Payroll tax and contractors in Victoria
Victoria's Payroll Tax Act takes amounts paid under a relevant contract to be wages, then exempts services in listed cases. The Victorian list includes work done by at least as many of the contractor's own workers as the table shows, and services outside the business's ordinary needs, bought from a contractor who serves the public generally.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
The rules in Victoria
| 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 May 2026 | 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 May 2026 | 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 May 2026 | 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 May 2026 | s 32(2)(b)(ii): ordinarily required for less than 180 days |
| Most days in a financial year a contractor can provide services and be exempt | 90 days | As published on 1 May 2026 | s 32(2)(b)(iii): 90 days in a financial year |
| Work done by 2 or more of the contractor's own workers is exempt | Yes | As published on 1 May 2026 | s 32(2)(c)(i): work by two or more persons |
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
- For the workers exemption, job sheets or invoices that name who carried out the work show how many of the contractor's own people were on the job, which is what the table's figure is compared with.
- Victoria's day-based exemptions count the days a contractor provides services in the financial year, and the days a year the business ordinarily needs the services. Each contractor's working days, listed by date, serve the first count, and a yearly tally of the days the business needs that kind of service serves the second.
- Services ancillary to the contractor supplying goods, or to the business using the contractor's goods, are exempt in Victoria. Purchase records that list the goods beside the services tie a payment to that exemption.
- Exemption choices are easier to explain later when each contractor's file holds a short note of which exemption a payment was treated under. If it is unclear whether an arrangement counts as a relevant contract, ask State Revenue Office Victoria or your accountant.
General information
Sources
- Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic), Authorised Version No. 041
Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Authorised Version No. 041, as at 1 May 2026, released 1 May 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of Victoria (Government Printer) Licence: Victorian Legislation copyright notice: copyright, State of Victoria.
- Payroll tax
State Revenue Office Victoria. Page updated 24 August 2026 (last_update_date metadata), released 24 August 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of Victoria (State Revenue Office), licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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