All New Zealand Tax & Pay Calculators

Which New Zealand calculator do you need?

Start with the question you are trying to answer. Each tool uses the same Inland Revenue rate data, so the figures agree across pages.

Take-home pay and PAYE: how the two calculators differ

The NZ tax calculator works on a full year: it applies the progressive scale to your annual pay and divides by the number of pays. The PAYE calculator follows Inland Revenue's Payroll Calculations and Business Rules Specification for a single pay – annualise, drop the cents, tax, divide by 52 and truncate – so its answer matches what a payroll system deducts, cent for cent.

Use the PAYE tool when you have a second job, a non-standard code or a payslip that looks wrong. For a weekly pay of $1,500, 2026–27 PAYE including the ACC levy is $326.64 on code M, $288.75 on secondary code S, and $701.25 on the 45% non-declaration rate. That spread is why the IR330 matters.

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly: same PAYE, IRD rounding

Payroll works out a weekly amount first, truncated to whole cents, then scales it to your pay frequency. Over a year the frequencies land on the same or almost the same total, usually a few cents below the straight annual calculation. On $78,000 a year (code M, no KiwiSaver) the 2026–27 figures are:

Hourly pay: turning an hourly rate into take-home pay

Switch the NZ tax calculator to hourly mode for wage jobs. It multiplies your rate by your weekly hours and by 52, then runs the annual figure through the same steps. At $32.00 an hour for 37.5 hours a week ($62,400 a year) with 3.5% KiwiSaver, take-home pay is about $48,184 a year, or $926.61 a week. If your hours change week to week, use an average over a few months rather than one busy week; PAYE on a big week is higher because it is annualised as if every week were that size.

Tax refund calculator: checking your assessment

Most employees never file a return. After 31 March Inland Revenue matches PAYE reported through payday filing against tax due on your income and issues an income tax assessment between the last weekend in May and the end of July. The refund calculator lets you check that maths: enter total income, the PAYE deducted (the income tax part, excluding the ACC levy) and any donations to approved charities.

Refunds usually come from a part year of work, a code that was too high (such as SH when S was right), or IETC not claimed through ME. If you owe tax, it is generally due by 7 February after the year ends.

GST and Working for Families calculators

The GST calculator adds or removes 15%. A GST-inclusive price of $460 contains $60.00 of GST (price × 3 ÷ 23), and $200 plus GST is $230.00. Businesses must register once turnover reaches $60,000 in 12 months.

The Working for Families tool uses the 2026–27 family tax credit ($7,921 for the eldest child, $6,454 for each other child), the in-work tax credit and Best Start, abated at 27.5% over $44,900. A working family on $70,000 with two children would get about $15,143 a year ($291.20 a week).

Using the calculators to weigh up a pay rise

Run the NZ tax calculator twice to see what a raise is really worth. Moving from $70,000 to $80,000 with 3.5% KiwiSaver lifts take-home pay from $53,105 to $59,523 – $6,418 of the extra $10,000, or 64%. Part of the raise is taxed at 30% and part at 33%, because $78,100 falls in between. The employer's KiwiSaver contribution rises too, by $350 before ESCT.

Where the numbers come from

Every rate is read from Inland Revenue's own pages and payroll specification: the income tax scale, the 1.75% ACC earners' levy and its $156,641 cap, the $24,128 student loan threshold, KiwiSaver and ESCT rates, secondary codes, GST and Working for Families. The 2025–26 PAYE engine was tested against every cell of Inland Revenue's IR340 and IR341 tables for that year. 2026–27 has no IR340 or IR341, so the engine is checked against the worked examples in the 2026–27 specification. Sources are listed at the bottom of each calculator.

What the calculators leave out

The tools cover salary and wage earners well. A few situations need Inland Revenue or an accountant:

• Tailored tax codes and special tax rate certificates issued by Inland Revenue.
• Extra pays such as bonuses and back pay, which payroll taxes under separate rules.
• Schedular payments to contractors, which use withholding rates rather than PAYE.
• Self-employment, rental and overseas income, which go through an IR3 and provisional tax.
• Child support and other deduction notices set for an individual.

Privacy and accuracy

The calculators run in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere. Results are estimates for planning, not a tax assessment. If a result does not match your payslip, compare the tax code, the pay frequency and whether KiwiSaver and student loan are switched on – those three explain almost every difference.