NZ Tax Brackets & Income Tax Rates 2026/27

The current New Zealand income tax rates and thresholds, the ACC earner levy, and the student loan threshold — plus a band-by-band view of the tax on your own salary.

Current NZ income tax brackets

Rates for the tax year running 1 April to 31 March. Each band only taxes the income that falls inside it.

New Zealand income tax brackets and rates
Taxable income	Tax rate	Max tax in band
$0 – $15,600	10.5%	$1,638
$15,601 – $53,500	17.5%	$6,633
$53,501 – $78,100	30.0%	$7,380
$78,101 – $180,000	33.0%	$33,627
$180,001 and over	39.0%	—

On top of PAYE, the ACC earner levy takes 1.8% of earnings up to $156,641 a year, and student loan repayments take 12.0% of everything above $24,128.

ACC earners' levy 2026/27

The ACC earners' levy is a separate deduction collected alongside PAYE. It funds Accident Compensation Corporation cover for injuries, and it applies to wages, salaries and schedular payments — not to interest, dividends or rental income.

Levy rate

1.8%

$1.75 per $100 earned

Liable earnings cap

$156,641

Earnings above this pay no levy

Maximum a year

$2,741

The most anyone pays in a year

Worked example: on an $80,000 salary the levy is $1,400 a year — about $26.92 a week. On $160,000, only the first $156,641 is liable, so the levy stays at $2,741. The levy rate is reviewed each year, so the figure on your payslip can shift slightly from one levy year to the next even when your salary does not change.

Tax on your salary, band by band

Annual salary

PAYE a year

$14,721

Effective tax rate

19.6%

21.4% including ACC

Top bracket you reach

30.0%

Applies only to your top dollars

Tax paid in each bracket on the salary entered
Band	Rate	Your income in band	Tax
$0 – $15,600	10.5%	$15,600	$1,638
$15,601 – $53,500	17.5%	$37,900	$6,633
$53,501 – $78,100	30.0%	$21,500	$6,450
$78,101 – $180,000	33.0%	$0	$0
$180,001 and over	39.0%	$0	$0

To add KiwiSaver and student loan deductions and see your take-home pay, use the after tax calculator or the PAYE calculator.

Tax by salary level

PAYE and the ACC earner levy at common salary levels, before KiwiSaver and student loan.

PAYE, ACC levy and effective tax rate at common New Zealand salaries
Salary	PAYE	ACC levy	Effective rate	Take-home a year
$30,000	$4,158	$525	15.6%	$25,317
$45,000	$6,783	$788	16.8%	$37,430
$60,000	$10,221	$1,050	18.8%	$48,730
$75,000	$14,721	$1,313	21.4%	$58,967
$90,000	$19,578	$1,575	23.5%	$68,848
$120,000	$29,478	$2,100	26.3%	$88,423
$150,000	$39,378	$2,625	28.0%	$107,998
$200,000	$57,078	$2,741	29.9%	$140,181

Weekly and fortnightly tax at common salaries

PAYE and the ACC earner levy shown per pay period — what actually leaves each pay packet before KiwiSaver and student loan.

Weekly and fortnightly PAYE, ACC levy and take-home pay at common New Zealand salaries
Salary	Tax + ACC / week	Take-home / week	Tax + ACC / fortnight	Take-home / fortnight
$50,000	$164.10	$797.44	$328.19	$1,594.88
$60,000	$216.74	$937.11	$433.48	$1,874.21
$70,000	$277.80	$1,068.36	$555.60	$2,136.71
$80,000	$339.95	$1,198.51	$679.90	$2,397.02
$90,000	$406.78	$1,323.99	$813.56	$2,647.98
$100,000	$473.61	$1,449.47	$947.21	$2,898.94
$120,000	$607.26	$1,700.43	$1,214.52	$3,400.87

For monthly pay divide the annual figures by 12, and for your exact numbers with KiwiSaver and student loan included use the take home pay calculator.

How the brackets actually work

New Zealand tax is marginal, not flat. Crossing a threshold never re-taxes the income below it. Someone earning $80,000 pays 10.5% on their first $15,600, 17.5% on the next slice, 30% up to $78,100, and only 33% on the last $1,900. That is why a pay rise is never "eaten by the next tax bracket" — it is only the new dollars that are taxed at the higher rate.

What does change the picture is everything sitting alongside PAYE: the ACC earner levy, your KiwiSaver rate and any student loan repayment. Together they explain most of the gap between a headline pay rise and what lands in your account — the pay rise calculator splits that out dollar by dollar. If you have a second job, the secondary tax calculator shows which tax code applies to it.

NZ tax rate questions, answered

What are the current NZ income tax rates?

New Zealand uses progressive tax brackets: 10.5% on income up to $15,600, 17.5% from $15,601 to $53,500, 30% from $53,501 to $78,100, 33% from $78,101 to $180,000, and 39% on income above $180,000. Every dollar is taxed at the rate for the band it falls in, not at one flat rate.

What are the NZ tax brackets for 2026?

The brackets above are the ones in force for the current tax year, which runs 1 April to 31 March. They were last changed on 31 July 2024, so the full-year rates used from the 2025/26 year onwards are the same set shown on this page.

Is there a tax-free threshold in New Zealand?

No. Unlike Australia or the UK, New Zealand taxes income from the first dollar. The lowest band is 10.5%, which applies to your first $15,600 of income.

Does moving into a higher tax bracket tax all my income more?

No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. Only the income above the bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate. If you move from $53,000 to $55,000, only the $1,500 above $53,500 is taxed at 30% — the rest is unchanged.

Is the ACC earner levy part of income tax?

No. The ACC earner levy is a separate deduction of 1.75% on earnings up to $156,641 a year. It is taken out of your pay alongside PAYE, which is why your total deduction rate is higher than the tax rates alone.

What is the ACC earners' levy rate for 2026/27?

The ACC earners' levy is 1.75% ($1.75 per $100) of liable earnings, up to a maximum of $156,641 a year for the current levy year. The most anyone pays is about $2,741 a year. It funds ACC cover for work and non-work injuries and is collected through PAYE, so it never appears as a separate bill.

How much tax do I pay each fortnight?

Divide your annual PAYE by 26. On an $80,000 salary, for example, annual PAYE is about $16,720 plus roughly $1,336 of ACC levy — around $695 per fortnight, before KiwiSaver and student loan. The weekly and fortnightly table on this page shows the exact figures for common salaries.

What is my effective tax rate?

Your effective rate is total tax divided by total income, and it is always lower than your top bracket rate. On a $90,000 salary, for example, the top rate touching your income is 33% but the effective PAYE rate is closer to 24%.

What is the student loan repayment threshold?

Repayments of 12% apply to every dollar you earn above $24,128 a year (about $464 a week). It is a repayment of your own debt rather than a tax, but it comes out of the same pay packet.

Work out your take-home pay

How we calculate this

This page sets out the current New Zealand income tax bands, ACC levy and student loan settings that every calculator on this site uses. Every figure on this page is worked out in your browser from the rates listed below — nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored.

1List each income tax band with its lower bound, upper bound and rate.
2Show the cumulative tax at the top of each band.
3State the ACC earners' levy rate and the annual liable earnings cap.
4State the student loan repayment rate and annual threshold.
5Work through examples so you can see marginal versus effective rates.

Rates and thresholds in use

Income tax bands: $0–$15,600 at 10.50%; $15,600–$53,500 at 17.50%; $53,500–$78,100 at 30.00%; $78,100–$180,000 at 33.00%; over $180,000 at 39.00%.
ACC earners' levy: 1.75% of liable earnings.
Student loan: 12% of every dollar earned above $24,128 a year.
KiwiSaver employee rates: 3.5% by default, or 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of gross pay; a temporary reduction to 3% is available.

Last reviewed August 2026 by the Payrise NZ team. We re-check these settings whenever Inland Revenue, MBIE or ACC announce a change, and update this page the same week.

Sources: Inland Revenue — income tax rates.

Keep going with the rest of the toolkit — each one uses the same up-to-date New Zealand tax settings.