If you earn income from more than one source - a second job, freelance or contracting work, a rental property, or any other regular income - you need to use a secondary tax code on your IR330. Choosing the wrong code is one of the most common payroll mistakes in New Zealand. Use a code that's too low and you'll face a tax bill at year end. Use one that's too high and you overpay all year. This calculator finds the correct secondary tax code based on your total estimated annual income and shows you exactly what will be deducted - and how your year-end position is likely to look.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your Income | |
| Main job annual income | - |
| Secondary income (annualised) | - |
| Total estimated annual income | - |
| Secondary Tax Code | |
| Recommended secondary tax code | - |
| PAYE rate on secondary income (incl. ACC) | - |
| Secondary Income Deductions | |
| Annual secondary income (gross) | - |
| PAYE deducted on secondary income | - |
| Net secondary income received | - |
| Main Job Deductions | |
| PAYE income tax (tiered, M tax code) | - |
| ACC earners' levy (1.75%) | - |
| Student loan repayment | - |
| Year-End Estimate | |
| Total tax owed on combined income | - |
| Total tax that will be deducted | - |
| Estimated year-end position | - |
The correct secondary tax code depends on your estimated total income from all sources for the year. The threshold is your total gross income - main job plus all secondary income combined. You declare your secondary tax code on the IR330 form you give to each additional employer.
| Estimated total income | Tax code | Rate (incl. ACC) | Tax code (with SL) | Rate (incl. ACC + SL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 – $15,600 | SB | 12.25% | SB SL | 24.25% |
| $15,601 – $53,500 | S | 19.25% | S SL | 31.25% |
| $53,501 – $78,100 | SH | 31.75% | SH SL | 43.75% |
| $78,101 – $180,000 | ST | 34.75% | ST SL | 46.75% |
| $180,001 and over | SA | 40.75% | SA SL | 52.75% |
Secondary income is taxed at a flat rate - not the tiered rate applied to your main job. This is a deliberate simplification by the IRD. The flat rate is chosen to approximately match the marginal rate you would be paying if the income were added to your main job income. However, because it's a flat rate applied to all secondary income, it won't always match exactly. When your secondary income crosses a tax bracket boundary, you'll typically get a small refund at year end because the higher flat rate was applied to income that should have partially been taxed at the lower bracket rate.
The way you tell IRD about your secondary income depends on the source. For a second employer, you complete an IR330 tax code declaration and give it to your second employer. They deduct PAYE at the secondary rate each pay period. For freelance or contracting work, the rules around schedular payments and withholding tax apply instead - you may need to provide a Tax Rate Notification for Contractors (IR330C). For rental income and other non-PAYE sources, you typically declare this in your individual income tax return (IR3) at year end rather than having PAYE deducted at source.
If you earn income from multiple sources you may be required to file an IR3 individual income tax return. This is separate from the automatic income tax assessment (ITA) that IRD produces for most employees. Having secondary non-PAYE income (such as rental income or significant freelance income) generally triggers an IR3 filing requirement. If you only have two PAYE income sources with correct tax codes, you may receive an automatic assessment from IRD after the year end.
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