Payslips, 2026-27
Why your payslip differs
Why the PAYE and take-home pay on a New Zealand payslip can be a few cents, or sometimes a lot, away from a yearly calculator.
Payroll works out each pay on its own
A yearly calculator works out a year's tax and divides it by the number of pays. Payroll does it the other way round, following Inland Revenue's payroll specification. For each pay it:
- multiplies the pay by the number of pays in a year (52, 26 or 12) and drops the cents;
- works out income tax and the ACC earners' levy on that yearly figure, less the IETC on tax code ME;
- divides by 52 and cuts the result to whole cents;
- converts that weekly amount to the pay period and cuts it to whole cents again.
On a $50,000 salary paid fortnightly: $1,923.08 × 26 is $50,000.08, so $50,000. Tax of $7,658.00 plus ACC levy of $875.00 is $8,533.00; divided by 52 that is $164.09 a week, and $328.18 a fortnight. The same steps give the figures in Inland Revenue's IR340 and IR341 tables.
The difference is usually a few cents
| Salary | Gross a fortnight | PAYE, yearly ÷ 26 | PAYE on each pay | Take-home, yearly ÷ 26 | Take-home on each pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,923.08 | $328.19 | $328.18 | $1,527.58 | $1,527.60 |
| $70,000 | $2,692.31 | $555.60 | $555.58 | $2,042.48 | $2,042.50 |
| $85,000 (M SL) | $3,269.23 | $746.73 | $746.70 | $2,127.13 | $2,127.19 |
| $120,000 | $4,615.38 | $1,214.52 | $1,214.50 | $3,239.33 | $3,239.35 |
| $180,000 | $6,923.08 | $2,000.72 | $2,000.72 | $4,680.05 | $4,680.06 |
| $70,000 (ME, 4%) | $2,692.31 | $555.60 | $555.58 | $2,029.02 | $2,029.04 |
KiwiSaver at 3.5% unless shown. Gross pay is rounded to the cent, as it is paid. On $85,000, $3,269.23 × 26 is $84,999.98, which drops to $84,999, so PAYE on each pay is 2 cents less than a twenty-sixth of the year's PAYE.
Other reasons a payslip can differ
- PAYE is two things. The PAYE line on a payslip is income tax plus the ACC earners' levy. This site shows both, and adds them up as PAYE.
- Student loan thresholds are per pay. Repayments are 12% of each pay above $464 a week, $928 a fortnight or $2,010.66 a month, with the pay cut to whole dollars. If your pay varies, the total taken in the year can differ from 12% of your yearly income above $24,128.
- KiwiSaver is cut to whole cents. 3.5% of $1,923.08 is $67.3078, so $67.30 comes out of that pay. Your employer's contribution is cut the same way, and ESCT is worked out on its whole dollars.
- Your ESCT rate is set once a year. It uses last year's pay plus employer contributions, so a pay rise does not change it until the next tax year. Calculators usually assume this year's pay.
- Bonuses and other extra pays are taxed under separate extra-pay rules, using the last four weeks' pay. Do not compare a pay that includes one with these figures.
- Uneven pay. Because each pay is annualised on its own, a large pay is taxed as if you earned that much all year. Inland Revenue's end-of-year assessment squares this up.
- 27 fortnightly pays. Some years have 27 paydays for fortnightly pay. The payroll specification assumes 26.
- The wrong tax code. With no tax code declaration your employer must deduct 45% plus the ACC levy (code ND). A secondary code takes a flat rate from all your pay from that job.
- Total remuneration packages. If your employer's KiwiSaver is included in your package, your cash pay is lower than the package figure.
- Other deductions such as child support, payroll giving and union fees are not included here.
Sources: Inland Revenue, Payroll Calculations and Business Rules Specification 2026-27 (version 1.0, 24 March 2026); IR340 weekly and fortnightly PAYE deduction tables, April 2026; IR341 four-weekly and monthly PAYE deduction tables, April 2026; Inland Revenue: Employer's guide IR335. Inland Revenue also has a PAYE calculator for a single pay.
These figures are estimates based on the information you entered and the 2026-27 rules published by Inland Revenue for PAYE, the ACC earners' levy, KiwiSaver and student loans. They are general information, not tax, financial or legal advice. Your actual pay can differ, for example because of your tax code, how your employer runs payroll, extra pays such as bonuses, your ESCT rate or other deductions. Check your payslip, or ask your employer or Inland Revenue, before relying on these figures.