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How much should I charge as a sole trader in Australia?

Employees get super, paid leave and tax taken out for them. As a sole trader you pay for all of that from your rate. Here's how to work out a rate that actually covers it.

The working-back method

  1. Pick a take-home goal. What do you want in your pocket for the year after tax?
  2. Add tax. Sole traders pay individual income tax on business profit. Use the ATO's resident tax rates for the year, plus the Medicare levy, to work out the before-tax profit that leaves you your goal.
  3. Add super, if you want it. Nobody pays super guarantee for you as a sole trader. Employees get the super guarantee (12% from 1 July 2025); many sole traders aim to put away something similar.
  4. Add business costs: insurance, equipment, software, phone, vehicle, accounting.
  5. Divide by billable hours, after taking out leave, public holidays, sick days and the non-billable time you spend on admin, quoting and marketing.

The result is your minimum hourly rate. A day rate is that times the billable hours in your normal day. Add GST on top if you're registered.

Set money aside from every payment

Once you know roughly how much tax your profit will attract, move that share of every payment into a separate account. Doing it per payment is much less painful than finding a lump sum at tax time.

Check your client's ABN and invoice properly

Use ABN Lookup to check an ABN is active, and follow the ATO's tax invoice rules if you're registered for GST. Sales of $1,000 or more need the buyer's identity or ABN on the tax invoice.

General information only, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the linked ato.gov.au page for the current version, or ask a registered tax agent about your situation.

Free tip: Count your non-billable hours for two normal weeks: quoting, emails, invoicing, travel, learning. Most people are surprised, and it's the number that changes your rate the most.
Free calculator:

Want it done for you? Aussie Sole Trader Toolkit 2026-27 (offline tool)

Three tools in one offline file: a rate calculator that works back from your take-home goal, a tax set-aside calculator using 2026-27 ATO rates, Medicare and LITO, and an ABN checker with a GST tax invoice you save as PDF.

  • Works in any browser on computer, tablet or phone; no login or internet needed
  • Your numbers stay on your device
  • Warns you at the $75k GST threshold
  • Flags when a $1,000+ invoice needs the buyer's ABN

US$12.99 one-time on Whop. Instant download.

See it on Whop →

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General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check the official pages linked above, or ask a registered tax agent, before you rely on anything here. Last checked 16 Nov 2026.