Free premium tax calculator
Where does your client's premium really go?
Add the covers and the state. See the emergency services levy, GST and stamp duty stack up, layer by layer, then send the client a branded breakdown.
Example figures. Change them to your client's.
1Where is the risk?
2The covers
Emergency services levy
Each insurer sets its own rate. Defaults: Chubb NSW ESL rates from 1 May 2026.
First, a guess
On these covers, how much do taxes and levies add on top of the premium?
Illustrative only, not advice. The policy wording and the insurer decide. Nothing you type leaves your browser unless you make the PDF.
Why it matters
Government charges are a big part of the bill
20 to 40%
is what state charges add on top of the underlying premium, depending on where the client is.
Insurance Council of Australia34%
is how much the NSW emergency services levy can add to a business premium, before GST and duty.
ABC News, 4 August 202611%
stamp duty in South Australia, the highest general insurance duty rate in the country.
Insurance Business
In plain English
Taxes on taxes
The order matters. Each charge is worked out on the ones before it, so they compound.
The levy comes first
In NSW the insurer adds the emergency services levy to property and some other covers. It is a percentage of the base premium, and each insurer sets its own.
GST goes on top of the levy
GST is 10% of the premium plus the levy. So the levy itself attracts GST.
Stamp duty goes on the lot
The state's duty is charged on the premium, the levy and the GST together. It is the last layer and often the biggest surprise.
Worked example
A $10,000 premium in NSW becomes $15,527.05
A commercial property policy with a base premium of $10,000 from an insurer charging a 29.5% emergency services levy.
Tax invoice
- Base premium
- $10,000.00
- Emergency services levy at 29.5%
- $2,950.00
- GST at 10% on premium and levy
- $1,295.00
- Stamp duty at 9% on all of the above
- $1,282.05
State by state
Stamp duty on business insurance
General insurance duty is charged on the GST inclusive premium. These are the rates for most commercial covers.
- New South WalesNSW
9%
5% on professional indemnity and commercial motor. Emergency services levy on top.
- VictoriaVIC
7%
Business insurance, policies from 1 July 2026. Falling to nil by 2033.
- QueenslandQLD
9%
On the GST inclusive premium.
- South AustraliaSA
11%
The highest rate in the country.
- Western AustraliaWA
10%
On the GST inclusive premium.
- TasmaniaTAS
10%
Since 1 October 2012.
- Northern TerritoryNT
10%
On the GST inclusive premium.
- Australian Capital TerritoryACT
Nil
Abolished on 1 July 2016.
Victoria
Duty on business insurance is going, one point a year
For policies taken out or renewed in each financial year, Victoria's duty on business insurance falls by a point. Other covers in a package stay at 10%.
NSW
NSW is reviewing the levy
A parliamentary inquiry into replacing the insurance based emergency services levy is due to report by 18 November 2026. Insurers want it gone before the March 2027 election.
ABC News, 4 August 2026Know the rules
Three things worth telling clients
- 1
Rates differ by class
In NSW most business covers attract 9% duty, but professional indemnity and commercial motor attract 5%.
Revenue NSW, types of insurance - 2
Small businesses can save
A NSW business with turnover under $2m can claim an exemption from duty on commercial motor, professional indemnity and public and products liability, with a signed declaration.
Revenue NSW, small business exemption - 3
Victoria is phasing duty out
Duty on business insurance in Victoria falls one point a year, from 10% to nothing for policies from 1 July 2033.
State Revenue Office Victoria
The client PDF
A one page breakdown, on your letterhead
Your logo and details, each cover's premium with its levy, GST and duty, the total to pay and a short explanation of how the charges stack. It answers the question before the client asks it.
- Premium, taxes and total, cover by cover
- How the charges stack
- State notes and reforms
- Your branding
Where your premium goes
- Premium
- $24,700
- Emergency services levy
- $3,700
- GST
- $2,840
- Stamp duty
- $2,812
Rates as at 1 November 2026. Your invoice is the final word.
Test yourself
Taxes on taxes: five quick questions
Clients ask why the invoice is bigger than the quote. See how sure you are of the answers.
In Australia, is stamp duty charged on the GST?
Questions brokers ask
Premium taxes, answered
- In what order are the charges added?
- The emergency services levy (NSW) on the base premium, then GST at 10% on the premium plus levy, then stamp duty on the premium, levy and GST together. A broker fee carries GST but no stamp duty.
- Where do the ESL rates come from?
- Each insurer sets its own NSW emergency services levy rate. The defaults here are Chubb's published rates from 1 May 2026: 20% for SME and business packages and 29.5% for other commercial cover. Use the rate on your insurer's quote.
- Is the small business exemption automatic?
- No. The client must have turnover under $2m and sign a declaration. It covers only commercial motor, professional indemnity and public and products liability in NSW.
- Why does Victoria show a lower rate?
- Victoria is abolishing duty on business insurance one point a year. The rate depends on when the policy starts, so set the start date for the policy you are quoting.
- Is this tax advice?
- No. It applies the published rates to the figures you enter. The insurer's invoice is the final word, and rates can change.
- Is my client's data stored?
- No. The calculator runs in your browser. Figures only leave it if you make the PDF, which goes to our report builder to print.
With a free trial
Every quote taxed correctly, without the spreadsheet
Coverbound works out levies, GST and duty on every line of every placement, by state and by date, and puts them straight into your quotes and renewal reports. 14 days free, no card.
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