Accommodation Supplement Estimator

This calculator gives Kiwis on lower incomes a quick, practical way to estimate whether they might qualify for the Accommodation Supplement, a weekly Work and Income payment that helps cover the cost of renting, boarding or owning a home, and roughly how much they could receive. You enter four figures: your weekly housing cost, your weekly income after tax, the weekly maximum payment set for your area, and the share of your income you are expected to cover yourself before any help kicks in. From these, the tool works out how much of your housing cost sits above your income share, applies a simplified 70 percent rate to that excess, and caps the result at your area's maximum. The results show your indicative weekly Accommodation Supplement, the amount of housing cost above your share, the area maximum applied, and what that adds up to over a year. A worked example using $550 weekly housing and $900 weekly income shows how the numbers flow through step by step. Because the real Accommodation Supplement also weighs income and cash asset tests, family situation and other Work and Income rules that change over time, treat this as a rough guide rather than an official assessment, and confirm your actual entitlement directly with Work and Income before making any decisions based on it.

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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.