$40 an hour is how much a year in Australia (2026-27)?
$40 an hour is how much a year? Full time, it's $79,040 before tax: 38 hours a week for 52 weeks. Take-home pay after 2026-27 income tax and the Medicare levy is about $63,227 (ATO tax rates for Australian residents (opens in a new tab)).
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2026-27 key figures
- Full-time week
- 38 hours
- Weeks per year
- 52
- Tax-free threshold
- $18,200
- Medicare levy
- 2%
Gross salary per year
$79,040
From $79,040 gross per year
- You keep 80.0%
- Income tax 18.0%
- Medicare levy 2.0%
Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hours per year (38 hours × 52 weeks) | 1,976 |
| Annual salary ($40 × 1,976 hours) | $79,040 |
| Income tax after offsets | $14,232 |
| Medicare levy | $1,580.80 |
| Total tax per year | $15,812.80 |
| Take-home pay per year | $63,227.20 |
Tax per bracket is in the income tax calculator.
- Gross per hour
- $40
- Gross per month
- $6,586.67
- Gross per fortnight
- $3,040
- Gross per week
- $1,520
- Take-home per year
- $63,227.20
- Take-home per week
- $1,215.91
- Total tax per year
- $15,812.80
- Take-home per month
- $5,268.93
- Take-home per fortnight
- $2,431.82
- Employer super per year
- $9,484.80
- Paid on top
| Period | Before tax | After tax |
|---|---|---|
| Week | $1,520.00 | $1,215.91 |
| Fortnight | $3,040.00 | $2,431.82 |
| Month | $6,586.67 | $5,268.93 |
| Year | $79,040.00 | $63,227.20 |
Where $79,040 a year sits in the tax brackets
- Tax bracket$45,001 to $135,000
- 30%
- To the 37% bracketIncome past it pays more
- $55,960
- More take-home than 2025-26First rate now 15%
- $268
Crossing a line doesn't change the tax on income below it.
$40 an hour compared with the average full-time hourly wage
The ABS put average full-time adult ordinary earnings at $2,083.70 a week in May 2026 (ABS Average Weekly Earnings (opens in a new tab)). Over 38 hours that's about $54.83 an hour, so $40 is 27% below the average. The median full-time employee earned $1,741 a week in August 2025, about $45.82 an hour, and $40 is 13% below that.
Permanent salary or casual rate: is $40 the better deal?
As a permanent rate, $40 gives $79,040 a year, with four weeks of paid annual leave included in those 52 paid weeks. A casual role would need $50.00 an hour to match it, because the 25% loading stands in for leave. Read the other way, a casual offer of $40 equals a permanent base of $32.00.
Tax and take-home at $40 an hour on 38 vs 40 hours
Two extra hours a week at $40 add $4,160 a year before tax. After tax the gain is $2,829, because the extra income is taxed at 32% including the Medicare levy. Take-home rises from $63,227 at 38 hours to $66,056 at 40 hours.
Super on $40 an hour
Employer super guarantee is 12% of qualifying earnings: about $9,485 a year at $40 over 38 hours. Under Payday Super, from 1 July 2026, it's paid with each pay and must reach your fund within 7 business days. It sits on top of the hourly rate unless your contract says the rate includes super.
| Hourly rate | Yearly (38 hrs) | After tax |
|---|---|---|
| $30 an hour | $59,280 | $49,901 |
| $35 an hour | $69,160 | $56,509 |
| $40 | $79,040 | $63,227 |
| $45 an hour | $88,920 | $69,946 |
| $50 an hour | $98,800 | $76,664 |
Paid another rate? See the hourly to salary chart. The annual salary calculator takes any rate.
$40 an hour questions: weekly pay, fortnightly pay and average wages
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Last reviewed
How much is $40 an hour per week?
At $40 an hour, 38 hours is $1,520.00 a week before tax and 40 hours is $1,600.00. After 2026-27 tax and the Medicare levy, the 38-hour week leaves about $1,215.91. A HECS debt would take about $27.44 more a week, since $79,040 is above the $69,528 repayment threshold.
How much is $40 an hour a fortnight?
Seventy-six hours at $40 pays $3,040.00 a fortnight before tax, or about $2,431.82 after tax on the annual estimate. The 2026-27 fortnightly tax table withholds $610 from $3,040.00 when the tax-free threshold is claimed. Any small gap between the two is settled when you lodge your return.
Is $40 an hour a good wage in Australia?
It sits between the minimum and the average. $40 an hour is 51% above the $26.44 national minimum wage, 13% below the median full-time hourly figure of about $45.82 and 27% below the average of about $54.83. Whether it suits you depends on your award, hours and location.
Estimates only, based on published rates for 2026-27. General information, not tax or financial advice.
Keep going
Sources
- ATO: Individual income tax rates (opens in a new tab)
- ABS: Average Weekly Earnings (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Minimum wage increase, 1 July 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Payday Super (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Study and training loan repayment thresholds (opens in a new tab)
Provisional: the Medicare levy low-income thresholds ($28,011 and $35,013) are carried over from the previous financial year until the ATO publishes the 2026-27 figures.