ACC Earners' Levy (2026–27): Rates, Maximum and Self-Employed Levies

ACC earners' levy rates by year

Inland Revenue publishes the rate and the maximum for each year from 1 April. The rates include GST. The levy has risen every year since 2022–23, and the 2027–28 rate is already fixed.

How much ACC levy you pay on your salary

The levy is a flat percentage of gross earnings, so the amount rises in a straight line until earnings reach $156,641 and then stops. There is no threshold or tax-free amount at the bottom. Above the cap the average rate falls, because extra earnings carry no levy.

How the levy is taken through PAYE

For employees, the levy is part of PAYE. Inland Revenue's PAYE table shows the combined rate per dollar: 12.25% on the first $15,600, 19.25% to $53,500, 31.75% to $78,100, 34.75% to $156,641, then just 33% from $156,642 to $180,000 and 39% above that. On a main-job code, payroll annualises each pay, applies 1.75% up to the cap, and spreads it back over the period.

For example, a $170,000 salary paid monthly has $228.41 of levy in each pay. That is $2,740.92 a year, about the maximum, because the annualised pay is above $156,641. Secondary codes, ND, CAE, EDW and NSW apply the levy at a flat 1.75% on top of the tax rate, with no cap within that pay.

Two jobs and the levy cap

Each employer deducts the levy without knowing about your other jobs. If your combined earnings go above $156,641, the total deducted can exceed $2,741.22. Check the PAYE and levy figures in your myIR income summary after 31 March. If more than the maximum was deducted, raise it with Inland Revenue.

Self-employed people who also have wages can face the same issue on their ACC invoice. ACC has a Multiple Employer Adjustment for people whose combined earnings in the levy calculation exceed the maximum liable income. You apply using ACC's Multiple employer adjustment form.

Self-employed: CoverPlus levies invoiced by ACC

If you are self-employed or a contractor, no levy comes out of your income at source. Schedular payments taxed under the WT code carry no earners' levy. Instead ACC places you on CoverPlus automatically. It takes your earnings from the IR3 return Inland Revenue passes on, and sends an invoice, usually around September. The invoice has three parts:

• Work levy: covers injuries at work. The rate per $100 depends on your Classification Unit (CU), which follows the industry code for what you do.
• Earners' levy: covers injuries outside work, at the same flat rate for all levy payers.
• Working Safer levy: collected for WorkSafe New Zealand at a flat rate per $100 of liable income.

Minimum and maximum liable income for the self-employed

ACC levies the self-employed on liable income up to the same maximum as employees: $156,641 for 2026–27. There is also a minimum for full-time workers, meaning more than 30 hours a week on average across all jobs. For 2026–27 that minimum is $50,501 ($49,365 in 2025–26). If you work full-time but earn less, ACC levies you as if you earned the minimum. Part-time self-employed people are levied on their actual income.

Example: a full-time sole trader with $80,000 of liable income is levied on $80,000, with a Work levy rate that depends on their CU. Someone working full-time on $30,000 is levied on $50,501, not $30,000. The trade-off is cover: under CoverPlus, ACC pays weekly compensation of up to 80% of income from the last completed financial year. ACC's own example is $52,000 a year giving up to $800 a week before tax.

CoverPlus Extra: choosing your level of cover

CoverPlus Extra (CPX) is optional cover for self-employed people and shareholder-employees. You agree a level of cover in advance, and levies are calculated on that agreed amount instead of your actual liable income. For 2026–27 the agreed cover must be between $40,401 and $125,313 ($39,492–$122,232 in 2025–26). The Working Safer levy on a CPX invoice is 8 cents per $100 of cover.

CPX suits people with uneven income, such as a new business with a poor first year or a contractor whose IR3 income would not reflect their usual earnings. A lower agreed cover means lower levies but lower weekly compensation after an injury. A higher one costs more but gives certainty.