Free Take-Home Pay Calculator for New Zealanders
What actually lands in your bank account. Enter your gross salary and we work out PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver, and (optionally) student loan, then break the take-home down by week, fortnight, and month.
Your pay
Based on a gross salary of $80,000, 3.5% KiwiSaver, no student loan.
About our Take-Home Pay Calculator
$80,000 a year is $59,523 in your bank account after PAYEPAYEPay As You Earn; income tax taken out of each paycheque by the employer.View in glossary →, the ACC earner levyACC earner levy1.75% of pay (2026/27), capped at $156,641 of liable earnings; funds non-work injury cover and is taken via PAYE.View in glossary →, and a 3.5% KiwiSaverKiwiSaverNZ workplace retirement savings scheme. From 1 April 2026, minimum employee and employer contributions are both 3.5% of gross pay (rising to 4% in 2028); the government adds 25c per $1, capped at $260.72/yr.View in glossary → contribution. The gap between your gross salary and your net pay is roughly a quarter of the headline number, and most of that gap is income tax.
Your gross salary is the line on your employment contract. Your take-home pay is what actually lands in your bank account every week, fortnight, or month after Inland Revenue and ACC have taken their slices.
This calculator works through the four standard NZ deductions in order: PAYE income tax across the five brackets, the ACC earner levy, your KiwiSaver employee contribution, and student loan repayments if your tax codeTax codeTwo-or-three-letter PAYE code (M, ME, S, SH, ST, etc.) that sets the tax taken each pay.View in glossary → carries the SL suffixSL (student loan code)Suffix added to a tax code (M SL, S SL) when the worker is repaying a NZ student loan.View in glossary →. The brackets and rates match the figures current to 1 April 2026.
Move the gross salary slider and the result updates instantly. Switch KiwiSaver between 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% to see how a bigger slice into retirement savings changes the number that hits your account. Toggle student loan on if you owe StudyLink.
How to use it
Type your annual gross salary into the field, or drag the slider for a fast scan.
Pick your KiwiSaver contribution rate. The default is 3.5%, the new minimum from 1 April 2026; rates of 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% are available, or switch the contribution off if you are not in the scheme.
Toggle student loan on if your tax code is M SL or one of the other SL variants. The deduction adds 12% of every dollar you earn above the $24,128 annual threshold.
The annual figure is the headline. The four legend rows underneath show PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver, and student loan as separate annual amounts. The bottom three rows split the take-home into weekly, fortnightly, and monthly figures so you can match the cycle your employer pays you on.
Why use it
PAYE moves in steps. Cross from the 17.5% bracket into the 30% bracket and the next dollar is taxed at almost double the rate of the dollar before it. Calculators that show only an effective rate hide that step, which matters whenever you are weighing overtime, a pay rise, or a salary-sacrifice arrangement.
Take-home pay is the figure that drives everyday choices: what rent fits, what fortnightly mortgage repayment you can carry, and whether a $10,000 pay rise lands the same in your bank account once the marginal rateMarginal rateTax rate applied to your next dollar of income; the rate on the top slice of your earnings.View in glossary → applies to the new earnings.
The same maths shows what shifting KiwiSaver from 3.5% to 4% costs each fortnight, and what a pay rise leaves you with once Inland Revenue takes its cut.
The maths behind it
Take-home = Gross − PAYE − ACC earner levy − KiwiSaver employee − Student loan PAYE follows the five-bracket NZ schedule: 10.5% on the first $15,600, 17.5% to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000, and 39% above. The ACC earner levy is 1.75% of gross, capped at $156,641 of liable earnings for the 2026/27 levy year. The KiwiSaver deduction is your chosen contribution rate (3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8%, or 10% from 1 April 2026) applied to gross. The student loan deduction is 12% of every dollar above the $24,128 annual threshold, frozen by IRD since 1 April 2024.
Worked example
Olivia, university administrator in Dunedin, on $68,000 with a 3.5% KiwiSaver contribution.
Olivia earns $68,000 a year and finished paying off her student loan two years ago, so SL is off.
PAYE comes off in three slices: 10.5% on the first $15,600 ($1,638), 17.5% on the next $37,900 ($6,633), and 30% on the remaining $14,500 ($4,350). Total PAYE is $12,621.
ACC takes 1.75% of her gross, which is $1,190. KiwiSaver pulls 3.5%, or $2,380 a year.
Take-home lands at $51,809 a year, or $1,993 a fortnight in the bank. Her marginal rate is 30%, so the next dollar of overtime is worth 70 cents to her, before ACC and KiwiSaver take their slices.
Things to keep in mind
- Secondary tax codes. The calculator uses the standard M tax codeM tax codeStandard PAYE tax code for a single main job.View in glossary → for a single main job. Income from a second job uses SS tax codeSecondary income tax code; flat 17.5% if total earnings stay in the second-bracket band.View in glossary →, SHSH tax codeSecondary tax code at 30% for people whose combined income lands in the fourth bracket.View in glossary →, or STST tax codeSecondary tax code at 33% for people whose combined income lands in the fifth bracket.View in glossary → at a flat rate that does not match the bracket maths shown here.
- Annual square-up. PAYE estimates your tax pay by pay, based on your current run scaled to a year. If your income changes mid-year, IRD squares it up at year-end. The figure here is the in-year deduction, not your final tax bill.
- IETC and Working for Families. Some low-to-middle earners receive the Independent Earner Tax CreditIETCIndependent Earner Tax Credit; small annual credit for low-to-mid earners with no Working for Families.View in glossary →, and families with children may qualify for Working for FamiliesWorking for FamiliesGovernment package of weekly tax credits (FTC, IWTC, MFTC, BSTC) for working families.View in glossary → payments. Both reduce effective tax. Neither is reflected in the take-home figure.
- KiwiSaver minimum changes. From 1 April 2026 the minimum employee and employer contribution rates rise to 3.5%. They rise again to 4% from 1 April 2028. Existing 3% contributors transition over this window.
NZ-specific notes
FAQs
Why is my pay slip slightly different from the figure here?
Pay slips smooth PAYE across each pay run, while the calculator works in annual figures and divides at the end. Lump-sum payments (bonuses, back pay), salary-sacrifice arrangements, and union or social-club deductions also sit on top of the four standard deductions shown here.
Does the calculator handle KiwiSaver opt-outs?
Yes. Set KiwiSaver to "Off" and the deduction drops to zero. New employees auto-enrol but can opt out between days 14 and 56 of starting a job. Existing members can request a savings suspension after 12 months of contributing.
What about the employer KiwiSaver contribution?
The employer match sits on top of your gross salary, not deducted from it, so it does not change the take-home figure here. From 1 April 2026 the minimum employer match is 3.5%. The employer PAYE calculator shows the employer-side cost.
What if I have a second job?
A second job uses a secondary tax code (S, SH, or ST), which applies a flat rate matching the bracket your combined income falls into. The calculator assumes a single main job on the M code. The secondary income calculator handles the second-job case.
Are bonuses taxed differently?
Bonuses are taxed using a lump-sum method that treats them as if added to your annual income, then taxed at the marginal rate. The result is usually close to your top bracket, but the calculation is one-off rather than spread across the year. The bonus calculator shows the working.
How accurate is the take-home figure?
It uses the IRD, ACC, and StudyLink figures effective from 1 April 2026, and the new KiwiSaver minimums from the same date. Real pay slips can vary by a few dollars due to rounding, salary sacrifice, FBT-affected benefits, or accumulated PAYE adjustments through the year.
References & sources
- Inland Revenue, "Tax rates for individuals". ird.govt.nz
- Accident Compensation (Earners’ Levy) Regulations 2025, New Zealand Legislation. legislation.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Repaying my student loan when I earn salary or wages". ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "KiwiSaver changes" (April 2026 contribution rate increases and government contribution rule from July 2025). ird.govt.nz