Hourly rate calculator
Your hourly rate is the income you want plus your yearly business costs, divided by the hours you can bill in a year.
The calculator
What you want to take out of the business each year.
Whole weeks, from 1 to 52. Leave out holidays and time off.
Hours you can charge for, not hours you work. From 1 to 168.
Vehicle, tools, insurance, software and anything else the business pays for. Type 0 if none.
Shows the rate with 10% GST added as well.
The rate appears once all four boxes are filled in.
This calculator is an estimate and not tax advice. It only does arithmetic on the numbers you enter, and it does not work out tax. Kept's tax tools are estimates to help with your reporting, not professional advice: check anything that matters with your accountant.
The sum behind the rate.
Add the income you want to your yearly business costs. That is how much the business has to bring in over the year. Then work out your billable hours for the year: the weeks you work times the billable hours you manage each week. Divide the first number by the second and you have an hourly rate, rounded to the nearest cent.
Here is an example with made-up numbers. An income of $80,000 plus $20,000 of costs is $100,000 to bring in. Working 46 weeks at 25 billable hours a week is 1,150 hours. $100,000 divided by 1,150 hours is $86.96 an hour before GST. It is only an example, not a rate to copy.
If you charge GST, the calculator adds 10% to the hourly rate and shows both figures.
Good to know.
How is the hourly rate worked out?
Add the income you want to your yearly business costs, then divide by your billable hours for the year (weeks worked times billable hours per week). The answer is rounded to the nearest cent.
What counts as a billable hour?
An hour you can charge a customer for. Time you don't bill, such as quoting, paperwork or driving between jobs, doesn't count, which is why billable hours are usually fewer than the hours you work.
Does the rate include tax?
No. The calculator doesn't work out tax. If you want your rate to cover tax, work out the income you need before tax, type that in, and check the figures with your accountant.
Should I charge GST?
Only if your business is registered for GST. Switch the GST option on to see the rate with 10% GST added. The GST calculator page covers when you have to register.
Where the numbers come from.
Checked against the ATO pages on 24 October 2026.
- ATO: How GST works (page updated 14 September 2026)
Kept's tax tools are estimates to help with your reporting, not professional advice: check anything that matters with your accountant.
Price the job on site and send the quote from your phone.
In Kept you pick the service, set the price and send the quote. Kept works out the GST for you. Free plan, no time limit.