What should I charge? Working out your hourly rate as a new tradie

The biggest mistake new tradies make is charging what they earned as an employee, plus a bit. Then the ute needs tyres, a quiet month hits, and the tax bill lands. Your rate has to pay for a lot more than your time on the tools.

What your rate needs to cover

• Your take-home wage
• Income tax (set aside 25–30% to be safe)
• Super — you pay your own now (12% is the employee rate to match)
• Ute, fuel, rego and insurance
• Tools, phone, software, insurance and licences
• Unpaid time: quoting, travel, admin, holidays, sick days and rain days

You won't bill 40 hours a week

Most solo tradies bill 25–32 hours a week once you take out quoting, driving, supplier runs and paperwork. And plan on working about 46 weeks a year after holidays, public holidays and wet weather.

A quick example

Want $80,000 take-home? Add tax, 12% super and $25,000 of business costs and you need roughly $140,000 in revenue. Spread over 30 billable hours × 46 weeks, that's about $100 an hour before GST.

Run your own numbers in our free tradie hourly rate calculator at hellohenri.app/resources/hourly-rate-calculator.

Check the market, then charge your worth

Ask around and look at what others in your area charge — but don't race to the bottom. Turn up on time, quote fast and communicate well, and you can charge at the top of the range.

General information only — your accountant can help fine-tune your numbers.