Accountant, bookkeeper and tax agent for Cairns
One team for your tax return, bookkeeping and BAS. Top Accountants is a CPA-qualified Registered Tax Agent based in Docklands, Melbourne, working with Cairns individuals and businesses online.
- Registered Tax Agent 25377345
- Registered ASIC Agent 38112
- CPA qualified
- Certified Xero, MYOB & QuickBooks Advisors
- 15+ years’ experience
Accounting, bookkeeping and tax for Cairns
- Tax returns for employees, sole traders, companies and trusts
- Bookkeeping in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, from $495/month
- BAS & IAS, payroll, STP and Payday Super
- Company set-up, tax planning and ATO letters
Cairns’s economy
Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree. Tourism, aviation and marine services, health care, education, construction and agriculture in the surrounding region (including sugar cane and tropical fruit) make up much of the economy.
Payroll tax for Cairns employers
Cairns and Townsville are both in “regional Queensland” for payroll tax. A regional employer (registered ABN address in regional Queensland and at least 85% of Queensland taxable wages paid to employees who live there) gets a 1% discount until 30 June 2030: 3.75% instead of 4.75%, or 3.95% instead of 4.95% for wages over $6.5 million. The threshold is $1.3 million.
Zone tax offset and Cairns
Cairns is in Zone B for the zone tax offset. If Cairns is your usual place of residence for 183 days or more in the income year, the base Zone B offset is $57 for 2025–26, more if you maintain dependants.
Employing working holiday makers
Cairns tourism and farm businesses often employ backpackers. Working holiday makers are taxed at 15% on their first $45,000 of income, but only if the employer is registered with the ATO as a working holiday maker employer; otherwise higher rates apply. We set this up in payroll.
Cane and fruit growers
Sugar cane, banana and tropical fruit growers around Cairns can smooth tax across good and bad seasons with income averaging and farm management deposits, and receiving certain natural disaster assistance is one of the exceptions that allows an early FMD withdrawal without losing the deduction.
Tour and marine operators
Seasonal income and big-ticket assets such as boats and vehicles make cash flow planning, GST on asset purchases and depreciation important.
How we work with Cairns clients
We don’t have a Cairns office. Top Accountants is based in Docklands, Melbourne. Documents come through our secure upload page, you sign electronically, and we meet by phone or video. Cairns doesn’t use daylight saving: our 9am–5pm (Melbourne time) is 8am–4pm there from October to April.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Cairns?
No. Our only office is in Docklands, Melbourne. We work with Cairns clients online, by phone and by video call.
Does the regional payroll tax rate apply in Cairns?
Cairns and Townsville are both in “regional Queensland” for payroll tax.
Can Cairns residents claim the zone tax offset?
Cairns is in Zone B for the zone tax offset. It depends on your usual place of residence.
Employing working holiday makers: what should I know?
Cairns tourism and farm businesses often employ backpackers. Working holiday makers are taxed at 15% on their first $45,000 of income, but only if the employer is registered with the ATO as a working holiday maker employer; otherwise higher rates apply. We set this up in payroll.
How much do you charge?
Tax returns from $245, BAS from $295 for established businesses ($145 for rideshare and taxi drivers) and bookkeeping from $495 a month, confirmed in a written fixed-fee quote.
Sources
Payroll tax rates and thresholds (payrolltax.gov.au) · QRO: regional discount · ATO: working holiday makers · ATO: Queensland zone list. General information only, checked 23 October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the relevant agency or ask us about your situation.
Talk to a Registered Tax Agent
Free 15-minute call, then a written fixed-fee quote within 1 business day. Online, Australia-wide.