Purchased Leave Calculator.
Buying 4 weeks of leave on a 48/52 arrangement cuts your salary to 92.3% of normal, spread across the year. On $90,000 that is $266.27 a fortnight before tax, about $4,708 after tax for 2026-27.
The leave you want to buy
Here's your entitlement
See full calculation
| Component | Formula | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Salary ratio | 48/52 = 92.31% | $83,076.92 |
| Gross cost of the leave | salary × 4 ÷ 52 | $6,923.08 |
| Tax and Medicare saved | 2026-27 resident rates + 2% Medicare | $2,215.38 |
| After-tax cost | Cost less tax saved | $4,707.69 |
| Pay per fortnight | Gross, before and during | $3,461.54 to $3,195.27 |
| Leave loading on normal leave | 17.5% × 4 wks, on the reduced salary | -$93.20 |
| Employer super a year | 12.0% of the reduced salary | -$830.77 |
| After-tax cost per week bought | $4,707.69 ÷ 4 | $1,176.92 |
Disclaimer: This is an estimate, not financial or tax advice. It uses 2026-27 resident tax rates and the 2% Medicare levy with no offsets or low-income reductions, assumes one salary for the whole year, and does not model salary packaging. Your employer's policy decides the method, so check it before you sign. For official tax guidance, visit the ATO.
How purchased leave is calculated
Purchased leave, also called buying annual leave or a 48/52 arrangement, swaps part of your salary for extra weeks off. In the common salary averaging model your salary for the year becomes:
Reduced salary = salary x (52 - weeks bought) / 52. The difference is the cost of the leave, divided evenly across every pay in the year. Buy 2 weeks and you are paid 50/52 (96.15%); buy 4 and you are paid 48/52 (92.3%).
| Weeks bought | Salary ratio | Salary on $90,000 | Less per fortnight | After-tax cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51/52 = 98.08% | $88,269.23 | $66.57 | $1,176.92 |
| 2 | 50/52 = 96.15% | $86,538.46 | $133.14 | $2,353.85 |
| 4 | 48/52 = 92.31% | $83,076.92 | $266.27 | $4,707.69 |
| 6 | 46/52 = 88.46% | $79,615.38 | $399.41 | $7,061.54 |
| 8 | 44/52 = 84.62% | $76,153.85 | $532.54 | $9,415.38 |
Exact /52 method. After-tax cost uses ATO 2026-27 resident rates plus the 2% Medicare levy, with no offsets. Computed 5 October 2026.
Two schemes round differently. NSW quotes the ratios as 92.3% and 96.15%, so 4 weeks on $90,000 gives $83,070.00 instead of the exact $83,076.92. The University of Queensland costs a week as half a fortnight’s pay and spreads it over 26 fortnights, which comes out slightly below salary x weeks / 52. The calculator has a setting for each.
Buying leave is not a National Employment Standards right, and the Fair Work Act has no purchased leave provision. Award and agreement-free employees can agree with their employer to buy extra annual leave in exchange for an equal amount of pay. Where the cost is taken as a deduction from pay, section 324 of the Act requires your written authorisation, and the deduction must be principally for your benefit.
Three worked examples
| Salary and leave | Reduced salary | Deduction per pay | Tax saved | After-tax cost per week | Employer super a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $90,000, 4 weeks (48/52), fortnightly | $83,076.92 | $266.27 a fortnight | $2,215.38 | $1,176.92 | $10,800.00 to $9,969.23 |
| $75,000, 2 weeks (50/52), monthly | $72,115.38 | $240.38 a month | $923.08 | $980.77 | $9,000.00 to $8,653.85 |
| $120,000, 6 weeks (46/52), fortnightly | $106,153.85 | $532.54 a fortnight | $4,430.77 | $1,569.23 | $14,400.00 to $12,738.46 |
Salary averaging, 12% super guarantee on the reduced salary, 2026-27 resident rates plus 2% Medicare. Salaries are illustrative.
Is purchased leave worth it?
Buying a week of leave costs a week of gross salary, exactly what the same week would cost as unpaid leave. What you are paying for is the shape of the cut: instead of one or two thin pays, every pay in the year is a little smaller. On $90,000, 4 weeks costs $6,923.08 gross but $4,707.69 after tax, or $1,176.92 for each week bought, because the deduction comes out before tax.
Three smaller costs sit on top:
- Super. If super is paid on the reduced salary, the same purchase costs $830.77 of employer super a year.
- Leave loading. NSW and Victoria pay the 17.5% loading on your normal 4 weeks at the reduced rate, so it falls from $1,211.54 to $1,118.34, a further $93.20. Purchased days carry no loading. The annual leave loading calculator shows what the loading is worth on your normal leave.
- Overtime. The two states differ. NSW pays overtime at the ordinary salary rate, while Victoria reduces overtime and shift allowances along with salary.
In NSW, purchased leave is recognised as service for all purposes. If your goal is simply a long break, the planner shows how to stretch normal leave across public holidays first: see the annual leave planner.
Does purchased leave reduce your super?
Often, and it is the cost most estimates leave out. The super guarantee is 12% for 2026-27. What it is paid on depends on the scheme:
- NSW: contributions are based on the purchased leave salary for that year, “i.e. the reduced salary level”, including the defined benefit SSS and SASS schemes.
- Victoria: employer super guarantee contributions to accumulation funds are reduced along with salary.
- UQ: super is calculated on the purchased leave payment.
- Treasury (APS): the agreement pays 15.4% and uses its salary table for super. It does not say whether a purchase lowers that salary, so ask your agency.
- ANU: the estimator prices an employer super component into your deduction, so the leave costs more up front.
For private employers there is no ATO statement on purchased leave. The ATO’s qualifying earnings table says salary sacrificed to other employee benefits is not qualifying earnings for super, but purchased leave is not named in it. Set the super base in the calculator to match your own policy.
Tax on purchased leave
Where the purchase is a cut to your pre-tax salary, as in NSW, Victoria, UQ and the ANU estimator, your taxable income falls by the cost of the leave and you pay less income tax and Medicare levy. The calculator works this out on the 2026-27 brackets, so a purchase that drops you into a lower bracket is taxed correctly across both. It ignores tax offsets and the Medicare low-income reduction, so below about $45,000 the real saving can differ.
Queensland’s published guide is the exception. It defines purchased leave as special leave without salary, funded by fortnightly deductions from net salary, “ie after tax and superannuation contributions have been deducted”. So the claim that purchased leave is always pre-tax is not true everywhere. The guide we read dates from 2013, with 2006 figures, so check your agency’s current directive and pick the after-tax model in the calculator if it still applies.
Public sector schemes compared
| Scheme | How much you can buy | How it is charged | Super | Loading, overtime, allowances | Unused leave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APS: Treasury Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027 | Up to 40 days in 12 months, pro rata for part-time. Not with an excess annual leave balance. | Equal deductions from fortnightly salary over 12 months or less. | 15.4% employer contribution. Super salary comes from the agreement’s salary table. | Not stated in the clauses read. | Purchase value returned if not used within 12 months. |
| NSW: Purchased Leave Policy C2020-11 | 2 or 4 weeks (or pro rata), in blocks of at least 5 days. Not if recreation leave is likely to exceed 40 days. Casuals not eligible. | Salary rate of 96.15% (50/52) or 92.3% (48/52) for the year. | Paid at the purchased leave rate, including SSS and SASS. | Loading on the normal 20 days at the purchased leave rate, none on purchased days. Overtime at the ordinary salary rate. | Paid out. |
| VIC: VPS Agreement 2024, clause 52 | Not available with an excessive leave accrual. | Cost averaged over the 12-month purchasing year as a reduced fortnightly salary. | Employer super guarantee to accumulation funds is reduced. | Loading reduced, no annual leave allowance on purchased leave. Overtime and shift allowances reduced. Cannot be taken at half pay. | Paid back. |
| QLD: purchased leave guide (2013) | 1 to 6 weeks in a 12-month period. | Fortnightly deductions from net salary, after tax and super. The leave is special leave without salary. | Not stated in the guide read. | Not stated in the guide read. | Not stated in the guide read. |
| UQ: Purchased Leave Procedure | Up to 4 weeks. | 26 fortnightly pre-tax deductions. Allowances excluded. | Calculated on the purchased leave payment. | Allowances excluded from the calculation. | Not stated in the procedure read. |
| ANU: Purchased leave estimator | The estimator’s example buys 4 weeks. | Pre-tax fortnightly deduction that includes an employer super component. | Employer super priced into the deduction. | Not stated on the estimator. | Not stated on the estimator. |
Read from each policy on 5 October 2026. Other APS agencies have their own clauses.
Published examples, shown as the policies print them.
- UQ: $2,000 a fortnight, 4 weeks costs ($2,000 / 2) x 4 = $4,000, or $153.85 a fortnight over 26 fortnights, leaving $1,846.15.
- ANU estimator: $60,000 plus $1,000 of allowances, 4 weeks, total cost $5,472, or $210 a fortnight pre-tax, including the employer super component. ANU does not publish the super loading it uses.
- Queensland guide (2006 figures): net pay $1,521.92 a fortnight, 6 weeks costs 3 x $1,521.92 = $4,565.76, or $175.60 a fortnight, leaving $1,346.32.
Salary packaging and purchased leave
The policies disagree on how much to worry. Victoria says purchased leave is unlikely to affect pre-tax salary sacrifice to super or other salary packaging. NSW makes it the staff member’s responsibility to get financial advice on how purchased leave affects packaging. Queensland’s guide recalculates the deduction when super is salary sacrificed. None of the sources sets a rule for packaging caps, so the calculator leaves packaging out.
If you leave, change hours, or do not use the leave
- Unused leave: Treasury returns the purchase value if the leave is not used within 12 months, NSW pays it out, and Victoria pays it back.
- Leaving part-way through: NSW and Victoria reconcile the arrangement, so you may owe money or be owed it. NSW pays final monies at the ordinary rate of pay.
- A pay rise mid-year: NSW recalculates the reduced salary, while UQ and Queensland keep the deduction fixed.
- A large leave balance: Treasury, NSW and Victoria refuse purchases when annual leave is excessive. See excessive annual leave.
- Taking it: NSW requires blocks of at least 5 days; Victoria does not allow purchased leave at half pay.
Purchased leave vs cashing out vs leave without pay
| Purchased leave | Cashing out annual leave | Leave without pay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you trade | Some salary for extra weeks off | Accrued leave for cash | Pay for the weeks you are away |
| Effect on pay | Every pay in the year is smaller | A lump sum now, a smaller leave balance | No pay for those weeks |
| Main rules | Employer, award or agreement must offer it; award-free employees can agree to it | Keep at least 4 weeks, written agreement each time, most awards cap it at 2 weeks in 12 months | Covered in the leave without pay guide |
Cashing out sells leave you have; purchased leave buys leave you do not. The rules for each are in cashing out annual leave and leave without pay.
Sources. Read on 5 October 2026. Dates are each source’s own update or issue date.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual leave fact sheet, updated 16 January 2026.
- Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), s 324, Compilation No. 73, compiled 7 July 2026.
- Treasury Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027, Section 6 Leave, read 5 October 2026.
- NSW Circular C2020-11 Purchased Leave Policy, updated 29 November 2024.
- Victorian Government, Purchased Leave common policy (VPS Agreement 2024), April 2025.
- Queensland Government, Implementing purchased leave arrangements, 2013, examples in 2006 figures.
- ANU Purchased leave estimator, effective 17 September 2020.
- UQ Purchased Leave Procedure, current version, read 5 October 2026.
- ATO, Super guarantee rates, updated 17 April 2026.
- ATO, What payments are qualifying earnings, updated 2 September 2026.
- ATO, Tax rates for Australian residents, updated 13 August 2026.
Related calculators and guides
- Annual leave loading calculator for the 17.5% on your normal leave.
- Annual leave calculator for the leave you accrue anyway.
- Cashing out annual leave, the reverse trade.
- Leave without pay, the unplanned version.
- Annual leave planner to place the weeks you buy.
Purchased leave questions.
What people ask before they sign a 48/52 or 50/52 agreement.
How is purchased leave calculated?
How much does it cost to purchase annual leave?
Is purchased leave worth it in Australia?
Do you pay tax on purchased leave?
Does purchased leave reduce my super?
Do I get leave loading on purchased leave?
What is the purchased leave policy in Australia?
What happens to purchased leave if I resign?
Can I buy leave if I have a large annual leave balance?
Is purchased leave the same as leave without pay?
Where these figures come from.
The salary averaging formula and the 92.3% and 96.15% ratios are from the NSW Purchased Leave Policy (C2020-11, updated 29 November 2024), confirmed against the Victorian Public Service purchased leave policy (April 2025) and the UQ procedure. The after-tax deduction model is from the Queensland Government guide, and the super-loaded model from the ANU estimator.
Tax saved uses the ATO resident rates for 2026-27 (page updated 13 August 2026) plus the 2% Medicare levy, worked out on the actual brackets rather than a single marginal rate. The super guarantee rate of 12% is from the ATO (updated 17 April 2026). Offsets, the Medicare low-income reduction and salary packaging are not modelled. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.