Working holiday maker tax rates — and the 65% super tax nobody warns you about

The working holiday maker income tax rate schedule

Income earned by a working holiday maker (their 'working holiday taxable income', in the Act's terms) is taxed under Schedule 7, Part III of the Income Tax Rates Act 1986, current for the 2024-25 year of income onward: 15% on the first $45,000, with no tax-free threshold at all — the first dollar is taxed. Above $45,000 the ordinary brackets take over: 30% from $45,001 to $135,000, 37% from $135,001 to $190,000, and 45% above $190,000.

The Act defines a working holiday maker as someone who, at the relevant time, holds a subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa, a subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visa, a bridging visa granted while a 417 or 462 application is undecided (where the applicant's most recent substantive visa was a 417 or 462), or a COVID-19 pandemic event 408 visa. This schedule applies because of that visa status, not because of your residency test result — it overrides the ordinary resident brackets even if you'd separately qualify as an Australian tax resident.

The 15% rate has applied since 1 July 2017, following a legal dispute over whether taxing backpackers at foreign-resident rates was lawful. It runs for the period you actually hold a 417, 462 or qualifying bridging/408 visa in the income year; once you move onto a different visa, a different schedule takes over for the rest of that year (see below).

The 65% super tax — DASP, and why it surprises people

This is the query most people searching 'working holiday maker tax rates' are actually trying to answer, even when they don't know the term for it yet. Employers must pay superannuation guarantee contributions on a working holiday maker's earnings the same as for any other employee, currently 12% of ordinary earnings. Across a year of farm, hospitality or seasonal work — often with several employers — that can build into a real balance.

You can't access that super while you're still here on the visa. Once you've left Australia and the visa has ceased, you apply for it back as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) through the ATO's online DASP system — it is not paid automatically, you have to lodge the claim yourself after departure.

The tax on the way out is where working holiday makers are treated differently from everyone else. Under section 5 of the Superannuation (Departing Australia Superannuation Payments Tax) Act 2007, the standard DASP tax rates are 35% on the element taxed in the fund and 45% on the element untaxed in the fund (the tax-free component is always nil). Section 5(3) then overrides this: for a DASP paid on or after 1 July 2017 that includes amounts attributable to super contributions made while the person was a working holiday maker (as defined in the Income Tax Rates Act 1986), those percentages become a flat 65% instead of 35%/45%.

The precise trigger is when the contributions were made, not what visa you hold when you leave or when you lodge the DASP claim. So if you worked on a 417, later transitioned to a different visa, and eventually departed permanently, the slice of your super fund built up during the 417 period is still taxed at 65% on the way out — the higher rate follows the working-holiday-period contributions, it doesn't reset just because your visa status changed afterward. Super earned during a later, non-WHM visa isn't caught by the 65% rate.

Registered employers matter — check before you accept a job

The 15% income tax rate only applies correctly if your employer is registered with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers. Registration is free and simple for the business, but not everyone does it, particularly in smaller or informal arrangements common in farm work and hospitality.

If your employer isn't registered, they're required to withhold at the higher foreign-resident rate instead. You can still generally get the correct 15% rate applied at tax return time regardless of what was withheld, but that means waiting for a refund rather than having the right amount taken out each pay.

Worth asking directly before you start a job: 'are you registered with the ATO as a working holiday maker employer?' Any legitimate employer of working holiday makers should know the answer immediately.

You still need a TFN and still lodge a return

None of this changes the basic mechanics — you still need a tax file number, you give it to your employer via a tax file number declaration, and you still lodge an annual return. Working holiday makers generally don't pay the Medicare levy, since 417/462 holders aren't eligible for Medicare, though it's worth confirming your own return reflects this correctly.

Work-related deductions apply on the same basis as any other taxpayer — protective equipment for farm work, tools required for a specific job — so keeping receipts through the year is worth doing.

If you work for multiple employers across a year, which is common on a 417/462, each withholds independently and your return at year end reconciles the total against what you actually owed across all of them.

What about 482 visa tax rates?

This query shows up alongside working holiday maker searches, but a 482 (Skills in Demand) visa isn't given its own special rate schedule the way 417/462 visas are — there's no equivalent Part in the Income Tax Rates Act for sponsored workers. Instead, a 482 holder's tax rate depends on the ordinary residency tests (the resides test, the domicile test, or the 183-day test), the same tests that apply to any other taxpayer in Australia.

Most 482 holders living and working in Australia for their sponsor meet the tax residency tests and are taxed on the ordinary resident scale for the 2026-27 year of income: 0% up to $18,200 (the tax-free threshold), 15% from $18,201 to $45,000, 30% from $45,001 to $135,000, 37% from $135,001 to $190,000, and 45% above $190,000. Note the first-bracket rate is scheduled to fall again to 14% from the 2027-28 year of income under recent legislation — check the year that applies to your return.

A 482 holder who is a foreign resident for tax purposes instead (genuinely non-resident under the tests, which is unusual for someone actually living and working here full-time) is taxed at 30% from the first dollar up to $135,000, then 37% and 45% at the same thresholds as residents, with no tax-free threshold and generally no Medicare levy. Which test result applies is a factual question about your circumstances, not a choice — a registered tax agent can work through the tests against your specific situation.

What happens if your visa situation changes

If you move from a working holiday visa onto a different visa, the working holiday income tax rate stops applying from the date of that change, and whichever schedule matches your new circumstances takes over for the rest of the year. Your return for that year will typically be a mixed calculation reflecting both periods. The 65% DASP rate, by contrast, stays attached to whatever super was contributed during the working-holiday period specifically, regardless of what happens to your visa afterward — see above.

If you overstay a 417/462 visa or it's cancelled, your tax position becomes more complicated and depends on your specific circumstances — this is a case where speaking to both a registered migration agent about your visa status and a registered tax agent about your tax position, promptly, is worth it.

What tax rate do working holiday makers pay in Australia?

15% on the first $45,000 of income, with no tax-free threshold. Ordinary marginal rates (30%, 37%, 45%) apply on income above $45,000. This applies to subclass 417, 462, and certain related bridging/408 visa holders, under Schedule 7, Part III of the Income Tax Rates Act 1986, regardless of whether they'd otherwise qualify as a tax resident.

Why is my superannuation taxed 65% when I leave on a working holiday visa?

The Superannuation (Departing Australia Superannuation Payments Tax) Act 2007 sets a flat 65% tax on the portion of a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) built up from contributions made while you held a 417 or 462 visa, for DASPs paid on or after 1 July 2017 — well above the 35%/45% that applies to other temporary residents' DASP. It's a deliberate rate set in the Act, not an error.

Does the 65% super tax still apply if I've since changed to a different visa?

Yes, for the part of your super earned during the working-holiday period. The 65% rate is triggered by when the contributions were made, not what visa you hold when you eventually leave and claim DASP. Super contributed while on a later, non-working-holiday visa is taxed at the standard DASP rates instead.

How do I claim my super back after a working holiday (417 visa super claim)?

You apply for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) through the ATO's online DASP system after you've left Australia and your visa has ceased — it isn't paid automatically. The taxable component is taxed at 65% for the working-holiday-period portion before you receive it.

What tax rate applies on a 482 visa?

482 visas don't have their own flat rate like 417/462. Tax residency is worked out under the ordinary tests; a resident 482 holder is taxed on the standard resident scale (0% to $18,200, then 15%, 30%, 37%, 45% at the usual thresholds for the 2026-27 year), while a foreign-resident 482 holder pays 30% from the first dollar up to $135,000, then 37% and 45%.

Do working holiday makers pay the Medicare levy?

Generally no — 417 and 462 visa holders aren't eligible for Medicare, so the levy doesn't apply. Confirm your specific return reflects this correctly.

Why does it matter if my employer is registered for working holiday makers?

Only registered employers can correctly withhold at the 15% working holiday rate. If your employer isn't registered, they must withhold at the higher foreign-resident rate instead — you can usually still get the correct rate applied at tax time, but you'll be waiting for a refund rather than having the right amount taken out each pay.

Is this tax advice?

No. It's general information about the working holiday maker tax and DASP structure, checked against the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 and the Superannuation (Departing Australia Superannuation Payments Tax) Act 2007. For your specific situation, a registered tax agent handles tax questions and a MARA-registered migration agent handles visa questions — Migratio matches you with the latter for free.