Queensland's payroll tax looks generous at the bottom: a $1.3 million threshold, a rate under 5%, apprentices and trainees exempt, GP wages exempt, and a discount for regional employers. The catch is the taper. Your deduction shrinks as your group grows, the rate steps up once wages pass $6.5 million, and the mental health levy starts at $10 million. Mid-sized and growing businesses often pay more than they budget for.
This guide sets out the 2026–27 rates and thresholds, how the deduction and levy are calculated, the regional discount, registration, grouping, contractors, exemptions and the apprentice rebate, the lodgement calendar, penalties and worked examples. For other states, see our guide to payroll tax by state.
Queensland payroll tax at a glance (2026–27)
| Item | 2026–27 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 4.75% where Australian taxable wages are $6.5m or less; 4.95% above $6.5m | QRO |
| Threshold | $1,300,000 annual Australian taxable wages | QRO |
| Deduction | $1.3m, reduced by $1 for every $7 of wages above $1.3m; nil at $10.4m (monthly range $108,333 to $866,666) | QRO |
| Mental health levy | 0.25% of Queensland wages above $10m; extra 0.5% above $100m | QRO |
| Regional discount | 1% off the rate (3.75% or 3.95%) for eligible regional employers, 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2030; not available above $350m Australian wages | QRO |
| Registration trigger | Within 7 days of the first month your Australian wages exceed $25,000 a week | QRO |
| Periodic returns | 7 days after each month or half-year | QRO |
| Annual return | 21 July 2027 for 2026–27 | QRO |
| Apprentice and trainee rebate | 50%, available to 30 June 2027 | QRO |
The rates and deduction range haven't changed since 1 January 2023. QRO lists the apprentice and trainee rebate as available for each financial year up to 30 June 2027, and GP wages have been exempt since 1 December 2024.
What are the Queensland payroll tax rates for 2026–27?
Queensland's rate is 4.75% for employers and groups with Australian taxable wages of $6.5 million or less, and 4.95% where wages are above $6.5 million. The higher rate applies to all your taxable wages once you're over $6.5 million, not just the excess, so crossing $6.5 million adds 0.2% to the whole bill.
Eligible regional employers pay 1% less: 3.75% (up to $6.5 million) or 3.95% (above $6.5 million).
How is the Queensland deduction calculated?
Your deduction is $1.3 million less one-seventh of your Australian wages above $1.3 million. It reaches nil at $10.4 million.
Deduction = $1,300,000 − (Australian taxable wages − $1,300,000) ÷ 7
You then pay the rate on Queensland taxable wages less the deduction. If you're grouped, only the designated group employer claims the deduction, based on the whole group's Australian wages. If you also pay interstate wages, you use the Queensland share.
Queensland only, not grouped, metropolitan, full year, 2026–27:
| Australian taxable wages | Deduction | Rate | Payroll tax | Mental health levy | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,300,000 | $1,300,000 | 4.75% | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| $2,000,000 | $1,200,000 | 4.75% | $38,000 | Nil | $38,000 |
| $3,000,000 | $1,057,143 | 4.75% | $92,286 | Nil | $92,286 |
| $5,000,000 | $771,429 | 4.75% | $200,857 | Nil | $200,857 |
| $6,500,000 | $557,143 | 4.75% | $282,286 | Nil | $282,286 |
| $8,000,000 | $342,857 | 4.95% | $379,029 | Nil | $379,029 |
| $12,000,000 | Nil | 4.95% | $594,000 | $5,000 | $599,000 |
QRO offers three ways to claim the deduction during the year: actual periodic (ungrouped, Queensland-only employers, calculated each return), fixed periodic (groups and interstate employers, an estimated amount entered each return and recalculated if wages move more than 30%), and annual (worked out at the annual return).
How does the Queensland mental health levy work?
The mental health levy is 0.25% of Queensland taxable wages above $10 million (the primary threshold), plus 0.5% of wages above $100 million (the additional threshold), for employers and groups whose Australian wages exceed those amounts. It's reported and paid with your payroll tax.
The thresholds are apportioned for interstate wages, groups and part years. QRO's example: a company paying $16 million of Australian wages, $4 million of it in Queensland, gets an adjusted primary threshold of $2.5 million ($10 million × 4/16), so its levy is ($4 million − $2.5 million) × 0.25% = $3,750. For groups, the designated group employer reconciles the levy for the whole group in the annual return. Wages exempt from payroll tax are exempt from the levy.
Who gets the Queensland regional discount?
You're a regional employer if your principal place of employment (your registered ABN business address) is in regional Queensland and at least 85% of your Queensland taxable wages are paid to employees whose principal place of residence is in regional Queensland.
- Regional Queensland means the Cairns, Central Queensland, Darling Downs – Maranoa, Mackay – Isaac – Whitsunday, Queensland – Outback, Townsville and Wide Bay regions. Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Toowoomba are not on the list.
- QRO looks at where employees usually live. Working holiday makers, PALM scheme workers and others in temporary accommodation generally don't count as regional residents.
- Each group member is tested separately, so one member can pay 3.95% while another pays 4.95%.
Who has to register for payroll tax in Queensland?
You must register within 7 days of the first month in which your Australian taxable wages, or your group's, exceed $25,000 a week, even if you expect your annual wages to stay under $1.3 million. You register through QRO Online with an individual account linked to the business.
You'll need your Queensland and interstate wages for the year to date, the previous 5 years of wages for you and your group, and the names, ABNs and client numbers of every group member. QRO says registrations with past assessments usually take about 4 weeks, and you aren't penalised for the time your application is being processed.
What counts as wages, and how does grouping work in Queensland?
Taxable wages include salary and wages, super, fringe benefits, directors' fees, termination payments, employee share scheme interests, and payments under relevant contracts and employment agency contracts. Queensland uses the harmonised definitions.
Grouping works as in other states: related companies, businesses sharing employees, businesses under common control and businesses linked by tracing interests through trusts and companies are grouped. Group wages decide your rate (4.75% or 4.95%), your deduction and the levy thresholds. Only the designated group employer claims the deduction, and if the group's deduction is more than the DGE's own wages, the DGE nominates a Queensland-registered member to use the excess. Every member is liable for unpaid tax of the group, including penalties and interest.
Watch out: Two family businesses with $5 million of wages each are a $10 million group. That takes the deduction to nil, puts both on 4.95%, and brings the mental health levy within reach.
Do contractors count for Queensland payroll tax?
Often, yes. Payments under a "relevant contract" are taxable wages unless an exemption applies, and Queensland also taxes employment agency arrangements. The exemptions are broadly harmonised: services ancillary to goods, services not ordinarily required, services needed for 90 days or less in a year, services the contractor provides to the public generally, and contractors who engage others. QRO has an interactive tool that walks through the contractor questions.
The High Court heard the Uber appeal (from NSW) on 8 April 2026 and judgment was reserved as at 23 October 2026. Queensland's contractor provisions are broadly harmonised, so until the High Court rules we treat the NSW Court of Appeal decision, which found Uber liable, as the working position. Platform and delivery businesses should lodge conservatively and object to preserve their rights.
Not sure whether your contractor payments are caught? Ask us. Our employee vs contractor guide explains the different tests.
What exemptions and rebates apply in Queensland?
Queensland exempts apprentice and trainee wages, GP wages paid by medical practices, and parental, adoption, surrogacy and cultural parent leave (up to 14 weeks), and gives a 50% apprentice and trainee rebate until 30 June 2027.
| Item | Queensland treatment (2026–27) |
|---|---|
| Apprentices | Exempt while employed under a registered training contract, for apprenticeship duties |
| Trainees | Exempt if the contract is registered and the trainee hadn't been employed by you for 3 months or more full-time (12 months part-time or casual) before it started |
| Apprentice and trainee rebate | 50% of exempt apprentice and trainee wages × your payroll tax rate, off your liability; available to 30 June 2027 |
| General practitioners | Wages paid by a medical practice (not a hospital) to contractor or employee GPs are exempt |
| Parental, adoption, surrogacy, cultural parent leave | Exempt up to 14 weeks (or the equivalent at reduced pay) |
| Defence force leave; rural fire, SES and honorary ambulance volunteers | Exempt |
| Charitable institutions, public hospitals, some local government activities | Employer exemptions, subject to conditions |
The rebate in numbers: say you pay $200,000 of exempt apprentice wages in 2026–27 and your rate is 4.75%. The rebate is $200,000 × 50% × 4.75% = $4,750 off the tax on your other wages. Apprentice wages are entered separately in your returns, and you keep records for 5 years.
GPs: the exemption covers GPs registered in general practice, doctors on accredited GP pathways and certain prescribed medical practitioners (section 14(9) of the Payroll Tax Act 1971). It doesn't cover practice nurses, allied health or reception staff. See our page for medical practices and health services.
When are Queensland payroll tax returns due in 2026–27?
Periodic returns and payments are due 7 days after the end of each month (or half-year), and the 2026–27 annual return is due on 21 July 2027. There's no June return; June wages go into the annual return.
| Return period | Due date |
|---|---|
| July 2026 | 7 August 2026 |
| August 2026 | 7 September 2026 |
| September 2026 | 7 October 2026 |
| October 2026 | 9 November 2026 |
| November 2026 | 7 December 2026 |
| December 2026 (monthly) and July to December 2026 (half-yearly) | 14 January 2027 |
| January 2027 | 8 February 2027 |
| February 2027 | 8 March 2027 |
| March 2027 | 7 April 2027 |
| April 2027 | 7 May 2027 |
| May 2027 | 7 June 2027 |
| 2026–27 annual return (includes June, and January to June for half-yearly lodgers) | 21 July 2027 |
Final returns are due within 21 days of a change of status, for example when you stop employing in Queensland.
What are the penalties for late Queensland payroll tax?
If QRO issues a default assessment because you didn't lodge, penalty tax is 75% of the payroll tax and levy, and it can increase by up to 20% in some circumstances. Unpaid tax interest accrues daily from the day after the due date. QRO can remit penalty tax in some cases (public ruling TAA060.2), and a voluntary disclosure before QRO contacts you puts you in the strongest position.
Worked example: a Townsville business and its Brisbane sister company
Hypothetical, rounded, 2026–27 rates.
Say two companies are owned 100% by the same family trust. TownCo, based in Townsville, pays $4,000,000 of taxable wages, all to staff living in Townsville. BrisCo, a Brisbane distribution business, pays $2,000,000. Both employ only in Queensland.
Step 1: Group. Common control groups them. Group Australian wages = $6,000,000, under $6.5 million, so the base rate is 4.75%.
Step 2: Deduction. $1,300,000 − ($6,000,000 − $1,300,000) ÷ 7 = $1,300,000 − $671,429 = $628,571, claimed by the designated group employer. Say they nominate TownCo.
Step 3: TownCo. Regional employer (Townsville ABN address, 100% regional residents), rate 3.75%. Tax = ($4,000,000 − $628,571) × 3.75% = $126,429.
Step 4: BrisCo. Not regional, rate 4.75%. Tax = $2,000,000 × 4.75% = $95,000.
Total: about $221,400. Two points stand out. Because TownCo pays the lower rate, the group is better off nominating BrisCo as the designated group employer, so the deduction is used against wages taxed at 4.75%. That saves about $6,300 ($628,571 × 1%). And if BrisCo hires another $600,000 of staff, the group passes $6.5 million: the rate becomes 4.95% for BrisCo and 3.95% for TownCo, and the deduction drops further. The year's bill rises by about $44,000, and about $12,000 of that is the 0.2% rate step applied to all the group's taxable wages, the cost of crossing the line rather than tax on the new wages.
How BPAG helps with Queensland payroll tax
We calculate your deduction and the right rate for each group member, test the regional discount, claim the apprentice rebate correctly, and review contractor arrangements before QRO does. Our state taxes agent works through Queensland payroll tax, the levy and the discount alongside any other states you employ in, and a qualified accountant reviews every calculation before anything is lodged or relied on.
We don't have a Queensland office, but most of our work is done by email, phone and video, and we work with Queensland businesses the same way. Our state taxes service brings payroll tax, land tax and duty together, and our payroll and Payday Super service prepares the returns as part of your payroll.
What to send us
- Payroll reports for the last 12 months (and 5 years if you may have been liable earlier) for every entity in your group
- Each employee's home suburb and work location, if you might qualify as a regional employer
- Apprentice and trainee training contracts, with start dates and any prior employment
- Contractor and labour hire payments, with the agreements
- Your QRO client numbers and any QRO letters or assessments
- For medical practices: GP agreements and a list of GPs with their registration type
Frequently asked questions
Does Queensland payroll tax include super?
Yes. Employer super contributions, including super guarantee and salary sacrificed amounts, are taxable wages in Queensland. Add them when checking the $1.3 million threshold and the weekly registration trigger.
Is there a payroll tax amnesty in Queensland?
There was one for medical practices with contracted GPs, covering periods up to 30 November 2024; from 1 December 2024 GP wages have been exempt. There is no general amnesty. If you've missed registering, a voluntary disclosure to QRO is the way to limit penalties.
Can I lodge Queensland payroll tax half-yearly?
QRO sets your lodgement frequency, which can be monthly or half-yearly, and you may be given a choice when you register. Half-yearly returns are due 14 January (for July to December) and with the annual return on 21 July.
Do Queensland local councils pay payroll tax?
Only on some activities. Local governments are exempt except for wages connected with the activities prescribed in section 14(2) of the Payroll Tax Act 1971, which are largely commercial-type activities.
Is a not-for-profit exempt from Queensland payroll tax?
Not automatically. Charitable institutions can be exempt for wages paid to staff engaged in their charitable work, but the organisation must qualify and wages for some activities stay taxable. Check QRO's charitable institutions guidance and apply before assuming the exemption.
What happens to the deduction if I start employing part way through the year?
The $1.3 million threshold and deduction are reduced proportionately by the number of days you paid wages in the year. The same applies when you lodge a final return because you stop employing.
Official sources
- Queensland Revenue Office — Payroll tax rates and thresholds
- Queensland Revenue Office — Payroll tax deductions
- Queensland Revenue Office — Calculating the mental health levy
- Queensland Revenue Office — Discount for regional businesses
- Queensland Revenue Office — Payroll tax due dates
- Queensland Revenue Office — Exempt wages
General information only, current as at 23 October 2026. It is not personal tax, legal or financial product advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account. Talk to us before you act. Where a recommendation needs a licensed financial adviser or a solicitor, we work alongside them.