Working Holiday Visa: Tax and Money in New Zealand
🎒 Getting paid correctly on a Working Holiday visa
A Working Holiday visa lets you fund your travel by taking short-term jobs, and the moment you earn wages in New Zealand you are in the tax system just like a local worker. The good news is that most of it is handled for you: your employer deducts tax from every pay and sends it to Inland Revenue, so there is no big bill to save up for. The catch is that the system only works in your favour if you set it up properly. You need an IRD number and the right tax code from your very first payday, otherwise your employer must tax you at a flat penalty rate and you wait months to claim the difference back. This guide walks you through the money basics that matter on a Working Holiday: getting an IRD number so you are taxed correctly, how PAYE and the ACC earners levy come out of your pay, whether the time you spend here makes you a New Zealand tax resident, choosing a tax code for a main job and any second job, why KiwiSaver is generally closed to you while you are on a temporary visa, and how to claim a refund or square-up when you finish work and leave. All figures use the 2026/27 New Zealand rules.
You need an IRD number to be taxed correctly
An IRD number is your personal tax identification number, and everyone who earns money in New Zealand needs one. It is free to apply for, you keep it for life, and you should never pay anyone a fee to get one. As a working holidaymaker you generally apply as a new arrival or offshore applicant, and you will usually need a New Zealand bank account as part of the process. Applying can take several working days, so start early, ideally before you begin work.
When you start a job, you give your employer two things on an IR330 tax code declaration: your IRD number and your tax code. Your employer then deducts the right amount of tax from each pay automatically.
If you do not give your employer an IRD number and tax code, they are legally required to deduct PAYE at the no-notification rate of 45%. This is not a fine you lose forever, it is tax paid in advance, but it can leave you very short each week until you fix it. Give your details to your employer as soon as your IRD number arrives so your pay drops back to the correct level.
What comes out of your pay: PAYE and ACC
New Zealand collects most personal tax through Pay As You Earn, or PAYE. Every payday your employer works out your income tax and the ACC earners levy, deducts them, and pays them to Inland Revenue on your behalf. The amount that lands in your account, your net or take-home pay, is your gross pay minus these deductions.
- Income tax: charged at progressive rates from 10.5% up to 39%, based on your income and tax code.
- ACC earners levy: 1.75% of your gross earnings for 2026/27. This buys you cover for injuries whether they happen at work, on the slopes, or anywhere else in New Zealand, which is well worth having on a working holiday.
As an employee you do not calculate your own PAYE. Your job is to give your employer the correct IRD number and tax code. They are responsible for deducting and paying the right amounts. If they get it wrong, they are usually liable, not you, but giving the right details up front avoids the problem entirely.
📅 Tax residency and choosing a tax code
How much of your income New Zealand can tax depends on whether you count as a tax resident. This is a tax test, separate from your immigration status, and it turns mainly on how long you are here.
Are you a New Zealand tax resident?
You generally become a New Zealand tax resident if you are present in the country for more than 183 days in any 12-month period. You can also become a resident by having a permanent place of abode here, but for most working holidaymakers it is the day count that matters. If you stay for a short season and leave, you are usually a non-resident taxpayer for that time.
- Non-resident taxpayer: New Zealand taxes only your New Zealand-sourced income, such as the wages you earn here. Your income from your home country is not taxed by New Zealand.
- New Zealand tax resident: once the 183-day test is met, New Zealand can tax your worldwide income. The key point for a working holiday is that your New Zealand wages are taxed here either way, so your day-to-day PAYE does not change.
Even though your New Zealand wages are taxed the same whether you are a resident or not, residency affects things like interest on a New Zealand bank account and any income from overseas. If you cross the 183-day line, or you have income from home, it is worth checking your position with Inland Revenue so you declare the right thing.
Income tax rates for 2026/27
These rates apply for the tax year running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. You pay each rate only on the slice of income that falls inside its band, so a higher rate never applies to your whole income.
| Income range | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| $0 to $15,600 | 10.5% |
| $15,601 to $53,500 | 17.5% |
| $53,501 to $78,100 | 30% |
| $78,101 to $180,000 | 33% |
| $180,001 and above | 39% |
Choosing your tax code
Your tax code tells your employer how much to deduct. For your main or only job, the standard code is M, used when you have no New Zealand student loan (working holidaymakers almost never do). You will not usually qualify for the Independent Earner Tax Credit codes, as those are aimed at longer-term residents, so M is normally the right choice for a single job.
Secondary tax codes for a second job
If you pick up a second job, only one job can use your main code. Every other job uses a secondary code, which you choose from your total expected income across all your jobs. It is a myth that a second job is always taxed at a punishing flat rate, the code is meant to match the marginal rate your combined income reaches.
| Secondary code | Total income from all jobs | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| SB | $15,600 or less | 10.5% |
| S | $15,601 to $53,500 | 17.5% |
| SH | $53,501 to $78,100 | 30% |
| ST | $78,101 to $180,000 | 33% |
| SA | More than $180,000 | 39% |
Add up what you expect to earn from all your jobs, then choose the secondary code for that total. Choose one that is too low and you underpay and face a bill; give no code at all and you are back to the 45% no-notification rate. Get it right and your combined tax lands close to correct, with any small difference squared up after 31 March.
💼 KiwiSaver, and getting money back when you leave
KiwiSaver is generally closed to you
KiwiSaver is New Zealand's workplace retirement savings scheme, but it is only open to people who can live here indefinitely. To join, you must be a New Zealand citizen, or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely (for example on a residence class visa), and be living here. A Working Holiday visa is a temporary work visa, so you cannot join KiwiSaver while you hold one.
New employees who are eligible are often enrolled into KiwiSaver automatically when they start a job. Because you are on a temporary visa you are not eligible, so tell your employer you are on a Working Holiday visa and cannot be enrolled. If you are signed up by accident, contact Inland Revenue to reverse it and get any contributions back.
If you later move onto a residence class visa and settle in New Zealand, your position changes and you may then be able to join. While you are travelling on a Working Holiday, though, plan your savings outside KiwiSaver.
Getting a refund or square-up when you leave
PAYE is worked out each payday as if you will keep earning at that rate for the whole year. When you only work part of the year, which is normal on a working holiday, too much tax often comes out, and you are owed the difference back. Inland Revenue reconciles everyone's income after the tax year ends on 31 March, but if you are leaving for good you do not have to wait.
- Before you go: you can file an individual income tax return (IR3) or ask for an assessment covering the income you earned from 1 April up to the day you leave, rather than waiting for the automatic assessment.
- Refunds: any overpaid PAYE is refunded to the bank account Inland Revenue holds for you, so keep a New Zealand bank account open, or provide details Inland Revenue can pay to, until your refund comes through.
- The ACC levy is not refunded: the 1.75% earners levy is charged on what you actually earned, so it is correct either way and does not come back.
You do not need to pay a company a percentage to claim your New Zealand tax refund. You can request an assessment yourself through Inland Revenue for free. If a service offers to get your refund for a cut, remember the same result is available directly at no cost.
🔢 Worked examples
These four examples use the 2026/27 rates. The arithmetic is rounded to whole dollars where it helps readability.
Situation: Jade starts picking fruit and earns $1,200 gross in her first week. Her IRD number has not arrived, so she cannot give her employer a tax code. The employer must apply the no-notification rate.
The tax alone falls from $540 to about $210 once she is on the right code, a difference of roughly $330 in a single week. The extra deducted while she had no IRD number is not lost: it is refunded when her income is squared up.
Situation: Tom works a summer season in Queenstown hospitality. Over the tax year he earns $32,000, all on the M code, as it is his only New Zealand job.
Because the first $15,600 is taxed at just 10.5% and the rest at 17.5%, Tom's overall rate is far below the top band he touches. A season of work costs him about one dollar in seven in income tax.
Situation: Maria works from April to July, four months, earning $6,000 gross a month, so $24,000 in total, then flies home. Her employer deducted PAYE each pay as if she would earn $6,000 every month all year, an annual rate of $72,000.
Maria never reached the higher bands the weekly tables assumed she would, so she overpaid. By filing an assessment for the income she earned before leaving, she claims back close to $1,500. Her ACC levy of $420 on $24,000 is correct and is not refunded.
Thousands of departing working holidaymakers never claim the tax they overpaid. Request your assessment through Inland Revenue and make sure it has a bank account it can pay the refund into before you lose access to your New Zealand account.
Situation: Priya has a main cafe job paying $35,000 a year on the M code, and picks up a weekend bar job paying $12,000 a year. Her total income is $47,000, which sits inside the $15,601 to $53,500 band, so her second job uses the S code at 17.5%.
Because Priya's whole income stays inside the 17.5% band, the S code matches her true rate to the dollar. Had she guessed SB (10.5%) she would have underpaid and faced a bill, and giving no code at all would have triggered the 45% rate on the second job.
Sources
Rates, thresholds and rules in this guide were checked in July 2026 against Inland Revenue and Immigration New Zealand guidance:
- Inland Revenue, "About tax codes" and "Tax rates for individuals" (no-notification rate of 45% when no IRD number or tax code is given; 2026/27 rates of 10.5%, 17.5%, 30%, 33%, 39%; secondary codes SB, S, SH, ST, SA), ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "ACC earners' levy rates" (1.75% for the year to 31 March 2027; maximum liable earnings $156,641), ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Tax residency status for individuals" and "Tax for non-resident taxpayers" (present more than 183 days in a 12-month period to become a tax resident; non-residents taxed on New Zealand-sourced income only), ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Joining KiwiSaver" (you cannot join on a temporary, visitor, work or student visa; must be a citizen or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely), ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Leaving New Zealand" and "Individual income tax return - IR3" (filing a part-year return or assessment before you leave; refunds paid to your bank account), ird.govt.nz
- Immigration New Zealand, "Paying taxes in New Zealand" (working holidaymakers need an IRD number and give it to their employer on an IR330), immigration.govt.nz
Note: this guide is general information about New Zealand tax, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds can change, and your own residency position depends on your circumstances, so confirm the current figures with Inland Revenue.
Related tools and guides
- PAYE Calculator - work out your take-home pay on the M code
- Secondary Tax Code Calculator - find the right code for a second job
- PAYE Square-Up Calculator - estimate a refund when you leave part way through the year
- Income Tax Calculator - tax across the 2026/27 brackets
- Getting an IRD number in New Zealand
- The PAYE tax system explained
- The gig driver's money guide
🎯 Test Your Knowledge
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