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PAYE Calculator NZ

ACC Levy Calculator

This calculates the earners' levy deducted from your pay. For work levies or motor vehicle levies, see ACC. Enter your gross pay and get the levy per week, fortnight, month and year on 2026–27 rates.

The ACC earners' levy deducted from your pay is 1.75% of gross earnings for 2026–27, charged on the first $156,641 you earn in the tax year. The maximum for the year is $2,741.22. On a $70,000 salary the levy is $1,225.00 a year.

Looking for a business levy instead?

If you are an employer working out what ACC will invoice you, or a self-employed person pricing your own cover, this is not the right calculator. Employer work levies depend on your industry classification unit, and motor vehicle leviesare collected through licensing and petrol excise. Both are handled by ACC, not through payroll. This page covers only the earners' levy that PAYE deducts from wages and salary.

Work out your ACC earners' levy

$
Gross earnings
$70,000.00
Earnings the levy applies to
$70,000.00
Levy rate
1.75%
ACC earners' levy
$1,225.00

That is 1.8% of your gross pay, deducted inside the PAYE line rather than on a line of its own. You are $86,641.00 below the $156,641.00 ceiling, so every dollar you earn still carries the levy.

How the calculation works

There are only two rules, and one of them is a ceiling. Payroll applies the levy to your gross earnings each pay period and keeps a running total for the tax year. When that total reaches $156,641, deductions stop until 1 April.

  • The rate is flat. 1.75% applies from your first dollar. There is no levy-free amount and no lower threshold, unlike the student loan repayment threshold or the income tax scale.
  • The ceiling is on earnings, not on the levy. $156,641 of earnings at 1.75% gives $2,741.22, which is the maximum anyone pays in 2026–27.
  • It counts all your employment income. A second job carries the levy too. The flat secondary tax code rates already include it, so someone with two jobs can pass the ceiling without either employer knowing, and gets the excess back at the square-up.

Example. $70,000 a year, paid fortnightly

  1. 1.Gross earnings for the tax year$70,000.00
  2. 2.Earnings the levy applies toCapped at $156,641. This salary is below the ceiling.$70,000.00
  3. 3.Levy rate1.75%
  4. 4.Levy for the year$1,225.00
  5. 5.Divide by 26 fortnightsDeducted inside the PAYE line, not shown separately.$47.12
  6. ACC earners' levy per fortnight$47.12

What this levy is not

Four deductions come out of a New Zealand pay packet and only one of them is ACC. Telling them apart is most of what makes a payslip readable.

  • It is not income tax. Income tax runs on a progressive scale from New Zealand tax brackets. The levy is flat. Both are remitted as one PAYE payment, which is why the combined PAYE rate is the figure that actually applies to your pay.
  • It is not KiwiSaver. KiwiSaver is savings you keep. The levy is a premium for injury cover.
  • It is not a student loan repayment. That is a separate student loan repayments above an annual threshold, and only if your tax code carries the SL suffix.
  • It is not ESCT. ESCT is charged on your employer's KiwiSaver contribution and never touches your gross pay.

Common questions

How do I calculate my ACC levy?

Multiply your gross earnings by 1.75%, and stop once your earnings for the tax year reach $156,641. On $70,000 that is $1,225.00 for the year. The ceiling is $2,741.22.

Is this the same as the ACC levy my employer pays?

No. Employers pay a separate work levy, charged on total payroll at a rate set by their industry classification and invoiced by ACC directly. It is never deducted from your pay. This calculator handles the earners' levy only, the part that comes out of your wages through PAYE.

Do self-employed people pay the earners' levy?

Yes, but not through PAYE. ACC invoices self-employed people directly for both the earners' levy and a work levy based on their activity. Nothing is withheld from what they are paid, which is one reason schedular payments carry no ACC deduction at source.

Why did my ACC levy stop part-way through the year?

Because it applies only to the first $156,641 you earn in the tax year. Once your year-to-date earnings pass that figure the levy stops, your PAYE falls, and your take-home pay rises without a pay rise. It starts again on 1 April.

Is the ACC levy tax deductible?

For an employee, no deduction arises. The levy is withheld through PAYE alongside income tax, so it has already come out of your pay and there is nothing further to claim after 31 March.

Where these figures come from

2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 30 July 2026.

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