New Zealand PAYE & Take-Home Pay Calculator

About the New Zealand PAYE & Take-Home Pay Calculator

Enter a salary, a weekly or monthly amount or an hourly rate and see each pay from gross to net the way a New Zealand payroll works it out: PAYE income tax at the individual rates, the ACC earners’ levy, your KiwiSaver deduction and student loan repayment, with the independent earner tax credit under tax code ME and flat rates for second jobs.

Under the breakdown you can see what goes into your KiwiSaver on top of your pay — the employer’s contribution after employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT), and the government contribution — and the tax for the year on this pay next to what PAYE deducts. Every figure follows Inland Revenue’s own PAYE formulas, including where they drop cents. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How PAYE is worked out

Payroll software follows Inland Revenue’s PAYE formulas (payroll calculations and business rules). For a main job, the pay for one period is turned into a yearly income — weekly pay × 52, fortnightly × 26, four-weekly × 13, monthly × 12, with the cents dropped. The tax on that income at the individual rates is added to the year’s ACC earners’ levy (less the independent earner tax credit under ME), divided by 52 and cut to whole cents, then converted back to your pay period.

The rates are 10.5% up to $15,600, 17.5% from $15,601 to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000 and 39% above. For a yearly income x, the tax is:

• up to $15,600: 10.5% × x
• $15,601 to $53,500: 17.5% × x − $1,092
• $53,501 to $78,100: 30% × x − $7,779.50
• $78,101 to $180,000: 33% × x − $10,122.50
• over $180,000: 39% × x − $20,922.50

The ACC earners’ levy

The earners’ levy pays for ACC cover of injuries outside work. It is 1.75% (including GST) of liable earnings up to $156,641 a year — at most $2,741.22 — and is collected through PAYE, so a payslip usually shows one PAYE figure for tax and levy together (Inland Revenue). Inland Revenue lists 1.83% on earnings up to $160,244 for the tax year that starts on 1 April 2027.

Tax codes

• M is for your main (highest-paying) job. ME is the same with the independent earner tax credit: $520 a year ($10 a week) for income between $24,000 and $66,000, reducing by 13 cents for each dollar above $66,000 to nil at $70,000 — unless you or your partner get Working for Families, or you get an income-tested benefit, NZ Super, a Veteran’s Pension or an overseas equivalent (IETC).
• Secondary codes are for every other job, chosen by your estimated total income from all sources: SB up to $15,600 (10.5%), S from $15,601 to $53,500 (17.5%), SH to $78,100 (30%), ST to $180,000 (33%) and SA above $180,000 (39%). Each takes one flat rate from every dollar of that job, plus the ACC levy (secondary tax codes).
• SL is added to the code (M SL, S SL …) when you have a student loan.
• ND: without a tax code declaration (IR330), your employer deducts tax at the non-declaration rate of 45% (about tax codes), plus the ACC levy (payroll calculations). Inland Revenue’s guide to choosing a tax code walks through the questions.

KiwiSaver, ESCT and the government contribution

KiwiSaver deductions are 3.5% (the default), 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of your gross pay (Inland Revenue); they are worked out on your pay before tax but do not reduce your PAYE. If you are 16 or older and under 65, your employer must add at least 3.5% of your gross pay on top (employer contributions) and takes employer superannuation contribution tax out of it, at a rate set by your pay plus employer contributions for the previous tax year: 10.5% up to $18,720, 17.5% to $64,200, 30% to $93,720, 33% to $216,000 and 39% above (ESCT). A temporary rate reduction lets you contribute 3% for 3 months to a year, and your employer may match it (temporary rate reduction). The default and minimum rates rise to 4% for paydays on or after 1 April 2028.

The government adds 25 cents for each dollar you contribute from 1 July to 30 June, up to $260.72 a year — you need to put in $1,042.86 for the full amount — if you are 16 to 64 and your taxable income is $180,000 or less (government contribution). The New Zealand KiwiSaver Calculator projects your balance.

Student loan repayments

With a student loan, your main job deducts 12% of your pay above the repayment threshold: $464 a week, $928 a fortnight, $1,856 every four weeks or $2,010.66 a month ($24,128 a year). A second job deducts 12% of every dollar, because your main job uses the threshold (Inland Revenue). Income other than salary or wages can mean an end-of-year repayment; the New Zealand Student Loan Repayment Calculator works that out and how long your loan takes to repay.

Limitations

• For New Zealand tax residents paid salary or wages through PAYE. Self-employed and schedular (WT) income and the CAE, EDW and NSW tax codes are not covered.
• Extra pays — bonuses, back pay, redundancy and holiday pay paid out when you leave — are taxed with the extra pay rules, not the ordinary PAYE formula.
• Tailored tax codes, special deduction rates, child support, payroll giving and voluntary student loan deductions are not included.
• The ESCT rate shown is worked out from this pay; your employer sets it from your previous tax year’s pay and contributions and keeps it for the year.
• The government contribution is an estimate for a full year as a member aged 16 to 64, from this job’s deductions only.

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