This New Zealand calculator helps people on lower incomes estimate whether they may qualify for the Accommodation Supplement, a payment that helps with rent, board, or the cost of owning a home, and roughly how much they might receive. You enter your housing costs, income, and situation, and the tool gives an indicative estimate based on the relevant rules. Because the rates, thresholds, and area-based maximums are set by the government and change over time, the calculator uses current figures as inputs and prompts you to check eligibility properly. The breakdown shows your housing costs against the thresholds and the estimated supplement, helping people understand support that is often underclaimed.
This is a simplified estimate. The real Accommodation Supplement uses set formulas, income and cash asset tests, family situation and area-based maximums, all set by Work and Income and changing over time. Use it as a rough guide and check your eligibility with Work and Income.
The estimate works out how much of your housing cost sits above the share you are expected to meet from your own income, then pays a portion of that excess, capped at the maximum for your area. In this simplified model, the supplement is 70% of your housing cost above your income share, limited by the area maximum. The real scheme is more detailed, but this shows the general shape and whether it is worth applying.
With $550 a week housing and $900 income, the share you cover first at 25% is $225. Housing above that is $325. Seventy percent of $325 is about $228 a week, which is below a $305 area maximum, so the indicative supplement is around $228 a week.
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