Payroll tax and contractors in Tasmania
In Tasmania, what a business pays under a relevant contract counts as wages, with exemptions listed in the Payroll Tax Act. A schedule to the Act deals with principal contractors, and the table gives the days after the financial year before a principal contractor can be liable for a subcontractor's tax.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
The rules in Tasmania
| What it is | Value | When it applies | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payments to contractors under a relevant contract count as wages | Yes | As published on 1 April 2020 | s 35(1): amounts under relevant contracts taken to be wages |
| Services ancillary to supplying goods, or to using the contractor's goods, are exempt | Yes | As published on 1 April 2020 | s 32(2)(a): services ancillary to goods |
| Services not ordinarily needed, from a contractor serving the public generally, are exempt | Yes | As published on 1 April 2020 | s 32(2)(b)(i): services to the public generally |
| Days a year the business ordinarily needs the services, below which they are exempt | 180 days | As published on 1 April 2020 | s 32(2)(b)(ii): under 180 days in a financial year |
| Most days in a financial year a contractor can provide services and be exempt | 90 days | As published on 1 April 2020 | s 32(2)(b)(iii): 90 days in a financial year |
| Days after the financial year before a principal contractor can be liable for a subcontractor's tax | 60 days | As published on 1 April 2020 | Sch 2 cl 11(2): liability of principal contractor |
Each rule is read from the source and provision shown; the sources are listed below. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
What it means for your books
- Since the principal contractor rule looks beyond the end of the financial year, a principal contractor's records for each year can list the subcontractors engaged under each contract and the amounts paid to them, kept past the days in the table.
- Tasmanian day counts need dated evidence: each contractor's service dates within the financial year, and the number of days a year the business ordinarily calls on that kind of work.
- An invoice that describes the goods supplied with a service, or the contractor's goods the business used, connects a payment to the goods exemption. For a contractor serving the public generally, a note of why that service sits outside what the business ordinarily requires belongs with the payment.
- Deciding whether the business is a principal contractor, or whether an agreement is a relevant contract, is for your accountant or the State Revenue Office of Tasmania.
General information
Sources
- Payroll Tax Act 2008 (Tas), authorised version as at 1 April 2020
Office of Parliamentary Counsel Tasmania. Authorised version as at 1 April 2020, released 5 May 2020. Checked 15 October 2026.
Sourced from the Tasmanian Legislation website (www.legislation.tas.gov.au), licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Payroll Tax
State Revenue Office of Tasmania. Page last published 21 September 2026, released 21 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of Tasmania Licence: Tasmanian Government copyright notice: licence to download, print and reproduce for non-commercial purposes with acknowledgement.
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