A Moneybren tool
NZ SELF-EMPLOYED TAX CALCULATOR
Contracting, freelancing or running a side hustle in New Zealand? Here’s your real take-home after income tax, ACC and student loan — plus the GST and provisional tax surprises, defused early.
Your numbers
$
Your income after business expenses — what you’ll be taxed on.
$
Total sales before expenses — used for the GST check.
%
Work + earner levies combined — varies a lot by industry. Check your ACC invoice.
Your take-home is about
$0
Where it goes
Provisional tax heads-up
The fine print, honestly. Income tax uses the current brackets (10.5% to $15,600, 17.5% to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000, 39% above). ACC invoices self-employed people directly — work levy rates vary enormously by industry classification, so edit that field to match your invoice; levies apply up to the $156,641 earnings cap. If your residual tax tops $5,000 you’re into provisional tax next year — three instalments through the year instead of one bill at the end, shown above so it never ambushes you. No KiwiSaver is deducted automatically when you’re self-employed: nobody is saving for your retirement unless you do it deliberately (and $1,042.86/yr still collects the government’s $260.72).
How to use this calculator
Enter your expected profit (income minus expenses) and turnover. The calculator shows income tax by bracket, ACC levies, optional student loan, your real take-home — and warns you about GST registration and provisional tax before IRD does.
If you’re comparing contracting against a salary, run the same number through the PAYE calculator and compare take-homes side by side.
This is a tool only, and none of the information it produces is financial advice. Its accuracy is not guaranteed. Always check your own figures and get advice from your own financial professionals before making decisions.