Final Pay Calculator NZ 2026

This calculator works out what you are owed when you leave a job in New Zealand: your annual leave payout, notice pay, and any redundancy compensation, so you know what your final pay should include. Enter your employment start and last day of work, then choose whether you are paid an annual salary or an hourly rate with your usual weekly hours. Add your unused annual leave balance in days, or, if you have worked less than 12 months, switch to that option and enter your total gross earnings instead, since leave is then paid at 8% of earnings rather than a day rate. If you are owed notice, enter the weeks owed as payment in lieu, and add any agreed redundancy amount (New Zealand has no statutory minimum unless your employment agreement sets one). The results show your annual leave payout, notice pay, redundancy compensation, and total final pay in gross terms, with a breakdown of how the leave figure was worked out. Add your ordinary wages for days actually worked in the final pay period on top of this total, since those are paid separately at your usual rate. All figures are gross estimates before PAYE and other deductions, and redundancy can attract different tax treatment, so confirm the exact amount with your employer or a payroll adviser.

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How is final pay calculated in New Zealand?

Final pay in New Zealand must include all wages earned up to the last day of employment, the payout of any accrued but unused annual leave, any notice pay owed, and any redundancy compensation specified in the employment agreement. This calculator works out the annual leave payout, notice pay and redundancy components; the ordinary wages earned in your final pay period are paid at your usual rate and should be added on top of the total shown here. Under the Holidays Act 2003, annual leave is paid out at the employee's ordinary weekly pay (OWP) or average weekly earnings (AWE) over the previous 12 months, whichever is greater.

Annual leave payout: less than 12 months service

Employees who have worked for less than 12 months are not entitled to a full four weeks of annual leave. Instead, on termination they are entitled to 8% of their total gross earnings during their employment. This covers the holiday pay they would have accrued had they completed a full year.

Annual leave payout: 12 months or more service

Employees with 12 or more months of service are entitled to a minimum of four weeks annual leave per year. On termination, any accrued but untaken leave must be paid out at the greater of ordinary weekly pay (roughly the weekly equivalent of the current salary) or the average weekly earnings for the 12 months prior to termination. This calculator uses the OWP basis, which is appropriate for most salaried employees with regular hours.

When must final pay be made?

Employment New Zealand states that final pay must be paid on or before the pay day of the final pay period, which may fall after the last day of work. There is no separate "working days" deadline in New Zealand law. An employer and employee can agree that final pay is made on the last day of work, but at the latest it should arrive on the normal pay day for the pay period in which employment ended. Note that final pay is subject to normal PAYE deductions. Annual leave payouts, notice pay, and redundancy payments are all treated as income for PAYE purposes. For redundancy payments above a certain level, a flat rate PAYE calculation may apply.