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What is payroll tax?
Payroll tax is a State tax that is calculated on wages you, as an employer, pay to your employees or deemed employees.
Payroll tax is a self-assessing tax, which requires employers to establish whether the level of their wages paid or payable requires them to register. An employer who is required to apply for registration must:
- Make an application to register as an employer.
- Lodge returns on a periodic basis (either monthly or annually) as determined by the Commissioner and pay the tax due when the return is lodged.
- Perform an Annual Reconciliation at the end of each financial year to ensure the correct liability has been paid.
All Australian states and territories have harmonised a number of key areas of payroll tax administration. For more information on the harmonisation of payroll tax refer to the Payroll Tax Australia website.
How is payroll tax calculated?
Payroll tax in South Australia is administered under the following legislation:
- Payroll Tax Act 2009
- Payroll Tax Regulations 2025
- Taxation Administration Act 1996
Does my organisation need to register for payroll tax?
An employer must register for payroll tax when their Australian wide taxable wages exceeds the South Australian threshold and the employer pays wages in South Australia.
Where an employer is a member of a group of employers and pays taxable wages in South Australia and the group's Australian taxable wages exceeds the South Australian threshold, registration is required, regardless of the wage level of the particular group member.
Find out more on our Register for payroll tax page.
Tax rates, wage thresholds and deduction
The payroll tax rate is determined based on the Australia wide annual wages (or group wages) paid, this means, your wages before the deduction entitlement is subtracted.
Contact us
When contacting us please provide your South Australian Taxpayer Number (if known), ABN, and organisation name.
| payrolltax@sa.gov.au | |
| phone | (08) 8372 7534 |
| fax | (08) 8226 3805 |
| post |
RevenueSA Kaurna Country GPO Box 2418 ADELAIDE SA 5001 |
You can reach us during business hours, excluding public holidays:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:30am - 5:00pm (ACST or ACDT)
- Wednesday: 10:00am - 5:00pm (ACST or ACDT)
South Australia observes daylight saving.
- ACST: Australian Central Standard Time is from early April to early October.
- ACDT: Australian Central Daylight Time is from early October to early April.
Do you want to provide feedback or lodge a complaint?
You can do so via our feedback and complaints page.