New to NZ or on a working holiday: IRD number, tax code and refunds

New Zealand has no special backpacker tax. Your wages go through ordinary PAYE: apply online for an IRD number (often issued within 2 days), then give your employer a Tax code declaration (IR330), usually with code M. Until you do, your employer must take 46.75% (2026/27), which on a $1,000 week is $296 more than code M. You cannot join KiwiSaver on a temporary or work visa, and when you leave you can ask IRD for an assessment before the tax year ends.

Step 1: get an IRD number

"An IRD number is a tax identification number you'll need if you're earning income in New Zealand" (IRD, I am coming to work or study in NZ). The process for new arrivals, from IRD's new arrival application page:

1. Register a personal myIR account.
2. Apply online. Have your passport details ready. Resident, student and work visa holders also need their Immigration New Zealand application number and their most recent overseas tax number.
3. IRD checks your identity with Immigration New Zealand using your visa details. "If approved, you'll receive your IRD number by text or email in 2 days."

Apply before the final date on your visa. Australian passport holders often have 4 to 6 weeks after arrival to use the online process, and those applying from within New Zealand can also use form IR595. If you are offshore or do not hold a New Zealand residence class visa, IRD's visitor guide (IR294) points you to form IR742, which needs proof of a fully functional New Zealand bank account or another accepted form of identity check.

Step 2: choose your tax code

There is no working holiday code. You fill in the same IR330 as everyone else:

• M for your only or main job.
• A secondary code (SB, S, SH, ST or SA) for a second job at the same time, chosen from your total expected income for the tax year.
• Not ME. The IR330 flowchart asks "Are you a New Zealand tax resident?" before it offers ME, so non-residents cannot claim the independent earner tax credit.
• Not NSW. The flat 10.5% plus levy code is only for Recognised Seasonal Employer visa holders and foreign fishing crew.

Without a completed IR330, including your IRD number, your employer must use the no-notification code ND: 45% plus the 1.75% ACC earners' levy, 46.75% in 2026/27.

Four weeks on ND instead of M at this pay takes $1,184 more. Hand in your IR330 as soon as your IRD number arrives. Check other amounts with the PAYE calculator.

Two jobs on a working holiday

Plenty of working holiday makers pick up a second job, such as weekend bar shifts on top of fruit picking or café work. The second job takes a secondary code based on your total income from all jobs in the tax year (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027), not on what you would earn if you stayed all year.

Example. You expect about six months of work in this tax year: a main job at $1,000 a week ($26,000 over 26 weeks) and a second job at $250 a week ($6,500). Your total, $32,500, is in the $15,601 to $53,500 band, so the second job uses S.

Choosing SB because it looks cheaper means too little tax, which you would owe back. Read more in the secondary tax guide or use the secondary tax calculator.

Are you a New Zealand tax resident?

Residence decides whether you can use ME, but your New Zealand wages are taxed either way. IR294 says a visitor without an exemption will "have to pay New Zealand income tax on your New Zealand income".

The 183-day test. You become a New Zealand tax resident if you are here more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or if you have a permanent place of abode here. The days need not be in a row and part days count as whole days. "If you've been in New Zealand for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, you're considered to be a New Zealand tax resident from the first of the 183 days" (IR292, April 2026). Residence is backdated to that first day.

The new non-resident visitor rule. For people arriving on or after 1 April 2026, a new rule lets some visitors stay non-resident for up to 275 days in any 18 months. It does not apply to anyone who works for a New Zealand resident employer. If you are on a working holiday and employed by a New Zealand business, the ordinary 183-day test applies to you.

Tax treaty exemptions for short stays of 183 days or less cover people paid by an overseas employer. They do not cover you if a New Zealand employer pays you.

KiwiSaver: not for temporary visa holders

IRD is direct: "You cannot join KiwiSaver if you have a temporary, visitor, work or student visa" (Joining KiwiSaver). That includes working holiday visas.

Check your first payslip. If a KiwiSaver deduction appears (in 2026/27 the default is 3.5%, which would be $35 on a $1,000 week), tell your employer straight away so they stop it. IR294 says contributions deducted by mistake are refunded by IRD.

Your employer's other obligations, such as the ACC earners' levy and PAYE, apply to you exactly as they do to New Zealand workers.

Your pay rights: minimum wage, holiday pay and records

Employment law protects you whatever your visa. A few rules matter most for short-stay workers.

Minimum wage. "Minimum wage rates apply to all employees aged 16 and over" (Employment New Zealand). From 1 April 2026 the adult rate is $23.95 an hour, or $958 for a 40-hour week before tax.

8% holiday pay. Instead of 4 weeks of paid holidays, your employer can add 8% of your gross earnings to each pay only if your work is genuinely irregular or intermittent, or you are on a fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months. Many working holiday jobs are fixed-term, so ask which applies to you. The 8% must be agreed in your employment agreement and shown as its own line on your pay (Employment NZ, Pay-as-you-go holiday pay).

Example (2026/27): a 40-hour week at $23.95 is $958.00. With 8% holiday pay of $76.64 the gross is $1,034.64. On code M, PAYE is $178.89 and you take home $855.75. Holiday pay is taxed like the rest of your wages.

Records. Your employer must keep wage and time records for 6 years, even after you leave, and you can ask for a copy. That is useful if you need to check what was paid once you are back home. A payslip itself is only required if your employment agreement promises one.

Leaving New Zealand: final tax and refunds

"If you're a visitor to New Zealand, in most cases, the tax you pay is a final tax" (IR294, April 2026). But you do not have to wait for 31 March to have it checked. Before you go:

1. Update myIR. Add a New Zealand bank account and current contact details. Refunds are paid fastest to a New Zealand account.
2. Ask for an assessment or file an IR3. You can "file an Individual tax return - IR3 or ask for an income tax assessment before the end of the tax year". An assessment is available if your only income was salary, wages or already-taxed investment income (IRD, Leaving New Zealand).
3. Keep your final payslip so you can check the totals IRD holds.

When a refund is likely. PAYE on a main code assumes you earn the same pay every week for a full year. Common reasons working holiday makers have paid too much:

• some pays were taxed at 46.75% on ND before the IR330 was in;
• a secondary code was set higher than your real total income needed;
• you only worked part of the tax year.

Whether you get money back depends on the assessment. The year-end refund or bill guide explains how it is worked out.

To stop being a New Zealand tax resident after becoming one, you need no permanent place of abode here and more than 325 days away in a 12-month period.

Questions people ask

Is there a special tax rate for working holiday makers in New Zealand?

No. New Zealand has no backpacker tax. Your wages go through normal PAYE codes, usually M for your main job. The flat 10.5% NSW code is only for Recognised Seasonal Employer workers and foreign fishing crew.

How quickly can I get an IRD number after I arrive?

IRD says that if your online application is approved, you will get your IRD number by text or email in 2 days. Apply through myIR with your passport and visa details.

Does the 275-day non-resident visitor rule apply to me?

Not if you work for a New Zealand resident employer. The rule, for arrivals from 1 April 2026, does not cover people employed by a New Zealand business, so the 183-day residence test applies.

My employer is deducting KiwiSaver. What should I do?

Tell your employer. You cannot join KiwiSaver on a temporary, visitor, work or student visa, and contributions deducted by mistake are refunded by IRD.

Do I have to wait until after 31 March for a refund?

No. When you leave, you can ask IRD for an income tax assessment or file an IR3 before the end of the tax year. Make sure your bank and contact details in myIR are up to date first.