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PAYE Calculator NZ

Hourly Rate and Salary Calculator

Turn an hourly rate into an annual salary, or a salary back into an hourly rate, and see what an hour of your work is worth after PAYE, the ACC earners' levy, KiwiSaver and student loan. Current 2026–27 IRD rates.

To convert an hourly rate to a salary, multiply the rate by your hours a week and then by 52. At 40 hours that is 2,080 hours a year, so $30.00 an hour is $62,400 before tax. After PAYE, ACC and a 3.5% KiwiSaver contribution you keep $48,184, which is $23.17 an hour.

Convert your rate, both ways

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$35.00 an hour over 40 hours a week is$72,800 a year
Gross pay and take-home pay per hour, week, fortnight, month and year
PerGrossTake-home
An hour$35.00$26.40
A week$1,400.00$1,056.11
A fortnight$2,800.00$2,112.21
A month$6,066.67$4,576.46
A year$72,800.00$54,917.50

You keep 75.4% of what you earn, so an hour of your work is worth $26.40 in your bank account rather than $35.00. That is 2,080 paid hours a year.

Deductions are PAYE (income tax plus the ACC earners' levy), your KiwiSaver contribution and, on an SL code, your student loan. Overtime, allowances and holiday pay are not included, so treat the annual figure as your base rate rather than your total earnings.

Your rate breakdown

40 hours a week · Tax code M · 2026–27

Gross pay, a year

$72,800.00

Hourly rate
$35.00
Hours a week
40
Paid hours a yearYour hours a week over 52 weeks
2,080
Gross pay a year
$72,800.00
PAYE tax
−$14,060.50
ACC earners' levy
−$1,274.00
KiwiSaver at 3.5%
−$2,548.00
Take-home a year
$54,917.50
Take-home an hour
$26.40
Take-home a week
$1,056.11
Take-home a fortnight
$2,112.21
Take-home a month
$4,576.46
Share of gross you keep
75.4%

Hours a year are your own hours a week over 52 weeks, not a fixed 2,080, so a 37.5-hour week converts correctly. Overtime, allowances and holiday pay are not included, so treat the annual figure as your base rate rather than your total earnings.

How do you convert an hourly rate to an annual salary in New Zealand?

To convert an hourly rate to an annual salary in New Zealand, multiply the rate by your hours a week, then by 52. At 40 hours a week that is 2,080 hours a year, so $30.00 an hour is $62,400 before tax and the adult minimum wage of $23.95 is $49,816.

The 52 covers the whole year, including the 4 weeks of annual leave a permanent employee is paid for, so you do not add holiday pay on afterwards. Use the hours written into your employment agreement rather than 40, since no statute fixes the figure.

What is an hour of your work worth after PAYE, ACC and KiwiSaver?

An hour of your work is worth $23.17 after PAYE, the ACC earners' levy and KiwiSaver when the gross rate is $30.00 and you work 40 hours a week. Every row assumes that shape, on tax code M with the 3.5% default KiwiSaver rate and no student loan. The last column is the one worth knowing: it is what an hour adds to your bank balance.

Hourly rates converted to annual salary and take-home pay
Hourly rateA year, grossA year, take-homeTake-home an hour
$19.16$39,853$31,878$15.33
$23.95$49,816$39,575$19.03
$25.00$52,000$41,262$19.84
$28.95$60,216$46,769$22.49
$30.00$62,400$48,184$23.17
$35.00$72,800$54,918$26.40
$40.00$83,200$61,499$29.57
$50.00$104,000$74,343$35.74
$60.00$124,800$87,187$41.92
$75.00$156,000$106,453$51.18

The first two rows are the statutory floors from 1 April 2026: $19.16 for the starting-out and training rates and $23.95 for the adult minimum wage. The take-home share falls from 79.4% at the minimum wage to 68.2% at $75.00 an hour, because more of each hour lands in a higher tax bracket.

How do you convert a salary back to an hourly rate?

To convert a salary back to an hourly rate, divide it by the hours you are contracted to work in a year. Nothing in New Zealand law fixes that divisor, which is why two people on the same $80,000 salary can quote hourly rates $6.84 apart. The hours in your employment agreement are the correct ones to use.

Annual hours and the hourly rate they produce on an $80,000 salary
Hours a weekHours a year$80,000 an hour$100,000 an hour
30 hours1,560$51.28$64.10
37.5 hours1,950$41.03$51.28
40 hours2,080$38.46$48.08
42.5 hours2,210$36.20$45.25
45 hours2,340$34.19$42.74

The spread is wide enough to matter. An $80,000 salary is $41.03 an hour on a 37.5-hour week and $34.19 on a 45-hour week, a difference of $6.84 for the same money.

What is $30.00 an hour after tax in New Zealand?

  1. 1.Gross for the year$30.00 × 2,080 hours$62,400
  2. 2.PAYE: income tax plus the ACC earners' levyIncome tax $10,940.50 and levy $1,092.00− $12,032.50
  3. 3.KiwiSaver at 3.5%− $2,184.00
  4. Take-home for the year$48,184

At what hourly rate does the student loan repayment start?

The student loan repayment starts at $11.60 an hour on a 40-hour week, because the annual threshold of $24,128 spread over 2,080 hours works out at that rate. Payroll applies the threshold per pay period rather than annually, so a weekly payslip uses $464.00 and a fortnightly one $928.00.

That start point sits below the adult minimum wage of $23.95 an hour, so a full-time worker on an SL code repays from the first payslip. 12% of everything above the threshold comes out, which on $30.00 an hour at 40 hours is $4,592.64 a year, or $2.21 an hour.

Are hourly workers taxed differently from salaried workers in New Zealand?

Hourly workers are not taxed differently from salaried workers in New Zealand. PAYE is worked out from the gross amount in the pay period and the tax code on file, and neither of those depends on how the pay is described.

Two people paid $1,200 in the same week on the same code have identical PAYE, whether one reached that figure at $30.00 an hour for 40 hours and the other is a salaried employee on $62,400. What being paid by the hour does change is how much your gross moves week to week.

How does overtime change the tax on an hourly week?

Overtime changes the tax on an hourly week by lifting the gross for that period, which the calculation then annualises. Each pay period is multiplied out to a year before it is taxed, so a 50-hour week is taxed as though all 52 weeks looked like it. Extra hours at time and a half are ordinary PAYE income, not a separate rate.

None of that is permanent. The over-deduction is squared up after 31 March, which is why variable hours so often produce a refund. The how PAYE is calculated page sets out the mechanism step by step.

Does an hourly rate include holiday pay?

For a permanent employee, no. An hourly rate does not include holiday pay, because your 4 weeks of annual leave are paid at your normal rate and the 2,080-hour year already contains them. The entitlement arrives after 12 months of continuous employment.

Casual employees are the exception. Holiday pay of 8% is added to each pay instead of leave accruing, so a casual rate of $30.00 an hour is really $32.40 once the 8% is counted. Convert the two separately, or the comparison flatters whichever side you already prefer.

What are common hourly rate conversion mistakes?

The most common hourly rate conversion mistake is converting hours that are not paid. Five things separate a converted figure from what lands in your account, and none of them shows up in a rate multiplied by 2,080.

  • Overtime and penal rates. Extra hours at time and a half are still ordinary PAYE income, but they push the pay period higher, so the annualised calculation taxes that period harder.
  • Allowances. Taxable allowances add to gross. Genuine reimbursements do not, and should not appear in your conversion at all.
  • Unpaid breaks. A 40-hour week on site can be 37.5 paid hours. Convert the paid hours, not the hours away from home.
  • Public holidays. The 11 public holidays a year, plus your regional anniversary day, sit inside the 2,080 hours for a salaried employee. For a waged employee they are paid when they fall on a day you would otherwise have worked.
  • A bonus. Extra pay is taxed at its own rate, not your average one, which is why it never lands where a simple hourly conversion suggests. See how extra pay is taxed.

Common questions

How do I convert an hourly rate to an annual salary in NZ?

Multiply your hourly rate by your hours a week, then by 52. At 40 hours that is 2,080 hours a year, so $35.00 an hour is $72,800 a year before tax. Divide by the same number to turn a salary back into an hourly rate.

What is $30 an hour after tax in New Zealand?

At 40 hours a week, $30.00 an hour is $62,400 a year before tax. On tax code M with the 3.5% KiwiSaver rate you keep $48,184, about $23.17 an hour.

How many working hours are in a New Zealand year?

2,080 hours, using a 40-hour week over 52 weeks. A 37.5-hour week gives 1,950 hours and a 45-hour week gives 2,340. No statute fixes the number, so use the hours written into your employment agreement.

Are hourly workers taxed differently from salaried workers in NZ?

No. PAYE comes from the gross amount in the pay period and the tax code on file. Neither depends on how the pay is described. Two people earning the same gross in the same week on the same code have identical PAYE.

Why is my take-home hourly rate so much lower than my gross rate?

Four deductions sit between the two figures. Income tax, the 1.75% ACC earners' levy, your KiwiSaver contribution, and on an SL code 12% of earnings above $24,128 a year. The gross versus net page walks the whole gap.

Does an hourly rate include holiday pay?

For permanent employees the rate is just the rate. Your 4 weeks of annual leave are paid at your normal rate, and a 2,080-hour year already contains them. Casual employees are the exception, since 8% holiday pay is added to each pay rather than leave accruing.

Written by Nathan Kerr, payroll writer and editor2026–27 rates. Last reviewed 25 August 2026.

Where these figures come from

2026–27 tax year (1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027). Last verified 25 August 2026.

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