How to read your NZ payslip, line by line

Your payslip is the one place that shows exactly where your pay goes before it reaches your bank. In New Zealand your employer must give you one (or make it available) every payday, and it's worth reading properly at least once: it's how you spot a wrong tax code, missing KiwiSaver or holiday pay that doesn't add up.

Here's what each line means, using a worked example.

The example

Someone on a $60,000 salary, paid fortnightly, on tax code ME SL (main job, independent earner tax credit, student loan), with KiwiSaver at 3.5%. Using 2026/27 rates, one fortnight looks roughly like this:

Real payroll systems use IRD's per-pay tables, so your cents may differ a little. You can recreate your own with the take-home pay calculator.

Gross pay

Your pay before anything comes off. For a salary, it's the yearly amount divided by the number of pays (26 for fortnightly, 52 for weekly). For hourly pay it's hours × rate, plus anything extra: overtime, allowances, a bonus, public holiday rates or holiday pay.

If your hours or rate look wrong, raise it with your employer first. Everything below is worked out from this number.

Your tax code

Usually printed near the top. It decides how PAYE is worked out, so check it's right: M or ME for your main job, a secondary code like S or SH for a second job, plus SL if you have a student loan. If it says ND, you're paying 45% because your employer has no tax code for you. The tax code calculator tells you which one you should be on, and NZ tax codes explained covers what each one means.

PAYE

Pay As You Earn: the income tax taken from each pay and sent to IRD for you. On a main code it's worked out on the sliding scale (10.5%, 17.5%, 30%, 33%, 39%). On code ME, the independent earner tax credit (up to $520 a year, about $20 a fortnight) is already taken off.

In the example, $373.10 is about 16% of gross, even though the top rate that applies is 30%. That's because only the dollars above $53,500 a year are taxed at 30%; the rest are taxed at the lower rates.

ACC earners' levy

Pays for the ACC scheme that covers you for injuries outside work. For 2026/27 it's 1.75% of your earnings, up to a cap of $156,641 a year.

Many payslips don't show it separately. IRD's PAYE tables include the levy, so your payslip may show one PAYE line of $413.48 (tax plus ACC) instead of two lines. Both are normal.

KiwiSaver: your contribution

If you're a member, your chosen rate comes off your gross pay: 3%, 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%. The default is 3.5% from 1 April 2026. This money isn't lost, it goes into your KiwiSaver fund. If you joined but this line is missing, check with your employer.

KiwiSaver: your employer's contribution and ESCT

Your employer adds at least 3.5% of your gross pay on top of your salary. It doesn't come out of your pay, but it's taxed before it reaches your fund. That tax is ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax), and its rate depends on your salary plus the employer contribution. In the example it's 17.5%, so $80.77 becomes $66.63 in your fund.

Some employers include their contribution as part of a "total remuneration" package instead of paying it on top. Your employment agreement says which.

Student loan

On a main tax code (M SL or ME SL), 12% of everything you earn above the repayment threshold. The threshold is $24,128 a year, which is about $928 a fortnight. In the example: ($2,307.69 − $928) × 12% ≈ $165.56.

On a second job (S SL, SH SL and so on) it's 12% of every dollar, with no threshold.

Net pay

What actually lands in your bank account. This is the number to budget with, not your salary.

Leave balances and year to date

Most payslips also show:

• Annual leave owed to you. Full-time employees get at least four weeks a year after 12 months.
• Sick leave: at least 10 days a year after six months.
• Year to date totals: gross, PAYE, KiwiSaver and so on since 1 April. Handy for checking your income for a tax code, a loan application or Working for Families.

A five-minute payslip check

1. Are the hours and rate right?
2. Is the tax code right for this job?
3. Is KiwiSaver coming off at the rate you chose, and is your employer adding theirs?
4. If you have a student loan, is the SL deduction there?
5. Does the net pay match what arrived in your bank?

If something's off, talk to your payroll team first. Underpaid wages or holiday pay can also be raised with Employment New Zealand.

Turning your payslip into a budget

Once you know your net pay, the next question is what to do with it. KeaBudget is built around your pay cycle: add your pay, your bills and your savings goals, and it shows what's safe to spend until the next payday.

Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027), from IRD's published rates. Worked examples are rounded. This is general information, not tax or employment advice.