Money, tax & super
Teacher money: tax, super and take-home pay
Plain-English guides to the money side of teaching in Australia: take-home pay, tax deductions, super, HECS-HELP, salary packaging and home loans, with 2026–27 figures.
A teacher's payslip is shaped by far more than the pay scale. Income tax, the Medicare levy, HECS-HELP repayments, salary sacrifice and super all move what lands in your account each fortnight, and in 2026–27 several of those rules changed: the 16% tax rate fell to 15%, the new $1,000 standard deduction for work expenses started, and super moved to being paid every payday.
These guides explain each piece with teacher salaries as the worked examples, so you can see what the rules mean at your step rather than for an imaginary average earner. Every figure uses the 2026–27 rates and is checked against the ATO, Services Australia or the relevant fund.
If you only read one thing, start with teacher salary after tax, then use the take-home calculator with your own step.
Super for teachers in your state
Guides
Take-home pay
Teacher salary after tax in 2026–27: what you actually take home
Take-home pay at every step, with and without HECS-HELP, per year and per fortnight.
Read the guide →Super
Teacher superannuation explained: rates, funds and rules for 2026–27
How much super teachers get in each state, which fund it goes to, and the rules that matter in 2026–27.
Read the guide →Tax
Teacher tax deductions: what you can and can't claim in 2026
Every common teacher deduction, the ATO rule behind it, and what it's worth at your tax rate.
Read the guide →Tax
Can teachers claim working from home? The 70c rule explained
How to claim marking and lesson planning at home, what records the ATO wants, and what it's worth.
Read the guide →HECS-HELP
HECS-HELP debt for teachers: what you'll repay in 2026–27
What teachers repay on HECS-HELP at each step in 2026–27, plus indexation, the 20% cut and remote relief.
Read the guide →Home loans
Home loans for teachers: how lenders see your pay, and how to borrow well
How lenders assess teachers' income, HECS and contracts, and the schemes that cut the deposit you need.
Read the guide →Super
Payday Super from 1 July 2026: what it means for teachers
What Payday Super changed for teachers from 1 July 2026, and how to check your contributions.
Read the guide →CRT tax
Relief teacher tax: how CRTs avoid a tax bill and claim what they can
How casual relief teachers are taxed, the multiple-employer trap, and what CRTs can claim.
Read the guide →Super
Salary sacrificing super as a teacher: what it costs and what you gain
Worked 2026–27 examples of salary sacrificing into super at real teacher pay steps.
Read the guide →Tax
Self-education expenses for teachers: what the ATO lets you claim
When study, PD and conferences are deductible for teachers, and the HECS-HELP trap to avoid.
Read the guide →Back pay
Tax on teacher back pay: how much you'll keep in 2026
How teacher back pay and lump sums are taxed, with a worked VIC 2026 example and the arrears offset.
Read the guide →Salary packaging
Teacher salary packaging: what you can package, and what it's really worth
What teachers can salary package in public, Catholic and independent schools, with the real maths.
Read the guide →Tax
The $1,000 standard tax deduction: what it means for teachers in 2026–27
How the new automatic $1,000 work deduction works, and when teachers should still itemise.
Read the guide →Payslips
Your teacher payslip explained, line by line
Every line on a teacher's payslip explained, with a worked fortnight and the errors to check for.
Read the guide →