KeaBudget

Free · No ads · 2026/27 rates

How much rent can I afford?

Enter what you earn and see the weekly rent you can comfortably afford, worked out on your real take-home pay (not gross), using the 30% housing-stress rule. Flatting or moving in together? Add a second income for the household total.

Income
$

You can comfortably afford up to

$343 /week

That's 30% of your take-home pay, the line NZ uses for housing stress. You could stretch to $458/week (40%), but it starts to bite.

Take-home pay

$1,145 /week

Per year

$59,523

$/week

We'll tell you if it's comfortable, stretched, or rent stress, and how much you'd have left each week.

Based on 2026/27 PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan. A guide, not lending or financial advice. Rents are quoted weekly in NZ.

Know what you can afford. Now stay on top of it.

KeaBudgetis the free budget tracker built for Kiwis. Once rent's sorted, track where the rest of your pay actually goes.

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How this is calculated

Take-home, not gross
Your income runs through 2026/27 PAYE, the ACC earner levy, your KiwiSaver rate and student loan (if any) to get real take-home pay, the same engine as our pay calculator.
The 30% / 40% bands
Comfortable is up to 30% of take-home (the housing-stress line), stretched is 30–40%, and rent stress is above 40%.
Weekly first
NZ rents are advertised weekly, so every figure here is weekly.
Households are summed per person
Income tax is individual in NZ, so each income is taxed separately and then combined, which is more accurate than taxing one big pooled figure.

Frequently asked questions

How much of my income should go on rent?
A common guide is to keep rent to about 30% of your take-home (after-tax) pay. Spending more than 30% of your disposable income on housing is how Stats NZ defines housing stress, and over 40% is severe. This calculator works out that 30% line for you, weekly, and tells you which band a given rent falls in.
Why does this use after-tax income, not gross?
Because rent comes out of what actually lands in your bank, not your headline salary. Most quick calculators apply 30% to gross pay, which overstates what you can afford. We run your income through the same PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student-loan rules as our pay calculator, then apply the 30% to your real take-home.
We're flatting or moving in with a partner. Can I combine incomes?
Yes. Hit 'Add another income' and enter the second person's pay. We calculate each person's take-home individually (income tax is per person in NZ), then add them together so the affordable rent reflects your combined household.
Is the 30% rule realistic in Auckland or Wellington?
It's a guide, not a law. In higher-cost cities many renters pay well above 30%, which is exactly why it's worth seeing the number clearly: the calculator shows what's left each week after rent, so you can judge whether the rest of your budget still works.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. The only thing that touches our servers is the URL you create with 'Copy share link', and that contains just the numbers you entered, not who you are.
Is this financial advice?
No, it's arithmetic to help you plan. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a financial adviser registered with the FMA.

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