See how salary sacrifice affects your take-home pay and tax. Compare before and after to find out the real cost of salary packaging a novated lease, super contributions, or other benefits. Updated for 2026-27.
For every $1 you salary sacrifice, the real cost to your take-home pay is only 68 cents. The remaining 32 cents comes from tax you would have otherwise paid.
| Before | After | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $85,000 | $70,000 | -$15,000 |
| Taxable income | $85,000 | $70,000 | -$15,000 |
| Income tax | $16,020 | $11,520 | -$4,500 |
| Medicare levy | $1,700 | $1,400 | -$300 |
| Total tax | $17,720 | $12,920 | -$4,800 |
| Take-home pay | $67,280 | $57,080 | -$10,200 |
See how increasing or decreasing the salary sacrifice amount changes your tax saving and take-home pay. There's a sweet spot where the tax benefit is highest relative to the reduction in cash pay.
Set the sacrifice amount to $0 to see your current take-home pay, then increase it to see the net effect. The difference between your before and after take-home is the real out-of-pocket cost.
A typical novated lease on a $40,000-$50,000 car might involve $12,000-$18,000 per year in pre-tax deductions. Enter that amount to see how it affects your take-home pay and tax.
Salary sacrifice delivers the biggest tax saving at higher marginal rates. Try $60,000, $90,000, and $150,000 to see how the percentage benefit changes across brackets.
A novated lease lets you salary sacrifice the cost of a car — including running costs, insurance, and fuel. Your fortnightly take-home drops by just $392.31, but you get $15,000 worth of car and running costs covered. Use our novated lease calculator for a more detailed estimate.
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Salary sacrifice (also called salary packaging) is an arrangement where you agree to receive less pre-tax salary in exchange for your employer providing a benefit of similar value. Common examples include novated car leases, additional superannuation contributions, and portable electronic devices. Because the benefit is paid from your pre-tax income, you pay less income tax.
When you salary sacrifice, the sacrificed amount is deducted from your gross salary before income tax is calculated. This reduces your taxable income, which means you pay less tax. The tax saving depends on your marginal tax rate — the higher your income, the greater the percentage saved on each dollar sacrificed.
A novated lease is a three-way agreement between you, your employer, and a finance company. Your employer deducts lease payments from your pre-tax salary (and sometimes post-tax for running costs), reducing your taxable income. You get a new or used car with the convenience of bundled running costs, and the tax benefit of salary packaging. When you change employers, the lease transfers with you.
It depends on the item. Some benefits are FBT-exempt, meaning no Fringe Benefits Tax applies. Electric vehicles under the luxury car tax threshold are currently FBT-exempt. Additional super contributions are also exempt. Other items like standard petrol/diesel cars attract FBT, which is factored into the net benefit calculation of a novated lease. This calculator assumes the sacrifice is FBT-exempt for simplicity — your novated lease provider will model the exact FBT impact.
Yes. Additional super contributions made via salary sacrifice are taxed at 15% inside the super fund (instead of your marginal rate). This can be a significant saving if your marginal rate is 30% or higher. The concessional contributions cap is $30,000 per year (including employer contributions), so check your total before committing to a large amount.
It depends on your employment agreement. Most employers calculate the 12% super guarantee on your pre-sacrifice salary (called OTE — ordinary time earnings), so your super is not reduced. However, some employers calculate super on the post-sacrifice amount. Check with your employer or HR department.
For novated leases, the lease can transfer to your new employer if they agree to the arrangement. If they don't, you can take over the lease payments personally. For super salary sacrifice, the arrangement simply ends and you can set up a new one with your next employer.
The results are estimates based on ATO tax brackets and the Medicare levy. Actual savings depend on your specific salary packaging arrangement, whether FBT applies, your employer's policies, and other individual circumstances. Use these results for planning and comparison. For a precise quote on a novated lease, speak with a broker.
Results are estimates only and should not be relied upon for financial decisions. Actual salary sacrifice repayments will depend on the lender, your credit profile, and the specific terms offered. Interest rates used are for illustration purposes only and may not reflect current market rates.
Subject to lender approval, terms and conditions apply.
This calculator is general information only and is not financial advice.