South Australia payroll tax: threshold, rates and RevenueSA lodgement
For Adelaide, Mount Gambier, regional SA employers — RevenueSA threshold ($1.5M, highest in Australia), variable rate up to 4.95%, small-business deduction to $1.7M, and SA-specific structure.
South Australia's payroll tax is administered by RevenueSA under the Payroll Tax Act 2009 (SA). SA has the highest threshold of any Australian state at $1.5M annual taxable wages, meaning a large share of South Australian small businesses pay zero payroll tax. Above the threshold, the rate is structured as a variable formula that reaches a maximum of 4.95% at $1.7M wages and stays at 4.95% thereafter. A small-business deduction phases out between $1.5M and $1.7M, smoothing the cliff edge. SA does not currently impose any mental health or COVID-19 surcharges, making it among the simplest large-state payroll-tax regimes.
South Australia payroll tax at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Authority | RevenueSA |
| Free threshold (annual) | $1,500,000 |
| Free threshold (highest in Australia) | $0 – $1,500,000 · 0% (free) |
| Variable-rate band (effective rate phases up) | $1,500,000 – $1,700,000 · 4.95% |
| Standard rate band | $1,700,000 and above · 4.95% |
| Deduction structure | SA's $1.5M threshold is the highest in Australia. Between $1.5M and $1.7M, a small-business deduction phases out linearly so that the effective rate grows from 0% at $1.5M wages to a full 4.95% on all taxable wages above $1.7M. Above $1.7M the deduction is zero. No mental health or COVID-19 surcharges. |
Rates and thresholds verified against RevenueSA as at 2026-05-18. Re-verify each state budget cycle (typically May/June) before relying on these figures for a lodgement.
The highest threshold in Australia + small-business deduction
South Australia's $1.5M annual threshold is more than 25% higher than Victoria's ($900K) and 50% higher than WA's ($1M). For small and mid-sized SA-only employers, this means many businesses with up to 25–30 staff pay zero payroll tax. The threshold is prorated for part-year employers and applies to Australia-wide group wages, not just SA wages — same as the other harmonised states.
The small-business deduction smooths the transition between zero tax (at $1.5M wages) and full 4.95% on all taxable wages (at $1.7M). Between those points, the effective rate scales linearly. An SA employer with $1.6M wages pays roughly $2,475 (half the full-rate position); the same employer at $1.7M pays $9,900. This narrow $200K phase-out is harsher than Victoria's surcharge structure but cleaner than the multi-band Queensland model.
Grouping, contractors, and the SA defence-sector lens
SA follows the harmonised grouping model (common control 50%+, ownership 30%+, shared employees, shared assets) and a single designated group employer files for the group. Where SA is unusual is the defence-industry concentration around Adelaide's submarine and shipbuilding contracts — large multi-national defence contractors often structure operations as joint ventures or special-purpose vehicles, and RevenueSA actively groups them where ownership tests are met.
The contractor exemption tests under sections 32–35 of the Payroll Tax Act 2009 (SA) mirror the other states. Defence-sector subcontractors who supply only one principal are routinely audited and deemed employees for payroll-tax purposes. As in NSW, the safest contractor position requires written documentation of each exemption test relied upon.
Monthly returns, annual reconciliation, and RevenueSA Online
SA payroll-tax employers lodge monthly returns by the 7th of the following month via RevenueSA Online Services (RevenueSA Online). The June return is replaced by the annual reconciliation due 28 July. The annual reconciliation applies the small-business deduction to actual full-year wages and produces a refund or balancing amount. HelloBooks integrates with STP Phase 2 to pull payroll into the monthly return and computes the SA-specific deduction phase-out automatically.
Questions South Australia employers ask
Other Australian state payroll-tax guides
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