Guide · updated 2026-10-22
The year you get 27 pays instead of 26
Every 11 years or so a fortnightly pay cycle produces 27 pays in one financial year. You are not paid more, but you may be under-taxed.
Salary take-home examples use 2026-27 full-year resident employment, the standard work deduction and no additional deductions. Tables explicitly labelled taxable or repayment income start with that amount instead. Methodology and sources.
A year has 52.18 weeks, not 52. That fraction accumulates, and roughly every 11 years a fortnightly pay cycle lands 27 times in one financial year - or 53 times for a weekly cycle.
You are not being paid extra
Your annual salary is unchanged. You are simply receiving it in 27 instalments rather than 26, so each pay is the same and the year's total is higher than 26 pays worth. That higher total is real income and it is taxable.
The problem is the withholding formula
The tax office formula assumes 52.14 weeks a year. On $85,000 it withholds $682.00 a pay. Across 27 pays that is $18,414.00 withheld against a year in which you earned more than the formula assumed - so you are under-withheld, and the shortfall arrives as a tax bill.
The additional amounts the tax office publishes
The tax office publishes extra amounts you can ask your employer to withhold in a 27-pay year:
| Fortnightly earnings | Extra to withhold each pay |
|---|---|
| 1,700 to 5,199 | $12.00 |
| 5,200 to 7,249 | $27.00 |
| 7,250 & over | $48.00 |
What to do about it
Ask your payroll team whether this financial year has 27 fortnights for your pay cycle. If it does, you can ask for an additional amount to be withheld each pay. It is voluntary, and it converts a lump-sum bill into a small deduction you will not notice.
What you get each fortnight
Take-home pay
$2,600
a fortnight - $67,600 a year
2026-27 full-year resident employment, standard work deduction, no additional deductions. Assumptions and sources.
| Gross salary | $85,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Income tax | $15,720.00 |
| Medicare levy | $1,680.00 |
| HECS-HELP repayment | $0.00 |
| Super paid on top | $10,200.00 |
Where these figures come from
Every number on this page is computed by the same engines that power our calculators, using 2026-27 rates taken from the tax office and dated on our methodology page. If a rate changes, this page changes with it. General information only, not tax or financial advice.