax Refund Calculator below for your own numbers.

Because PAYG withholding is calculated on your gross pay with no deductions factored in at all. Your employer's payroll system has no way of knowing what work-related expenses you'll claim at tax time, so it withholds tax as if your whole gross salary is taxable. Any deduction you claim when you lodge your return then lowers your actual taxable income below what PAYG assumed, which is exactly the gap that comes back as a refund.

This happens when your actual tax payable ends up higher than what was withheld, usually because of income your main employer's payroll never saw. On the same $95,000 fortnightly salary with no deductions claimed at all, PAYG withholding and actual tax payable land close to each other ($20,930 withheld versus $20,920 payable), so a second job, investment or rental income with no tax withheld, or a pay rise your employer's withholding rate didn't catch up with in time can all tip that balance the other way.

A typical PAYG employee can realistically claim working from home under the ATO's fixed-rate method (70 cents per hour for the 2025-26 year, covering energy, internet, phone and stationery in one rate), self-education directly connected to your current job, tools, equipment and professional subscriptions, union or professional association fees, and income protection insurance held outside super. These aren't the only deductions the ATO allows, but they're the ones most employees can substantiate without extensive record-keeping.

The ATO publishes withholding formulas (Schedule 1) that effectively annualise your regular pay-period gross, assuming it repeats every period for the whole year, then apply the standard annual income tax brackets and Medicare Levy to that annualised figure, then divide the result back down per pay period. It's a genuinely different calculation from simply dividing your annual tax bill by the number of pay periods, though it lands close to it for standard, continuous employment.

Yes, but it's calculated separately from income tax and the Medicare Levy. HECS/HELP repayments have their own marginal thresholds, withholding, and 1 June indexation, all covered on the dedicated HECS/HELP Repayment Calculator. If you have a HELP debt, factor that repayment in alongside the income-tax refund or amount owed shown here for your full picture.

Yes. For most categories you need some form of substantiation: a logged record of work-from-home hours (a diary, roster, or timesheet) for the fixed-rate method, and receipts or invoices for self-education, tools, union fees, and insurance premiums. The ATO checks these, particularly work-from-home claims, so keep records through the year rather than reconstructing them at tax time.

Not your final refund, but it does change how PAYG is withheld along the way. The ATO's withholding schedules use slightly different rounding and coefficients for weekly, fortnightly, and monthly pay, so two people on the same annual salary paid on different cycles can see marginally different total withholding over the year, even though your actual tax payable at lodgment is calculated on the same annual taxable income either way. The calculator lets you pick your real pay frequency so the withheld figure matches your actual payslips.

Not reliably. This model assumes steady, continuous PAYG income at one job for the full financial year, the same assumption the ATO's own standard withholding tables make. Starting, finishing, or switching jobs partway through the year changes how much was actually withheld in ways this simplified estimate doesn't capture, since each employer's payroll only sees the income it paid you, not your full-year total. Treat the result as a rough guide rather than a firm number in that situation, and confirm the real figure once you lodge.