ACC Earner's Levy on $180,000 Earnings (NZ)

What this ACC levy funds

The ACC earner's levy is not income tax — it is the premium you pay into ACC's Earners' Account, which covers injuries that happen outside work (at home, playing sport, driving, travelling). In return, no New Zealander can be sued for personal injury; ACC covers treatment, weekly compensation (80% of pre-injury earnings), and rehabilitation.

Work injuries are covered by a separate Work Levy paid by your employer (or by you if you are self-employed), and motor vehicle injuries by the Motor Vehicle Levy on vehicle registration. You only see the earner's levy on your payslip.

You earn above the cap. Your $180,000 is greater than the 2026-27 cap of $$156,641, so the maximum annual earner's levy of $2,741.22 applies. Everything you earn above the cap escapes the levy — an effective reduction in your marginal deduction rate once you cross $$156,641.

How the levy is deducted

For salaried employees, ACC earner's levy is withheld every pay period alongside your PAYE income tax via the PAYE system. You will not see it as a separate line — it is built into the "PAYE" total on your payslip. Your employer forwards the combined deduction to IRD, who then splits income tax and the levy across the two systems.

For self-employed taxpayers the levy is assessed as part of your IR3 return at year end. IRD bills you once for both income tax and ACC earner's levy (plus the work levy for self-employed, which depends on your industry classification unit).