Taxes in New Zealand (tax refund / tax return)

If you earn less than $15,600 in annual income over a tax year, you are taxed at 10.5%. So if you earn $12,000, $1,260 will be deducted from your wages.

If you earn more than $15,600 in a tax year, the first $15,600 will be taxed at 10.5%; your income between $15,601 and $53,500, at 17.5%; your income between $53,501 and $78,100, at 30%; your income between $78,101 and $180,000, at 33%; and everything above $180,001 will be taxed at 39%.

Here’s an example provided by the Inland Revenue to make things clearer:

Source. You can also calculate your tax bill directly using the Tax on annual income calculator.

If you go on a WHV from September to August, for example, you straddle two tax years. So even if you earn more than $15,600 during your WHP, you can still be taxed at 10.5% on all your income, as long as you don’t exceed $15,600 per tax year, i.e. from September to March for the first year and from April to August for the second.

In addition to the tax rate, there is a compulsory contribution to the ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) of 1.46% (in 2022). This contribution is often shown as ACC Earners Levy on your payslip.