Hundreds of thousands of Australians are covered by annualised salary awards or now work in the gig economy, which means they earn their living by carrying out multiple small jobs on a per-job or per-hour basis. If you are one of these workers, you may need to quote your annual salary when applying for a home loan, a car loan or a personal loan.
The definition of gig economy is ‘task-based employment’ and examples of gig industries include take-away food delivery, on-demand delivery, couriers and some taxi drivers. Freelance workers and hourly casual workers are also often paid on a per-hour basis, as opposed to a set salary or wage. Because of this, they may find it more difficult to get approved for financing or provide an accurate indication of their annual salary, as it may fluctuate or may simply be midway through the year before they have a clear grasp on their overall salary.
You can use this handy income annualisation calculator to provide you with your estimated annual salary based on the pay you’ve received for the number of days you’ve worked in the current financial year. This can assist you when filling in your loan application (if you’re asked to provide your annual income).