Australia · 2026–27 · Financial equivalence

What contractor rate actually matches a salary?

Compare an employee package with a contractor scenario using billable hours, billable weeks, business expenses and optional super paid on top. The result is a financial equivalence estimate—not a legal employee/contractor classification.

Salary ↔ contractor rate

Normalise paid employment and billable contracting

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Employee side

Annual base salaryGross employee salary before tax.$ Hours per weekUsed for the package hourly equivalent.

Contractor side

Hourly rate excluding GSTDo not include GST in the rate used for this value comparison.$ Billable hours per weekHours you realistically expect to invoice. Billable weeks per yearUse fewer than 52 to account for unpaid leave, gaps and downtime. Annual business expensesInsurance, accounting, equipment and other costs you want included in the comparison.$

Contractor super is paid on top by the engagerSelect only if you know super is payable on top in this scenario. This calculator does not decide SG legal entitlement.

Employee minimum SG estimate$0

Employee package value$0

Employee package hourly equivalent$0.00

Contractor annual revenue$0

Contractor super paid on top$0

Contractor value after entered expenses$0

Contractor economic value incl. super on top$0

Approx rate to match employee package$0.00/hr

Higher financial valueRoughly equal

Annual value difference$0

GST basisRate excludes GST

Important: this compares financial value before personal income tax. It does not determine whether a worker is legally an employee or contractor, whether SG is payable, whether GST registration is required in your full circumstances, PSI treatment, deductible expenses, workers compensation, insurance, leave entitlements or other employment rights.

Why billable weeks matter

A contractor rate has to fund unpaid time

An employee salary generally continues through paid annual leave and many non-working days. Contractors often have fewer billable weeks. Entering realistic billable weeks prevents a simple hourly-rate comparison from overstating contractor value.

GST

Compare rates excluding GST

GST collected on a taxable sale is not treated as extra contractor income here. The page flags when the scenario reaches the general $75,000 GST turnover threshold, but registration can depend on current/projected turnover and special rules.

ATO — GST registration →