Your first job in NZ: tax code, KiwiSaver and your first payslip

Before your first payday, fill in a Tax code declaration (IR330) with your IRD number and tax code, and give it to your employer. Most people with one job use M. Without a completed IR330 your employer must take tax at 46.75%, so a full-time minimum-wage week of $958 would lose $447.86 instead of $163.41. This guide covers the form, the 2026/27 minimum wages, KiwiSaver, 8% holiday pay and a line-by-line payslip.

Before your first payday: IRD number and IR330

Your employer needs one form from you: the Tax code declaration (IR330). It asks for your name, your IRD number and your tax code, and you sign it. Your employer keeps it for 7 years after your last pay.

Getting an IRD number. It is free and it stays yours for life. The quickest route, set out on IRD's IRD number application page, is:

1. Register a personal myIR account and apply online.
2. Within 20 days, take physical ID to an AA Driver Licensing Agent: one primary document (for example a NZ passport or full birth certificate) and one secondary document (for example a NZ driver licence).
3. Wait up to 10 working days for the number. The paper form, IR595, takes up to 12 working days.

If you already have a job offer, apply now. You can start work without an IRD number, but you will be taxed at the no-notification rate until your employer has your completed IR330.

Choosing your tax code. With one job, your code is M, or M SL if you have a student loan. ME is for New Zealand tax residents who expect to earn $24,000 to $70,000 in the year and who do not get Working for Families, a main benefit, NZ Super or Veteran's Pension. It gives you the independent earner tax credit of up to $10 a week. If you also get a student allowance or have another job, your new job takes a secondary code: see our guides to tax codes and working while studying.

What happens without a tax code: 46.75%

The IR330 is blunt about it: "If you do not complete sections 1, 2 and 3, your employer must deduct tax from your pay at the non-notified rate of 45% (plus earners' levy)." For 2026/27 the ACC earners' levy is 1.75%, so the no-notification (ND) rate is 46.75%. A missing IRD number counts as an incomplete form. The same rate applies to any extra pays, such as a bonus.

That is $284.45 less in your pocket that week. The 46.75% is a withholding rate, not a fine: once your employer has a completed IR330, normal deductions start from the next pay. Tax over-deducted earlier in the year is part of your income tax for the year, and your end-of-year assessment works out what you actually owed. The simplest fix is to hand in the IR330 on day one. You can check the difference for your own pay with the hourly pay calculator.

Minimum wages from 1 April 2026

Minimum wage rates apply to every employee aged 16 and over, according to Employment New Zealand. The rates from 1 April 2026, before tax, are:

The starting-out rate is not a general youth rate. It applies only if you are:

• aged 16 or 17 and have not yet worked 6 continuous months for your current employer;
• aged 16 to 19 and your employment agreement requires at least 40 credits a year of industry training; or
• aged 18 or 19, have been on a specified benefit for 6 months or more, and have not worked 6 continuous months for one employer since the benefit started.

Once a 16 or 17 year old has worked 6 months for one employer, the adult rate applies. The training rate is for workers aged 20 or over whose agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training.

KiwiSaver: auto-enrolment, opting out and the 2026 changes

If you are 18 to 64, your employer must automatically enrol you in KiwiSaver when you start a new job, unless you are already a member. From 1 April 2026 the default rate is 3.5% of your gross pay from you and at least 3.5% from your employer, rising to 4% each on 1 April 2028 (IRD, KiwiSaver changes).

Two groups are not automatically enrolled (KS4 employer guide): temporary employees on 28 continuous days or less, and casual employees engaged irregularly and intermittently who get 8% holiday pay with their wages.

If you are under 18, your employer cannot enrol you. You can join only by signing up directly with a KiwiSaver provider. What changed on 1 April 2026 is that 16 and 17 year old members now get the 3.5% employer contribution too. Before that date, compulsory employer contributions started at 18. Employers still do not have to contribute for under-16s.

Opting out. If you were automatically enrolled, you can opt out only between day 14 and day 56 of starting the job, using form KS10. IRD puts it as "between the end of week 2 and week 8 of starting work" (Opting out of KiwiSaver). You must opt out again in each new job. If you joined through a provider, or opted in yourself, you cannot opt out, but you can apply for a savings suspension. If 3.5% is tight, you can instead apply for a temporary rate reduction to 3% for 3 to 12 months.

Staying in has value: your employer's contribution goes into your account on top of your pay, and the government contributes 25 cents for each dollar you put in, up to $260.72 a year (since 1 July 2025). The KiwiSaver rate guide compares the options.

Casual work and 8% holiday pay

Most employees get 4 weeks of paid annual holidays. Your employer can instead add 8% of your gross earnings to each pay ("pay-as-you-go") in only two situations, as Employment New Zealand explains:

• your work is so irregular or intermittent that giving you 4 weeks' holidays is impracticable; or
• you are on a genuine fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months.

Calling the job "casual" is not enough on its own: "Employees who are employed on a 'casual' employment agreement do not automatically qualify for pay-as-you-go holiday pay." The 8% must be agreed in your employment agreement and shown as a separate, identifiable amount on your pay. Employers can pay more than 8% but never less.

Example (2026/27): 20 casual hours at the adult minimum of $23.95 is $479.00. Add 8% holiday pay of $38.32 and your gross is $517.32. On code M, PAYE is $78.58 and you take home $438.74. Casuals paid this way are not automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver.

The Holidays Act 2003 is being replaced. The Employment Leave Act 2026 received Royal assent on 6 August 2026 and takes over on 6 August 2028 (MBIE). Until then, the current rules, including 8% pay-as-you-go, still apply.

Worked example: a minimum-wage weekly payslip

Here is a 40-hour week at the adult minimum wage of $23.95, paid weekly in the 2026/27 tax year, on code M with KiwiSaver at the default 3.5% and no student loan.

If you qualified for and chose ME, PAYE would be $153.41 and net pay $771.06: the $10 a week tax credit. If you are on the starting-out rate, 40 hours is $766.40 gross, PAYE is $126.52 and net pay before KiwiSaver is $639.88.

Run your own hours through the hourly pay calculator, or see the weekly and fortnightly pay tables.

Reading your payslip and checking your records

New Zealand law does not require a payslip unless your employment agreement says you will get one (Employment NZ, Payslips). What the law does require is records. Your employer must keep wage and time records, and holiday and leave records, "for 6 years (even if the employee has left)", and you can ask for a copy (Employment NZ, Record-keeping). Wage and time records must show:

• the days you worked and the hours worked each day;
• the pay for those hours, the wages paid each pay period and how they were calculated;
• hours worked on public holidays and any holidays taken in the period;
• the cash value of any board and lodging, and of any salary sacrificed.

Each pay, check four things:

1. Hours and rate. Multiply them yourself. Is the rate at least the minimum that applies to you?
2. Tax code. It should say M (or the code you chose), not ND.
3. Holiday pay. If you are on 8% pay-as-you-go, it should be a separate line.
4. KiwiSaver. Both your 3.5% and your employer's contribution, if you are a member.

If something is wrong, raise it with your employer in writing and keep a copy.

Questions people ask

Can I start work before I have an IRD number?

Yes. You can be paid, but your employer must deduct PAYE at the no-notification rate of 46.75% (2026/27) until you give them a completed IR330 with your IRD number. Apply for the number as soon as you have a job offer.

Is the 46.75% tax a penalty?

No. It is the withholding rate used when your employer has no completed tax code declaration. Normal deductions start once you hand in the IR330, and your end-of-year assessment works out the tax you actually owed for the year.

I am 17. Will my employer put me in KiwiSaver?

No. Under-18s cannot be enrolled through an employer. You can join directly with a KiwiSaver provider, and from 1 April 2026 members aged 16 and 17 get the 3.5% employer contribution.

Can I opt out of KiwiSaver whenever I like?

Only if you were automatically enrolled, and only between day 14 and day 56 of starting the job, using form KS10. You must opt out again with each new job.

Does every casual job get 8% holiday pay?

No. Pay-as-you-go 8% is allowed only when the work is genuinely irregular or intermittent, or on a fixed-term agreement under 12 months. It must be agreed in writing and shown separately on your pay.