ACC levies in New Zealand: employees, the self-employed and employers

How Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) levies work in New Zealand: the Earners' levy deducted through PAYE, the Earners' levy and Work levy that ACC invoices to the self-employed, the Work levy employers pay for their staff, the Working Safer levy, classification by business industry classification (BIC) code, CoverPlus and CoverPlus Extra, and the invoice cycle.

Figures are for the levy year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (tax year 2026-27; Inland Revenue calls it the tax year ending 31 March 2027). Each rate below names its own levy year. A short section covers the 2025-26 returns being filed now.

What this Guide can and cannot source. Inland Revenue (IRD) collects the Earners' levy through PAYE and passes income details to ACC, so IRD publishes the Earners' levy rate, the maximum and the self-employed minimum. ACC itself publishes the Work levy rate for each classification unit, the Working Safer levy rate, and the CoverPlus and CoverPlus Extra terms. ACC's website is not a source this Guide may cite, so any point that only ACC publishes is marked check: confirm it on the client's ACC invoice or with ACC before relying on it. This Guide prints no Work levy rate for any industry.

Companion Guides: income tax on the business itself is in nz-income-tax-ir3 (and nz-provisional-tax); GST registration and input tax are in new-zealand-gst.

Scope

In scope:

• Employees: the Earners' levy that the employer deducts as part of PAYE (IR335 Employer's guide, page 18).
• The self-employed: sole traders, contractors paid schedular payments, partners with active partnership income, and owners who play an active part in a look-through company (LTC). ACC invoices them directly for their levies (IR3G 2026, PDF pages 15, 26, 35 and 60; IRD, ACC levies for a look-through company).
• Employers, including close companies that pay shareholder-employees without PAYE.
• Private domestic workers and other IR56 taxpayers who deduct their own PAYE.

Out of scope: ACC claims, weekly compensation, rehabilitation, levy disputes and reviews. See "When to refuse or refer".

The three levies at a glance

Levy	What it covers	Who pays	Where the rate comes from
Earners' levy	Injuries outside work (IR335 page 18: "to cover the cost of non-work-related injuries")	Employees through PAYE; the self-employed on their ACC invoice; close companies on shareholder-employee pay with no PAYE	IRD rates page (below)
Work levy	Injuries at work	Employers, for their employees; the self-employed, for themselves	Set by ACC for each classification unit. check on the ACC invoice
Working Safer levy	Collected by ACC with the other levies (IRD lists it alongside the Work levy for the self-employed)	Businesses and the self-employed	ACC invoice. check

Source for the self-employed list: IRD, "I am coming to work or study in New Zealand": "In addition to the Earners' levy that people getting salary or wages pay, you'll also pay the: Work levy Working Safer levy" (IRD).

Ask the client first

• Are you an employee, a sole trader, a contractor paid schedular payments, a partner, an LTC owner (active or passive), a shareholder-employee, an employer, or a mix of these?
• Which levy year is the question about? A self-employed person's ACC invoice is based on the income tax return, so it usually relates to an earlier year than the one the invoice arrives in.
• Can you send your latest ACC invoice? It shows your classification unit, the Work levy and Working Safer levy rates, and any discount or loading. Without it no Work levy figure can be given.
• What were the liable earnings in the most recent income tax return (IR3), and is the BIC code on that return right for your main activity?
• Are you on CoverPlus (the default) or CoverPlus Extra, and at what agreed level of cover? (check with ACC)
• For employees: pay frequency, and whether any payment is a lump sum, redundancy, retiring payment or employee share scheme benefit.
• Do you have more than one source of liable income, or shareholder-employee pay from two or more companies?
• Are you GST-registered?

The method, step by step

1. Place the person. Employee only: the Earners' levy is already inside PAYE and the employer pays the Work levy; there is no ACC invoice to the employee (IR335 page 18: "PAYE includes ACC earners' levy already, so no extra calculations are needed"). Self-employed, contractor on schedular payments, partner with active income, or active LTC owner: ACC invoices the person directly. Passive LTC investor: no ACC levies on that LTC income (IRD LTC page).
2. Pick the levy year and its row. Use the row of the IRD table for the year the earnings relate to. Do not use the 2027-28 row for 2026-27, and do not use last year's row for this year (IRD rates page).
3. Find liable earnings. For the self-employed, ACC takes income from the IR3: question 11A (gross earnings with PAYE deducted and earnings not liable for the earners' levy), 12 (schedular payments), 17 (foreign employment and foreign services income only), 18 (active partnership income), 19 (LTC active income), 20 (shareholder-employee salary with no tax deducted), 24 (self-employed income), 27 (other income) and 29 (other expenses) (IR3G 2026, PDF page 60). IRD passes this to ACC under an information-sharing agreement that "Enables ACC to assess levies" (IRD, information sharing with ACC).
4. Apply the maximum and the minimum. Liable earnings above the maximum carry no Earners' levy or Work levy. A self-employed person pays the Work and Earners' levies on at least the minimum liable earnings, even with a loss (figures below). IR3G ties this to full-time work ("If you were in full-time employment and have recorded a loss..."); whether it applies to part-time self-employment is check with ACC, so do not estimate a part-time sole trader on the minimum without confirming. Whether the Working Safer levy uses the same base is check on the ACC invoice.
5. Earners' levy = capped liable earnings x the rate for the year. The rate already includes GST: never add GST on top.
6. Work levy and Working Safer levy: read them, do not compute them from memory. The rate depends on the classification unit, which ACC assigns from the BIC code on the return. Take the rates, and any No Claims Discount or experience rating, from the client's ACC invoice (check). If the BIC code is missing, ACC picks one and "your ACC levy rate could be incorrect" (IR3G 2026, PDF page 8).
7. Label the total an estimate until the ACC invoice arrives, and state which levy year each figure belongs to.
8. For an employer's payroll, confirm the earners' levy is deducted only from the payments IR335 lists, only up to the per-pay maximum, and that lump sums follow the lump-sum rule (see the boundary table).
9. Record the deduction. ACC levies paid for self-employment and as an employer, and any interest charged, go in the business expenses (Box 9 of the IR3B) (IR3B July 2026).

Figures, with their levy years

Earners' levy rate and maximum (IRD, ACC earners' levy rates)

IRD prints this table under the words "These amounts include GST." The rate is a flat rate on each dollar of liable earnings up to the maximum. The maximum is a ceiling, not a cliff: earnings above it carry no levy, and earnings below it are not affected.

Levy year	Rate (includes GST)	Maximum liable earnings	Maximum levy payable	Use
1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027	$1.75 per $100 (1.75%)	$156,641	$2,741.22	This Guide's year
1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026	$1.67 per $100 (1.67%)	$152,790	$2,551.59	Returns being filed now for 2025-26
1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028	$1.83 per $100 (1.83%)	$160,244	$2,932.47	Next year only. Never for 2026-27

IRD announced on 11 March 2025 that "The ACC earners' levies have now been set for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 tax years" (IRD news).

Maximum and minimum for the self-employed, 2026-27 (IRD Payroll calculations and business rules specification, 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027)

What	2026-27	Source wording
Maximum liable earnings, employees and private domestic workers (Work and Earners' Accounts)	$156,641	Row "Employees and private domestic workers ... (Work and Earners' Accounts)": 2025/26 $152,790, 2026/27 $156,641
Maximum liable earnings, self-employed people (Work and Earners' Accounts)	$156,641	same table
Minimum liable earnings on which self-employed people pay the Work and Earners' levies	$50,501	"To increase the minimum liable earnings that self-employed people pay Work and Earners' levies on to $50,501 in 2026/27"

IR3G 2026 (PDF page 61) explains the minimum for 2025-26 returns: "If you were in full-time employment and have recorded a loss, or your earnings are below the minimum earnings threshold, you are still liable for ACC levies. These will be calculated at the minimum level." IRD does not say here who counts as working full time for this purpose, or whether part-time self-employed people are treated differently: check with ACC.

Earners' levy through PAYE, 2026-27 (IR335 Employer's guide, September 2026)

What	Tax year ending 31 March 2027
Earners' levy rate, already inside PAYE	1.75%
Maximum earnings per weekly pay	$3,012
Maximum earnings per fortnightly pay	$6,024
Maximum earnings per 4-weekly pay	$12,048
Maximum earnings per monthly pay	$13,053
Non-notified rate (ND tax code), includes the earners' levy	46.75%

IR335 page 18: the maximum does not apply to PAYE on regular secondary income, casual agricultural employee payments, election day workers' earnings, or earnings where the non-notified rate is used.

Work levy and Working Safer levy

No figure. ACC sets the Work levy rate for each classification unit and publishes it, with the Working Safer levy rate, only on its own website and on the client's invoice (check). The earlier version of this Guide quoted a national average Work levy and illustrative industry rates; they are removed because no allowed official page prints them and an average is never a client's rate.

Boundaries and exceptions

Which payments carry the Earners' levy through PAYE (IR335 page 18)

Deduct the earners' levy from	Do not deduct the earners' levy from
Salary and wages	Schedular payments
Overtime pay	Retirement payments
Backpay and holiday pay	Redundancy payments
Long-service leave pay	Employee share scheme benefits
Bonuses or gratuities	Jury fees
Taxable allowances	Witness fees
Shareholder-employee salaries with PAYE deductions	Taxable and non-taxable pensions
Salaries to partners in a partnership	Tax-free allowances
Salaries to working owners of a look-through company	Shareholder-employee salaries with no PAYE deductions (ACC invoices the company instead)

Read the two columns separately. The PDF's flattened text runs them together, which is how an earlier version of this Guide came to say that LTC working owners' salaries are excluded. They are in the "deduct" column.

Lump sums (IR335, lump sum section): no earners' levy on redundancy or retiring payments, on employee share scheme benefits, or where the annualised income plus the extra pay is more than $156,641. For those, use the PAYE rate excluding the earners' levy; use the rate including it in all other cases. Employment must actually end for a payment to be a redundancy or retiring payment; if it does not, PAYE including the earners' levy is deducted.

Who pays what, by situation (IR3G 2026)

Situation	Treatment	Source
Employee only	Earners' levy inside PAYE. Employer pays the Work levy. No ACC invoice to the employee	IR335 page 18
Contractor on schedular payments	No earners' levy deducted by the payer ("this is the worker's responsibility, not yours"). ACC invoices the contractor for levies on schedular payments	IR335 schedular payments section; IR3G PDF page 15
Sole trader	"Income from self-employment is liable for ACC levies which ACC will invoice you for"	IR3G PDF page 35
Partner	Active partnership income is liable and invoiced by ACC; salary paid to a working partner has the earners' levy deducted through PAYE only if it is paid under a binding written contract of service signed by all the partners, the contract states the amount payable, and the partner personally and actively performs the services	IR3G PDF page 26; IR335 pages 18 and 56
LTC owner, passive investor	No ACC levies on LTC income, including LTC income received as beneficiary income through a trustee owner	IRD LTC page
LTC owner, active	Self-employed for ACC; ACC invoices the owner directly	IRD LTC page
LTC working owner paid salary or wages	Earners' levy deducted as part of PAYE. IR335 page 61 treats the payment as salary or wages only if the owner is employed under a written contract of employment. The LTC is invoiced by ACC for levies on salary or wages paid to employees	IRD LTC page; IR335 page 61
Close company, shareholder-employee paid with no PAYE	ACC invoices the company for the earners' levy on that remuneration, based on the shareholder-employee remuneration declared in the company's IR4	IR335 page 18; IR3G PDF page 29
Employee and self-employed (mixed income)	"you have to pay ACC levies on both sources of income, up to the maximum. ACC will invoice you for the amount you'll have to pay"	IR3G PDF page 61
Shareholder-employee pay from two or more companies	A refund from ACC may be due if the combined total is over the maximum ($152,790 for 2025-26 returns)	IR3G PDF page 61
Private domestic worker or other IR56 taxpayer	Earners' levy paid as part of their own PAYE; ACC invoices them as an employer for the other levies on IR56 income, and makes allowance for levies paid as an employer	IR3G PDF page 61
Loss, or earnings below the minimum	Still liable; levies calculated at the minimum level	IR3G PDF page 61
BIC code missing or wrong	ACC selects a code; the levy rate may be wrong. Fix the code in myIR or on the next return	IR3G PDF page 8; IRD, updating a client's BIC code

CoverPlus and CoverPlus Extra (check: ACC-only)

These are ACC products; no allowed official page describes them, so treat the points below as questions to confirm with ACC, not as rules.

Point	What to confirm with ACC
CoverPlus	The default cover for the self-employed; levies based on liable earnings from the tax return and the classification unit
CoverPlus Extra	An agreed level of cover chosen instead of CoverPlus; levies based on the agreed cover, not on actual earnings. Review the agreed level each year, because it can end up above or below actual earnings
Weekly compensation	How much ACC pays if the person cannot work, and on what income it is based

GST

• The Earners' levy rates IRD prints include GST ("These amounts include GST"), and the payroll specification describes the rate as "incl. GST". Do not add GST on top.
• How GST is shown on the Work levy and Working Safer levy lines of an ACC invoice, and whether a GST-registered person can claim that GST as input tax, is not stated on an allowed page: check before claiming. See new-zealand-gst for input tax generally.

Worked cases

All cases use the 2026-27 row of the IRD rates table (1.75%, maximum $156,641, maximum levy $2,741.22) and the 2026-27 minimum from the IRD payroll specification. Earners' levy only: the Work levy and Working Safer levy need the client's ACC invoice. Every result is an estimate until ACC invoices.

Case 1: sole trader below the maximum (IRD rates)

A self-employed web designer has liable earnings of $90,000 for 2026-27, on CoverPlus.

• Earners' levy: $90,000 x 1.75% = $1,575.00. No GST added: the rate already includes it.
• Work levy and Working Safer levy: ask for the ACC invoice; the rate depends on the classification unit set from the BIC code.
• Timing: ACC invoices from the IR3, and IRD says "ACC will begin invoicing self-employed levies from September" (IR3G 2026, PDF page 60).

Case 2: high earner above the maximum (IRD rates)

A consultant has liable self-employed earnings of $200,000 for 2026-27.

• Liable earnings are capped at $156,641, for both the Earners' levy and the Work levy.
• Earners' levy: $156,641 x 1.75% = $2,741.22, the maximum levy IRD prints. Not the 2027-28 figures ($160,244 and 1.83%), and not the 2025-26 figures ($152,790 and 1.67%).

Case 3: self-employed with a loss (IRD payroll specification)

A sole trader working full time in the business records a loss for 2026-27.

• IR3G: a loss or earnings below the minimum still attract ACC levies, "calculated at the minimum level".
• Minimum liable earnings for 2026-27: $50,501. Earners' levy on the minimum: $50,501 x 1.75% = $883.77.
• Whether the minimum applies if the person does not work full time in the business: check with ACC.

Case 4: employee paid weekly above the per-pay maximum (IR335)

An employee on a main tax code earns $3,500 in a weekly pay in 2026-27.

• The earners' levy is inside PAYE; it applies only up to $3,012 per weekly pay.
• Earners' levy portion of that week's PAYE: $3,012 x 1.75% = $52.71. The employee gets no ACC invoice; the employer pays the Work levy.

Case 5: employee with a side business (mixed income) (IR3G 2026)

A client earns $120,000 of salary with PAYE and $60,000 of self-employed income in 2026-27.

• Earners' levy already inside PAYE on the salary: $120,000 x 1.75% = $2,100.00.
• IR3G: levies apply "on both sources of income, up to the maximum", and ACC invoices the balance. Room left under the maximum: $156,641 - $120,000 = $36,641.
• Expected Earners' levy on the ACC invoice: $36,641 x 1.75% = $641.22, so the total for the year does not exceed $2,741.22. How ACC applies the maximum to the Work levy on the self-employed income: check on the invoice.

Case 6: LTC working owner

An LTC owner works in the business, is paid a salary under a written employment contract, and also receives an LTC active income allocation.

• Salary: PAYE including the earners' levy is deducted (IR335 page 18 "deduct" column; IR335 page 61 for the written contract). ACC invoices the LTC for levies on salary or wages paid to employees.
• Active LTC income: the owner is self-employed for ACC and ACC invoices the owner directly (IRD LTC page).
• A passive co-owner pays no ACC levies on LTC income.

When to refuse or refer

• A request for a specific industry's Work levy or Working Safer levy rate without the client's ACC invoice: do not state a rate. Point to the invoice or ACC.
• ACC claims, weekly compensation, rehabilitation or personal service rehabilitation payments: outside this Guide. Refer to ACC. (For how ACC personal service rehabilitation payments are taxed, see the IR3G.)
• A disputed levy, classification unit or invoice, or a request for reassessment: refer to ACC's Business Service Centre (phone 0800 222 776, as printed in IR3G 2026) and to a New Zealand chartered accountant.
• CoverPlus Extra: whether to take it and at what level of cover. ACC-only product; refer.
• Several entities or activities that may fall in different classification units: refer; the choice of BIC code for the main activity decides the rate.
• Whether GST on an ACC invoice can be claimed as input tax: not confirmed on an allowed page; refer until confirmed.
• Shareholder-employee refunds for pay from two or more companies over the maximum: ACC process; refer to ACC.
• Income tax on the business: see nz-income-tax-ir3 and nz-provisional-tax. GST generally: see new-zealand-gst.

Filing and payment

• Employees and employers. The employer deducts PAYE, including the earners' levy, from each pay and files and pays it to IRD under payday filing (IR335). Earnings not liable for the earners' levy (for example employee share scheme benefits) go in the "earnings not liable for ACC earners' levy" field of the employment information.
• Self-employed. There is no separate ACC return. The person files the IR3 with the correct BIC code; IRD passes the income and BIC code to ACC; ACC sends an invoice. IRD: "Once ACC gets your information from us, they'll send you an invoice for your levies" (IRD). ACC begins invoicing self-employed levies from September (IR3G 2026, PDF page 60).
• First year in business. Because the invoice follows the income tax return, a new business usually receives its first ACC invoice only after its first IR3 is filed. Tell the client to set money aside. Any interim or first-year arrangement is check with ACC.
• Employers' invoices. ACC invoices employers for the Work levy on staff pay. The billing month, the split between a provisional levy for the current year and an adjustment for the year before, and how to ask for a reassessment are ACC-only: check.
• Other ACC invoice details to confirm. ACC-only, no allowed source: check. An earlier version of this Guide said, citing a site outside the allowed list, that CoverPlus Extra is invoiced each April when the policy renews, that employers are usually invoiced in July, that an invoice should be paid by its due date even while a reassessment is pending, and that a reassessment is asked for on ACC form ACC4618. Treat each as a question for ACC, not a rule.
• Payment and late payment. Pay by the due date on the ACC invoice. Payment methods, instalment plans and late-payment penalties are set by ACC: check on the invoice.
• Deduction. ACC levies paid for self-employment and as an employer, and any interest charged, are claimed in Box 9 of the IR3B (IR3B July 2026). The earners' levy inside an employee's PAYE is part of their tax deducted, not a business expense.

2025-26 returns being filed now (IRD rates table)

For the year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 (IR3G 2026 and the IRD rates table):

What	2025-26
Earners' levy rate (includes GST)	1.67%
Maximum liable earnings	$152,790
Maximum levy payable	$2,551.59

An employee amending the tax deducted on an IR3 works out the earners' levy with the IR3G worksheet: liable salary and wages, capped at $152,790, multiplied by 1.67%. Self-employed invoices are worked out from IR3 income, so an invoice issued from September 2026 may use 2025-26 income. Check which levy year and which rates each invoice line uses (check on the invoice).

Completion checklist (IRD rates table)

• Status placed: employee, self-employed, partner, LTC owner (active or passive), shareholder-employee, employer, IR56, or mixed.
• Levy year stated for every figure, and the matching row of the IRD table used (2026-27: 1.75%, $156,641).
• Liable earnings taken from the right IR3 questions; maximum applied; self-employed minimum ($50,501 for 2026-27) considered, including the full-time condition (check).
• No GST added on top of the Earners' levy rate.
• Payroll: only "deduct" column payments carry the earners' levy; per-pay maximum and lump-sum rule applied.
• BIC code checked on the return.
• Work levy, Working Safer levy, discounts and CoverPlus or CoverPlus Extra read from the ACC invoice, not estimated from memory.
• ACC levies paid (and interest) recorded in Box 9 of the IR3B.
• Every ACC-only point marked check and confirmed with ACC or on the invoice.
• Totals labelled estimates; referrals made where "When to refuse or refer" applies.

Sources

• IRD, ACC earners' levy rates: https://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax/income-tax-for-individuals/acc-clients-and-carers/acc-earners-levy-rates
• IRD news, ACC earners' levies set (11 March 2025): https://www.ird.govt.nz/updates/news-folder/2025/acc-earners-levies-set
• IRD, Employer's guide IR335 (September 2026): https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/forms-and-guides/ir300---ir399/ir335/ir335.pdf
• IRD, Payroll calculations and business rules specification, 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027: https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/digital-service-providers/software-providers/payroll-calculations-business-rules-specifications/payroll-calculations-and-business-rules-specification.pdf
• IRD, Individual income tax return guide IR3G 2026: https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/forms-and-guides/ir1---ir99/ir3g/ir3g-2026.pdf
• IRD, IR3B Schedule of business income (July 2026): https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/forms-and-guides/ir1---ir99/ir3b/ir3b-2026.pdf
• IRD, ACC levies for a look-through company: https://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax/income-tax-for-businesses-and-organisations/income-tax-for-companies/look-through-companies/acc-levies-for-a-look-through-company
• IRD, I am coming to work or study in New Zealand: https://www.ird.govt.nz/situations/work-or-study-in-new-zealand
• IRD, Updating a client's BIC code: https://www.ird.govt.nz/roles/tax-agents/updating-client-bic-code
• IRD, Information sharing with ACC: https://www.ird.govt.nz/about-us/information-sharing/mous/acc

This Guide is general information, not tax advice. Confirm ACC-only points with ACC and have a New Zealand chartered accountant review the position before acting.