Will a four-day week cut my pay?

It depends on the arrangement. Some four-day weeks keep full pay for the same output, while others reduce pay to four-fifths. This calculator models either, showing the change to your take-home.

What do I save on a four-day week?

One fewer commuting day means saving on transport, parking, lunches and other work costs, which offsets some or all of any pay reduction. The calculator includes these savings.

Is a four-day week worth it financially?

Compare the after-tax pay change against the work-cost savings and the value of an extra day off. On reduced pay, the savings can offset much of the drop, making it more affordable than the headline cut suggests.

Four-Day Week Calculator

This calculator shows what moving to a four-day week really does to your finances, whether your employer keeps you on full pay or moves you to reduced pay such as four-fifths or 90 percent. You enter your current annual salary, choose the new pay basis, and estimate the work costs you save from one fewer commuting day, such as fuel, parking, lunches and coffees. Using the current income tax brackets and the ACC earners levy, it works out your current take-home pay and your new take-home pay under the chosen arrangement, then reports the difference. That pay change is combined with the yearly value of your cost savings to give a net change to your yearly position, alongside your new take-home pay, the take-home change alone, and the total work costs saved. This matters because a headline pay cut, such as dropping to 80 percent salary, is usually less painful in practice once a full day of costs disappears each week. Use it to judge whether a four-day week is financially workable for your household, and to have an informed conversation with your employer about pay basis. It does not put a dollar value on the extra day off itself, often the real prize. Figures use 2026/2027 tax settings and are an estimate only, not financial advice.

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Current annual salary

New pay basis

Work costs saved per day off

net change to your yearly position (pay change plus cost savings)

New take-home$0

Take-home change$0

Work costs saved$0

Based on the 2026/2027 income tax brackets and the ACC earners levy. Work-cost savings are one fewer commuting day a week. This ignores the value of the extra day off itself, which is the main non-financial benefit. Estimate only, not financial advice.

How it works

The calculator works out your current take-home and your new take-home under the chosen pay basis, using the income tax brackets and ACC levy. The difference is the pay change. It then adds the work costs you save from one fewer commuting day across the year. Combining the two shows the real yearly position, which on reduced pay is usually less of a drop than the headline pay cut, because the savings offset part of it.

Worked example

On an $80,000 salary moving to 80% pay, the salary drops to $64,000 and take-home falls accordingly. But saving $35 a day on one fewer commuting day is about $1,820 a year, which offsets part of the drop, so the real cost of the extra day off is lower than it first appears.

Related calculators

Take-Home Pay Calculator: pay after tax.
Real Hourly Wage Calculator: your true hourly wage.
Pay Frequency Converter: pay by frequency.
Budget Calculator: household budget.

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