Tax Code SH and SH SL

The secondary code for a total income of $53,501 to $78,100, and the one most second jobs end up on. A flat 31.75% of every dollar, or 43.75% with a student loan attached.

Tax code SH goes on a job that is not your highest-earning one, when your total income from every source is $53,501 to $78,100. Payroll deducts a flat 31.75% of every dollar, which is 30% income tax plus the 1.75% ACC earners' levy.

What SH and SH SL actually withhold

The 31.75% that appears on your payslip is not a tax rate you will find in any bracket table. It is two rates added together, and the student loan suffix adds a third that does not vary with income at all.

30%income tax

1.75%ACC earners' levy

31.75%deducted on code SH

30%income tax

1.75%ACC earners' levy

12%student loan

43.75%deducted on code SH SL

Both apply from the first dollar. On SH SL, a $200 shift returns $112.50 before KiwiSaver, which is the figure that sends people looking for a mistake in their payslip. There usually is not one. The third term is a loan repayment rather than tax, so it is never refunded, and the first two are simply your marginal rate charged without a run-up.

The codes either side of this one

The codes either side of this one
Code	Who it is for	Rate
S	$15,601 – $53,500	19.25%
SHthis page	$53,501 – $78,100	31.75%
ST	$78,101 – $180,000	34.75%

The middle column is your total income from every source added together. A pay rise on your main job can change the correct code on your second job without that job changing at all.

Every New Zealand tax code, in one table: all tax codes and rates.

Who tax code SH is for

Two conditions, and only the second one causes trouble:

This is not your highest-earning source of income. SH is a secondary code. Your main job keeps M or ME, and runs through the progressive bands instead.
Your total income from all sources is $53,501 to $78,100. Every job added together, plus any taxable benefit, ACC weekly compensation or pension. This is the number the code is read from. A Saturday job paying $9,000 takes SH because the person doing it already earns $60,000 elsewhere, not because $9,000 is a large amount.

With a New Zealand student loan still being repaid, the code is SH SL. That is a separate question on the IR330 rather than a different code to pick.

What this job pays you on code SH

Income from this job

Tax code

SH$53,501 – $78,100

Your result

Gross: $70,000.00
PAYE tax: − $21,000.00
ACC levy: − $1,225.00
KiwiSaver: − $2,450.00
Take-home: $45,325.00

You keep 64.8% of your gross pay.

Enter what this job pays, not your total income. The 31.75% rate already contains the 1.75% ACC earners' levy, and KiwiSaver is at the 3.5% default. A student loan would add 12% of the gross on top of what you see.

Example 1. $650.00 a week on SH

1.Gross pay from this job for the week$33,800 a year from this job alone$650.00
2.PAYE at 31.75%30% income tax with the ACC earners' levy already inside it− $206.37
3.KiwiSaver at 3.5%− $22.75
Into your account$420.88

Example 2. $1,500.00 a fortnight on SH SL

1.Gross pay from this job for the fortnight$39,000 a year from this job alone$1,500.00
2.PAYE at 31.75%30% income tax with the ACC earners' levy already inside it− $476.25
3.Student loan at 12%Every dollar. The repayment threshold belongs to your main job− $180.00
4.KiwiSaver at 3.5%− $52.50
Into your account$791.25

The second example hands over $656.25 of $1,500.00, which is 43.75% of the gross, and only $476.25 of that is tax. Both examples assume the 3.5% KiwiSaver rate.

SH is the wrong code for you if…

Your total income has passed $78,100. The code is ST at 34.75%. A pay rise on your main job is enough to trigger this without the second job changing at all.
Your total income is below $53,501. The code is S at 19.25%, and SH is over-withholding 12.5% of every dollar until you change it.
This is your only job. One job is main income and takes M or ME. Leaving SH on your only remaining job after the other one ended costs you every payday until the year closes.
You have a student loan being repaid. The code is SH SL, and the difference is large: 12% of every dollar, with no threshold.
You invoice for the work rather than being on payroll. Schedular payments use WT, where you elect your own withholding rate.

What happens at the end-of-year square-up

After 31 March, Inland Revenue adds both jobs together, taxes the total through the progressive bands, and subtracts everything withheld. SH lands closer than any other secondary code, because its 30% income tax component is the same rate the bracket table charges across the whole of its band.

A main job of $58,000 plus a second job of $12,000 totals $70,000. Income tax withheld across the year comes to $13,220.50. Income tax genuinely due on $70,000 is $13,220.50. The two are the same figure, which is what a correctly chosen secondary code is supposed to do.

It stops being true the moment your total crosses $78,100. Lift the main job to $70,000 and the total becomes $82,000, of which $3,900 belongs in the 33% bracket. SH withholds $16,820.50 where $16,937.50 is due, so $117.00 is not collected during the year and arrives as a bill instead. Changing to ST fixes every pay run after it, and nothing before it.

Common questions

What is the SH tax code in New Zealand?

SH is the secondary code for a job that is not your highest-earning one, used when your total income from every source is $53,501 to $78,100. Payroll deducts a flat 31.75% of every dollar, which is 30% income tax plus the 1.75% ACC earners' levy.

Is the SH tax code 30% or 31.75%?

Both, describing different things. The income tax component is 30%. What leaves your pay is 31.75%, because the 1.75% ACC earners' levy is charged on top and Inland Revenue publishes them combined.

Why is my second job taxed at 31.75% when it only pays $12,000?

Because the code comes from your total income. A $58,000 main job plus $12,000 makes $70,000, and every dollar of that second job sits in the 30% bracket. The flat rate is your real marginal rate applied from the first dollar rather than a penalty.

How much is the SH SL tax code?

43.75% of every dollar. That is 30% income tax, 1.75% ACC earners' levy and 12% student loan. The loan part has no threshold on a second job. The SL suffix explained.

When do I move from SH to ST?

When your total income passes $78,100 for the year. ST deducts 34.75% instead. Staying on SH under-withholds 3% of the part above the line, which Inland Revenue collects after 31 March.

Can I get SH tax back at the end of the year?

Only if too much came out overall. Inland Revenue adds both jobs together after 31 March and taxes the total progressively. A year that finished lower than your forecast produces a refund, and one that finished higher produces a bill.

Where these figures come from

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

Secondary taxWhy the rate is flat, and what the square-up does
Tax code S. 19.25%$15,601 – $53,500
The SL suffix12% of every dollar on a second job
Which tax code am I?Five questions, one answer
PAYE ratesIncome tax and the ACC levy as one combined rate
All tax codesEvery code and rate in one table