Working holiday makers on 417 and 462 visas pay 15% on the first $45,000 earned in Australia in 2026-27, with no tax free threshold. Above that, ordinary rates apply.
What are the working holiday maker rates?
Fifteen per cent applies from the first dollar to $45,000. Almost every working holiday maker stays inside the first bracket for a single financial year, so 15% is the rate that decides their year.
No tax free threshold is what separates this from ordinary Australian taxation. An Australian pays nothing on their first $18,200; a working holiday maker pays 15% on it, a difference of $2,730.
- First $45,000: 15%
- $45,001 to $135,000: 30%
- $135,001 to $190,000: 37%
- Above $190,000: 45%
Can a working holiday maker ever get the tax free threshold?
Yes, but rarely, and never on the strength of the visa alone. It hangs on a residency judgement that has been contested as far as the High Court.
Residency depends on your own circumstances and has to be properly reviewed, and it is misjudged in both directions. Our guide to tax residency for working holiday makers covers why it is assessed rather than assumed.
Why does your employer's registration matter?
Because it decides which rate they are allowed to apply. A business must register with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers before it can withhold at 15%, and one that has not registered is required to use foreign resident rates instead, currently 30% on the relevant bracket.
You cannot tell from the outside, and the employers who most often have not registered are farms and small regional hospitality businesses. Nothing is lost when it happens: the excess is refunded when the return is lodged. The difference between 30% and 15% on a season of harvest work is usually the largest single item in that year's refund, and finding it requires looking at each employer separately rather than at the total.
What does your TFN change?
The rate, immediately and completely. Without a Tax File Number recorded through a Tax File Number Declaration, an employer must withhold 45% whatever their registration status, which is 30 cents in every dollar more than you should be paying.
You must be in Australia to apply for a TFN, the number itself is free, and the ATO's outer limit for issuing one is 28 days. The declaration form is the part that costs money: every employer needs their own, and the most common quiet loss in a backpacker's year is one job at 15% while a second runs at 45% for months because nobody completed a second form.
What is the Medicare levy exemption worth?
Two per cent of taxable income, which is about $500 on $25,000 of earnings, and most people who qualify never claim it. Australians pay a 2% Medicare levy on top of income tax, and it is charged to people entitled to Medicare rather than to residents as such.
Whether you can remove it depends on your passport, often in the opposite direction to what people expect. A British or Irish national is generally entitled to Medicare under the reciprocal health care arrangements, so the levy applies. German and Japanese nationals generally are not entitled, so the exemption is available to them.
It is not automatic in either case. The exemption needs a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia, which takes weeks to obtain, and that lead time is the whole reason it goes unclaimed. Our Medicare levy exemption guide covers the detail.
What happens to your superannuation?
Your employer pays 12% of your ordinary earnings into a super fund on top of your wages, and it is untouchable while you are in Australia. It is not part of your tax refund and is not affected by how your return lands.
Once you have left and your visa has ceased, it is claimed as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, taxed at 65% on the taxable component, with approval typically taking around 28 days. How much is waiting depends on how much you earned and how many funds it was split across, since each employer who did not ask you to nominate one opened another account. Our superannuation service covers the claim.
Does it matter which subclass you hold?
Not for tax. The 417 and 462 are treated identically: same 15% rate, same 65% DASP withholding, same Medicare position, same lodgement dates. Anyone telling you one visa is taxed better than the other is wrong.
Where the subclasses differ is in visa mechanics. The 417 covers the United Kingdom, Ireland, much of Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan among others, and extends through specified regional work. The 462 covers the United States, China, Israel and much of Latin America, carries education requirements and country caps, and has its own specified work rules including northern Australia options.
Chasing an extension pushes people towards regional postcodes and agricultural employers, which is precisely where unregistered employer withholding and ABN farm arrangements concentrate.
What are the dates that matter?
The Australian financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, returns can be lodged from July once employers have finalised their reporting, and self lodgement is due by 31 October. Lodging through a registered agent extends that into the following May, provided you were on their books before October.
One date is different if you are leaving for good. A working holiday maker departing Australia permanently part way through a financial year can lodge an early return for that year rather than waiting until July, which brings the refund forward by months. It is easier to arrange while you still have an Australian bank account open. Our refund calculator gives a rough figure if you have your payslip totals to hand.