Enter your income goal, overhead costs, and working hours. Get your recommended hourly rate — GST-exclusive and GST-inclusive — in seconds.
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Adjust the defaults to match your situation. Results update when you click Calculate.
Used to gross up your salary. Check ATO for your bracket.
52 minus leave & public holidays. 46 is a realistic starting point.
Not all 40hrs are billable. Allow for travel, admin, quoting.
Buffer for slow periods, bad debts, and business growth. 10–20% is typical.
Enter your desired annual take-home pay. The calculator grosses this up for income tax to work out how much revenue you need to generate before tax.
Add annual business costs — ute, insurance, tools, accounting. These sit on top of your salary and must be covered by your rate before you earn a dollar.
Not every hour is billable. Allow for travel, quoting, admin, and non-productive time. 30 billable hours per week is realistic for most sole traders.
Typical annual overhead ranges for a sole trader electrician in Australia.
| Cost item | Typical range (AUD/yr) |
|---|---|
| Vehicle (fuel, rego, CTP, insurance) | $7,000–$13,000 |
| Public liability & tools insurance | $2,800–$5,000 |
| Tools & equipment replacement | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Accounting / bookkeeping | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Phone & internet | $1,000–$1,800 |
| State electrical licence renewal | $300–$800 |
| Software & subscriptions | $600–$1,500 |
| Total typical overhead | $14,700–$28,100 |
Figures are indicative for 2026. Actual costs vary by state and business setup.
Australian electricians typically charge $95–$150/hr excluding GST, depending on state, type of work, and experience. Emergency callouts and specialist work (switchboards, three-phase, commercial) can be higher.
Yes. If you are GST-registered (required once turnover exceeds $75,000/year), you add 10% GST on top. Your charge-out rate is the GST-exclusive price. Show the rate, GST amount, and GST-inclusive total separately on invoices. Register via your ABN with the ATO.
A realistic figure for a sole trader in Australia is 1,200–1,450 billable hours per year. That is 46 working weeks at 26–32 billable hours per week. Allow for travel, quoting, admin, and non-productive time.
Include: vehicle running costs (fuel, rego, CTP, insurance), public liability and tools insurance, tools and equipment replacement, accounting fees, phone and internet, state electrical licence, and software. A typical Australian sole trader has $16,000–$28,000 in annual overhead.
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