Guide · records read 30 Aug 2026
How NZ PAYE and KiwiSaver are calculated
Five deductions, and one of them is on no payslip. What your employer contributes to KiwiSaver is not what arrives in the fund — here is every step, and where that gap comes from.
What you need before you start
Five answers. Four of them are on a payslip; the fifth is the one the payslip does not show.
- What do you earn?
- Gross annual salary before anything comes out. Not what lands.
- What KiwiSaver rate are you on?
- The rate on your payslip or in myIR. If you have never chosen one you are on the default.
- How often are you paid?
- Weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
- Do you have a student loan?
- Whether a loan is outstanding, and whether you are NZ-based or overseas-based — the two are assessed differently.
- Does your employer contribute?
- Whether your employer pays the compulsory minimum or more than it. What arrives in the fund is less than what they pay either way.
PAYE, band by band
Income tax is charged on a sliding scale: only the part of your income inside each band is charged at that band’s rate.
| Income | Rate on the part above |
|---|---|
| Up to NZ$15,600 | 10.5% |
| NZ$15,600 to NZ$53,500 | 17.5% |
| NZ$53,500 to NZ$78,100 | 30% |
| NZ$78,100 to NZ$180,000 | 33% |
| NZ$180,000 and above | 39% |
IRD — tax rates for individuals nz.paye.2026-27 · read 23 Aug 2026
The ACC levy is capped, and that matters
The ACC earners’ levy is 1.75% of income, but only up to NZ$156,641. Above that it stops rising and sits at NZ$2,741.
A calculator that applies the rate flat to any income overcharges everyone above the cap. This one applies the cap.
One thing that will not line up: IRD folds the ACC levy inside the PAYE figure on a payslip. This page shows them as two lines so you can see both, which is more honest and will not match your payslip row for row.
IRD — ACC earners’ levy rates nz.acc.2026-27 · read 31 Aug 2026
Your KiwiSaver rate is a choice from a fixed set
The rates available are 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, and the default — what you are on if you have never chosen — is 3.5%. Your contribution comes out of your pay before it reaches you.
Your employer must contribute at least 3.5% on top. You can also opt down to 3% for a period, and your employer matches the reduced rate while you do.
IRD — KiwiSaver employee contributions nz.kiwisaver.2026-27 · read 31 Aug 2026
What your employer contributes is not what arrives
This is the deduction almost nobody knows about, because it is on no payslip.
Employer superannuation contribution tax — ESCT — is taken from your employer’s KiwiSaver contribution before that contribution reaches your account. The rate is set by your salary plus the contribution itself, on its own band table.
On a NZ$85,000 salary, your employer’s 3.5% contribution is NZ$2,975 — and NZ$2,082 of it lands, after NZ$893 of ESCT at 30%.
Every comparison of employers that quotes the gross contribution is quoting a number that does not arrive. This page shows both.
IRD — get ready for new ESCT and FBT changes nz.esct.2026-27 · read 31 Aug 2026
The government contribution has a deadline
If you are between 16 and 65 and earning under NZ$180,000, the government pays 25% on your own contributions, to a maximum of NZ$261 a year — which needs NZ$1,043 of your own money in the fund.
The year it is measured over runs 1 July to 30 June, and it does not carry over. A year you fell short in is not topped up later; it is simply gone.
IRD — getting the KiwiSaver government contribution nz.kiwisaver.government-contribution · read 23 Aug 2026
Student loan repayments
Repayments are 12% of income above NZ$24,128 a year, taken through the payroll system. Below the threshold nothing is repaid.
Overseas-based borrowers are assessed differently — on a fixed schedule rather than on New Zealand income — and this page computes the NZ-based case.
IRD — repaying my student loan when I earn salary or wages nz.student-loan.2026-27 · read 31 Aug 2026
What this does not compute
- No projection. Everything here is what each rate costs this year. What a fund is worth in thirty years is a different calculation with different rules attached.
- Secondary tax codes and multiple jobs are not modelled; this computes one income on the main code.
- Working for Families, and other credits, are not here.
- Australian figures are a separate set of calculators. The two systems share almost no mechanics.