This document is a withholding schedule made by the Commissioner of Taxation in accordance with sections 15-25 and 15-30 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA). It applies to withholding payments covered by section 12-35 of Schedule 1 to the TAA.
This schedule applies to payments to individuals – including backpackers – who are working in Australia and hold at the time of the payment a:
Working holiday makers visa (subclass 417), or
Work and holiday makers visa (subclass 462), or
Bridging visa permitting the individual to work in Australia if:
the bridging visa was granted under the Migration Act 1958 in relation to an application for a visa of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b); and
the Minister administering that Act is still to make a decision in relation to the application; and
the most recent visa, other than a bridging visa, granted under that Act to the individual was a visa of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b).
This schedule applies to all payments made to working holiday makers, including:
■ salary and wages
■ allowances
■ termination payments (taxable component only)
■ unused leave
■ return to work payments
■ back payments, commissions, bonuses and similar payments
■ payments to actors and entertainers.
If you employ individuals under the Seasonal Worker Programme, the tax table for working holiday makers does not apply.
If you made an employment termination payment to a working holiday maker, withholding does not apply to the tax-free component.
Generally, allowances are added to normal earnings and the amount to withhold using this schedule is calculated on the total amount of earnings and allowances.
The withholding treatment and reporting requirements for various allowance types outlined in Withholding for allowances also applies to working holiday makers.
■ Working out the withholding amount
■ Registered employer
■ Unregistered employer
■ Using a formula
■ Table A: Working holiday makers income tax rates
■ Rounding of withholding amounts
■ Accounting software
■ TFN declarations
■ PAYG withholding publications
To work out the amount you need to withhold, you must:
■ put the total payments you will make to your employee for the pay period into the Withholding look-up tool (XLSX, 35KB)
■ use the appropriate column to find the correct amount to withhold
– Column 2 if you are registered and total payments you have made to the employee for the income year prior to this payment are less than $45,001, and the employee has given you a tax file number (TFN)
– Column 3 if you are registered and total payments you have made to the employee for the income year prior to this payment are from $45,001 to $120,000, and the employee has given you a TFN
– Column 4 if you are registered and total payments you have made to the employee for the income year prior to this payment are from $120,001 to $180,000, and the employee has given you a TFN
– Column 5 if you are registered and total payments you have made to the employee for the income year prior to this payment are more than $180,000, and the employee has given you a TFN
– Column 6 if you are registered and the employee has not given you a TFN.
Example 1: Using the Withholding lookup toolA foreign resident employee is working in Australia under a working holiday makers visa (subclass 417) and has earnings for the week of $680.70. The employee has provided their TFN on a Tax file number declaration, and the total payments you have made to this employee do not exceed $45,000 for the 2020–21 income year.To work out the correct amount to withhold, put $680 into the Withholding lookup tool (XLSX 33KB) (ignore cents).The tool will automatically calculate the withholding result of $102 (Column 2, registered employer and employee has given you a TFN).
Registered employer
You need to register with us before you employ a working holiday maker. If you are registered, you will be able to withhold at a flat rate of 15% up to $45,000 in total payments made to each individual working holiday maker within an income year. Where total payments exceed $45,000, see Table A below for the applicable withholding rate.
Next steps:
■ Working holiday maker employer registration tool
Unregistered employer
If you have not registered with us to withhold at working holiday maker tax rates, you are required to withhold at foreign resident rates as specified in the tax tables for weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments.
If you have developed your own payroll software package, you can use the formulas and coefficients outlined below to calculate the withholding amount.
■ y is the amount to be withheld expressed in dollars
■ x is total payment made to the employee for the pay period, ignoring any cents
■ a is the value of the coefficient as shown in Table A.
Table A: Working holiday makers income tax rates
The following tax rates for 2020-21 apply for working holiday makers holding a subclass 417 or 462 visa from 1 July 2020.
Table A: Working holiday makers income tax rates for 2020-21
Taxable income
Tax rate
Value (a)
$0 – $45,000
15% on each $1 up to $45,000
0.15
$45,001 – $120,000
32.5% on each $1 over $45,000 to $120,000
0.325
$120,001 – $180,000
37% on each $1 over $120,000 to $180,000
0.37
$180,001 and over
45% on each $1 over $180,000
0.45
If no TFN is provided you must withhold at 45% on total payments made. If using formulas, the value of 'a' is 0.45.
Example 2: Using the formulaA foreign resident employee is working in Australia under a work and holiday makers visa (subclass 462) and has earnings for the month of $2,825.75.The employee has provided their TFN on a Tax file number declaration, and total payments you have made to this employee for the income year do not exceed $45,000.x = 2,825 (ignoring cents)Withholding amount (y)= (a × x)= 0.15 × 2825= 423.75 or $424.00 (rounded to nearest dollar)
Example 3: When payments exceed $45,000A foreign resident employee is working in Australia under a working holiday makers visa (subclass 417) and has earnings for the month of May 2021 of $3,570.20.The employee has provided their TFN on a Tax file number declaration and the total payments you have made to this employee from January 2021 to April 2021, in the 2020–21 income year, is $47,000. Last month's payment resulted in total payments exceeding $45,000. Therefore, from the next pay you must withhold at the foreign resident tax rates specified in Table A.Withholding is calculated at 32.5 cents for every dollar of earnings over $45,000 (to $120,000)Current pay = $3,570.20The value of 'a' in the formula is 0.325.Withholding = 0.325 × 3,570= 1,160.25 or $1,160.00 (rounded to the nearest dollar)
Note: Working holiday makers cannot claim Medicare levy adjustments or tax offsets to reduce withholding. If your working holiday maker has claimed a Medicare levy adjustment on a Medicare levy variation declaration or a tax offset on a Withholding declaration, don’t make any adjustments to the amount you withhold.
Any working holiday maker who is an Australian resident for tax purposes will be able to claim Medicare levy adjustments and tax offsets that they are entitled to when they lodge their income tax return.
The withholding amounts calculated as a result of applying the above rates and formula are rounded to the nearest dollar. Values ending in 50 cents and higher are rounded to the next higher dollar. Do this rounding directly – that is, do not make a preliminary rounding to the nearest cent.
Where withholding is calculated on the top marginal rate of tax or when no TFN is provided, ignore cents in the withholding result.
Software written in accordance with the formulas in this schedule should be tested for accuracy against the Withholding look-up tool (XLSX, 33KB). The results obtained when using the coefficients in this schedule may differ slightly from the Withholding look-up tool. The differences result from the rounding of components. Withholding calculated using either method is accepted.
TFN declarations
Your employee may indicate that they are a working holiday maker in their TFN declaration.
Even if they don't, you will need to withhold amounts using the rates shown in Table A (provided they have given you a valid TFN).
This applies to:
Working holiday makers visa (subclass 417), or
Work and holiday makers visa (subclass 462), or
Bridging visa permitting the individual to work in Australia if:
the bridging visa was granted under the Migration Act 1958 in relation to an application for a visa of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b); and
the Minister administering that Act is still to make a decision in relation to the application; and
the most recent visa, other than a bridging visa, granted under that Act to the individual was a visa of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b).
To confirm the visa status of a working holiday maker, go to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) webpage. This is where you can check visa details and conditions.
Working holiday makers cannot claim tax offsets. If they have claimed a tax offset on the Tax file number declaration, do not adjust the amount you withhold.
Working holiday makers cannot have a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), VET Student Loan (VSL), Financial Supplement (FS), Student Start-up Loan (SSL) or Trade Support Loan (TSL) debt.
Working holiday makers cannot receive Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) payments or Lump sum A, B or D payments.
If a TFN has not been provided
You must withhold 45% from payments to a working holiday maker (ignoring cents), if:
If an employee states at Question 1 of the Tax file number declaration that they have lodged a Tax file number – application or enquiry for individuals with us, they have 28 days to provide you with their TFN.
If the employee has not given you their TFN within 28 days, you must withhold 45% from any payment you make unless we tell you not to.
A working holiday maker who has not quoted a TFN must still be provided with an income statement (or payment summary) with a payment type code 'H'.