PAYE Calculator
Use the NZ PAYE Income Tax Calculator to estimate how much Tax and ACC levies you should pay for the current tax year (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026), effective tax rate, donations rebate and net income.
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Book Your Free 15-Minute ChatPAYE Calculator: Work Out Your Weekly, Fortnightly, or Annual Income Tax
The NZ PAYE Tax Calculator has been updated with the latest tax rates, which take effect from 1 April 2025. Try out the take-home calculator, choose the 2025/26 tax year, and see how it affects your take-home pay.
How to use the NZ PAYE Tax Calculator
To use the PAYE calculator, enter your annual salary (or the one you would like) in the What’s your income box.
The calculator will automatically display your tax code, income tax, ACC levy, KiwiSaver contributions, student loan, donations rebate, if any, effective tax rate, and net income (after-tax income). You can also download the income tax calculation as a PDF and save it to your computer.
Inland Revenue and PAYE Income Tax
Income tax is the largest source of revenue for the New Zealand government, making up around 51% of total tax collected. In the 2023–24 financial year, Inland Revenue (IRD) collected $58.9 billion from personal and business income tax alone.
According to IRD’s 2023–24 Annual Report, total tax revenue reached $115.4 billion, a 10.5% increase from the previous year and the highest ever in New Zealand’s history.
If you earn income in New Zealand, whether you’re an individual, a business, or an organisation, you must pay tax. However, not everyone needs to file a tax return each year.
Employed
Most people in New Zealand don’t need to file an Individual Income Tax Return (IR3) each year. You typically don’t have to file if:
- Your only income comes from salary or wages, such as employment or Superannuation, and your employer has already deducted the correct amount of PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax.
- Your only income is from interest, dividends, or Māori authority distributions, and the right amount of RWT (Resident Withholding Tax) has been deducted.
- You have no other sources of income, and Inland Revenue (IRD) already has enough information to assess your tax automatically.
If any of these apply, IRD will calculate your tax position and let you know if you’re due a refund or if you have tax to pay.
Self-employed
You’ll need to file an IR3 tax return if, between 1 April and 31 March, any of these apply:
- You made more than $200 from income that didn’t have tax taken out, like self-employment, rental income, overseas income, money from trusts, estates, partnerships, or casual cash jobs.
- You were taxed at the wrong rate or had the wrong amount of tax taken out.
- You became a New Zealand tax resident or non-resident partway through the year.
- You’ve got other reasons you need to file, like having a student loan, getting Working for Families payments, or being a beneficiary of a trust.
Income taxes in New Zealand are calculated based on tax rates that range from 10% to 39%. Taxpayers can lower their tax burden and the amount of taxes they owe by claiming deductions and credits.
How New Zealand’s PAYE Income Tax Brackets Work
New Zealand has a progressive income tax system. That means the more you earn, the higher the tax rate on the extra income you make.
Tax rates aren’t charged on your total income all at once — they apply to chunks of income that fall into different “brackets.” Each bracket has its own tax rate, and you only pay that rate on the income within that range.
New Zealand Personal Income Tax Changes
According to information from the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, the table below compares the current 2024-2025 income tax brackets with the previous 2025-2026 brackets, which will take effect on April 1, 2025.
This change in tax structure will impact how individual income is taxed in New Zealand over the coming financial year.
| Previous Range (2024-2025) | Current Range (2025-2026) | Change to Lower Threshold | Change to Upper Threshold | Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 – $14,000 | $0 – $15,600 | $0 | +$1,600 | 10.5% |
| $14,001 – $48,000 | $15,601 – $53,500 | +$1,600 | +$5,500 | 17.5% |
| $48,001 – $70,000 | $53,501 – $78,100 | +$5,500 | +$8,100 | 30% |
| $70,001 – $180,000 | $78,101 – $180,000 | +$8,100 | $0 | 33% |
| $180,001 and over | $180,001 and over | $0 | - | 39% |
Key Changes:
- All tax bracket thresholds have been adjusted upward except for the top bracket
- The lowest bracket threshold increased by $1,600 (from $14,000 to $15,600)
- The second bracket threshold increased by $5,500 (from $48,000 to $53,500)
- The third bracket threshold increased by $8,100 (from $70,000 to $78,100)
- Tax rates remain unchanged across all brackets