NZ Secondary Tax Calculator

What is secondary tax in New Zealand?

If you earn income from more than one source — a second job, or a job alongside a benefit or pension — one of them is your main income and the others use a secondary tax code. Secondary tax isn’t an extra or higher tax; it simply tells your employer the correct PAYE rate to deduct from your second income so that, across your total income, you pay roughly the right amount of tax. Using the wrong code is the most common reason Kiwis get a bill at the end of the tax year.

Secondary tax codes and rates 2026/27

Your secondary tax code is set by your total income from all sources, not by the size of the second job on its own. Find the row your combined income falls into and use that code for your second job:

If you have a student loan, add the “SL” suffix to your code (for example SH SL) and a 12% student loan repayment is deducted from the second income as well.

How to calculate tax on secondary income

The secondary tax code applies a single flat tax rate to your second income, plus the 1.75% ACC earner’s levy. So if your main job pays $55,000 and your second job pays $15,000, your total income is $70,000 — that puts you in the SH bracket, so the second job is taxed at 30% income tax + 1.75% ACC. The calculator above works this out for you and shows your take-home pay from the second job.

Am I being taxed more on my second job?

It can feel that way, but you’re not taxed more overall. The flat secondary rate is applied to every dollar of the second income, whereas your main job gets the benefit of the lower brackets first. Because the second income sits “on top” of your main income, it’s taxed at your marginal rate — the rate on your highest dollar. If the flat code deducts slightly too much or too little, IRD squares it up in your end-of-year assessment.

ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan on a second job

The ACC earner’s levy (1.75%) applies to your second job just like your main one. KiwiSaver is optional on a second job — you choose whether to contribute, and your employer adds their share. A student loan deduction of 12% applies to the second income when your code ends in SL, with no separate threshold on the secondary income.

Do sole traders and side hustles pay secondary tax?

No. Secondary tax codes only apply to PAYE income (salary or wages). If your second income is self-employed — a side hustle, contracting or a sole trader business — it isn’t taxed through a secondary code. Instead you report that income in your own tax return and pay the tax directly, so keep some aside as you go.

Using the secondary tax calculator

Enter your primary income and the income from your second source, and the calculator works out your secondary tax rate, the PAYE income tax and ACC, and your take-home pay from the second job. It’s effectively a PAYE calculator NZ focused on second-job income: it applies the correct tax rate to your taxable income so you pay the right amount and avoid a tax bill at the end of the year. You can also add student loan repayments, which come out at 12% of the second income.

Your main job stays on its usual tax code (often M or ME, with the Independent Earner Tax Credit if you qualify), while the second job uses the secondary code. The secondary code simply matches the tax bracket your total income reaches, so the second job has tax withheld at the right rate from your gross pay each payday — weekly or fortnightly. If you join KiwiSaver on the second job, a contribution of 3.5% or more also comes out, and if your circumstances change you complete a new IR330 tax code declaration to update your code.

Second job tax, the simple version

In short: your main job uses your primary tax code and your second job uses a secondary code, so PAYE is deducted at the right secondary tax rate across your combined pay. Use the calculator at the top to see the code, the income tax and ACC, and your net second-job pay — and remember KiwiSaver and student loan repayments come out on top if they apply. Getting the secondary tax code right is the easiest way to avoid an end-of-year tax bill.

Frequently asked questions