Payday Super deadline calculator
Enter a payday and get the date the employee's super fund must receive the contribution — with the information the fund needs to allocate it to the member; money that lands without correct member details is not on time. Since 1 July 2026 that is 7 business days after payday — 20 for the first payment to a new employee or a new fund — and the count skips weekends and every state-wide public holiday in Australia, wherever the employer is.
It also shows your send-by date, using the clearing-house lead time you enter (0 to 10 business days), and lists every assumption it used so you can check it or keep it as a working paper.
Already sent the super? Did it land? reads your clearing-house or payroll super exports in your browser and lists what was returned, what is not yet sent to the fund and what was sent, against each payday's due date.
What counts as a business day
A business day is any day other than: a Saturday or Sunday; a day that is a public holiday for the whole of any Australian state or territory. This means if there is a state or territory-wide public holiday, that day is not a business day for the purposes of Payday Super, even if you are not in that state or territory. ATO, Payment deadlines for Payday Super (QC105846), last updated 10 August 2026
So a Perth employer paying on Friday 31 July 2026 has until Wednesday 12 August, not Tuesday 11 August — Northern Territory Picnic Day on Monday 3 August is not a business day for anyone. Part-of-state holidays (Royal Hobart Show Day, regional show days) are still business days and are not counted. We do not count Melbourne Cup Day or the WA King's Birthday because councils in parts of Victoria and Western Australia observe a different day instead, so neither is a holiday for the whole of its state; leaving them out can only make a date earlier, never later.
Most calculators do not count this way — they count only your own state's holidays, or only the national ones. Why most Payday Super calculators get the date wrong shows what each shortcut does to the 25 September pay run and how to test the tool you use.
Worked examples, 2026
| Payday | Fund must receive by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 31 Jul | Wed 12 Aug | NT Picnic Day, Mon 3 Aug |
| Fri 31 Jul, new employee | Mon 31 Aug | 20 business days for a first contribution to a new or rehired worker, or a replacement fund (NT Picnic Day Mon 3 Aug skipped) |
| Fri 18 Sep | Wed 30 Sep | VIC Grand Final Friday 25 Sep (WA King's Birthday Mon 28 Sep is not counted — see above) |
| Fri 25 Sep | Wed 7 Oct | Labour Day (NSW/ACT/SA) and King's Birthday (QLD) Mon 5 Oct |
| Fri 2 Oct | Wed 14 Oct | Labour Day / King's Birthday, Mon 5 Oct |
| Wed 7 Oct bonus, next regular payday Fri 9 Oct | Tue 20 Oct | Out-of-cycle: 7 business days from the next regular payday, not from the bonus |
| Fri 30 Oct | Tue 10 Nov | Plain 7 business days — Melbourne Cup Day Tue 3 Nov is not counted |
| Thu 24 Dec | Thu 7 Jan 2027 | Christmas, Boxing Day, the additional Mon 28 Dec holiday in every state, New Year's Day |
These are the same for a WA, NSW or Victorian employer. The state selector stays on your client's record for local context; it does not change the count.
If you pay on a regular cycle, the 2026–27 deadline calendar has every date already worked out for weekly, fortnightly and monthly runs — and an .ics feed you can subscribe to. Every 2026–27 payday that a public holiday moves is worked out day by day in due dates around public holidays.
Longer windows
New or rehired worker, or a replacement fund: the first contribution has 20 business days. A new fund counts only once you have stopped contributing to the old one; a second fund paid alongside it does not. If the next regular pay run's own deadline falls before that later date, the ATO's bunching rule moves it out to the later date too.
Out-of-cycle payments (bonuses, commissions, back pay): due 7 business days after the next regular payday. Final pay is covered under Special cases below the calculator.
If a deadline is missed
Paying late does not remove the obligation: the contribution still has to reach the fund, and the ATO's rules for late payments then apply (ATO QC105848). SuperDue tracks the dates. It does not calculate or estimate any charge.
Dates here are planning estimates, not tax advice. Confirm obligations with the ATO or your registered tax professional.
Track every client's deadlines — free for 3 clientsSuperDue is a software tool. We are not registered tax agents or BAS agents. Ask a registered agent for advice you can rely on.
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Show the working — every date, holiday and assumption behind it
Special cases: out-of-cycle payments and final pay
Out-of-cycle payments (bonuses, commissions, back pay, allowances, payments in advance): super is due 7 business days after the next regular payday, not after the payment itself. Until that next payday exists the deadline is pending. A final pay to an employee who has left, with no regular payday to follow, is not an out-of-cycle payment: the out-of-cycle rule only applies where a later regular payment follows (LI 2026/20 s 5(3); LCR 2026/2 para 56). The ordinary rule applies, so it is due 7 business days after the payment itself. The ATO can also make an exceptional-circumstances determination (natural disasters, and widespread IT and communications outages): where one covers you and the payday, the deadline becomes the later of 20 business days after that payday and 20 business days after the day the determination is made. You do not apply for one. The ATO makes a determination for a class of employers — it cannot be issued for one employer's own circumstances — and you self-assess whether it covers you, keeping records that show it does (ATO QC105846). SuperDue does not model it.
Link to this checker
Writing for bookkeepers or employers? Paste one of these into your page or newsletter. It is a plain link — no script, no tracking. To point at one payday's answer, use Copy link to this result under the dates instead.
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