How this PAYE estimate works
PAYE is the deduction your employer makes from salary or wages before paying you. This calculator separates annual income tax from the ACC earner levy so you can see why the total withheld is higher than income tax alone. It then shows student loan and KiwiSaver deductions separately. Those payments reduce cash received, but they are not additional income tax. Start with annual gross employment pay, choose your main-job tax code, and choose the frequency used to display the estimated net amount.
The model assumes the same annual salary continues throughout a full tax year. It applies the income tax brackets used from 31 July 2024 to the whole 2026/27 year. It does not apply the blended transitional rates for the 2024/25 tax year. A person with several jobs, irregular earnings, overseas income or a special tax certificate needs a more detailed calculation. This page is designed for checking a stable salary scenario, not generating an employer's payday filing.
Reading the bracket calculation
The first $15,600 is taxed at 10.5%. The portion from $15,600 to $53,500 is taxed at 17.5%. The next portion up to $78,100 is taxed at 30%, followed by 33% up to $180,000 and 39% above that amount. Crossing a threshold affects only the dollars above it. It does not reprice all your earlier income at the higher rate. That distinction matters when comparing a pay rise or deciding how much additional cash a bonus might leave.
For a $50,000 salary, the first slice produces $1,638 of income tax. The remaining $34,400 produces $6,020, giving annual income tax of $7,658 before any independent earner tax credit. The 2026/27 ACC calculation adds $875, giving combined tax and ACC of $8,533. With no student loan or KiwiSaver deduction, annual cash after those amounts is $41,467. This is a worked arithmetic example, not a quotation of an IRD payroll assessment.
Tax codes and deductions
Choose M for an ordinary main-job scenario without the independent earner tax credit. ME assumes you qualify for that credit; selecting the code does not establish eligibility. The model allows the annual credit for eligible income from $24,000, reduces it above $66,000 and reaches zero at $70,000. Benefits, superannuation, Working for Families and other circumstances can affect eligibility. Confirm the code with IRD before telling your employer to change it.
Sponsor this slot →
Request sponsor detailsInquiry only; it does not reserve a placement or charge you.
M SL and ME SL add a student loan estimate. The repayment rate is 12% above the entered threshold. The prefilled $24,128 threshold needs confirmation specifically for 2026/27 because the IRD page retrieved during this review labelled its figure for the 2026 tax year. You can change the threshold without changing the tax brackets. Regular payroll applies a pay-period threshold, so annual averaging is not an exact reproduction of every payslip.
KiwiSaver is calculated on gross salary. The standard employee and matching employer minimum increased to 3.5% from April 2026; a 3% employee selection is intended only for an approved temporary reduction. Higher employee choices are available. The employer contribution is not added to take-home pay. Total-remuneration contracts may also affect how the salary in your agreement should be interpreted, so enter the actual gross taxable pay used by payroll.
Checking a payslip
Compare like periods. Annual salary divided by 12 gives a monthly planning amount, while weekly and fortnightly displays use 52 and 26 periods. These are averaging conventions. A calendar month is not four weeks, and some payroll years have an additional payday. Small differences can arise from per-period rounding even when the annual assumptions are otherwise identical.
If your payslip differs substantially, first compare gross pay, tax code and KiwiSaver percentage. Then check whether there was overtime, leave without pay, a bonus, a student loan adjustment or another deduction. Avoid changing several assumptions at once: calculate the base salary, save the result, and then add one difference. This makes it easier to identify the cause rather than treating a single net-pay difference as proof of a payroll error.
Assumptions and limits
The ACC earner levy used here is 1.75%, capped at $156,641 of liable earnings. It is not a self-employed Work levy estimate. The tool rounds annual components to cents and divides the resulting net amount for display. It does not implement every payroll rounding convention, special deduction rate, child support deduction or tax-credit interaction. Income from investments is also excluded unless it has already been included in a separate assessment of the applicable code.
Use the output to build a budget or prepare a specific question for payroll. For a filing decision, use the current IRD calculation tools and your actual year-to-date records. Keep the salary, code and rate assumptions with any saved result so another person can reproduce it. A number without those assumptions is much harder to check and should not be treated as evidence of what your employer must pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is PAYE the same as income tax?
The displayed PAYE combines income tax and the ACC earner levy. KiwiSaver and student loan deductions are shown separately because they also reduce cash pay but are not income tax.
Can I use ME to get a larger result?
Only use ME if you meet the independent earner tax credit conditions. This calculator assumes eligibility when selected; it does not establish it.