ACC Levy Calculator

Who Pays Which Levy

ACC splits injury cover into accounts, and the Accident Compensation Act 2001 treats an employee, a self employed person, and an employer differently. For 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 the earners levy in the ACC levy guidebook is $1.52 per $100 of liable earnings, exclusive of GST. Inland Revenue deducts the same earners levy from wages at $1.75 per $100, and that figure includes GST.

Liable Earnings and Full Time Hours

ACC bases self employed liable income on the income declared to Inland Revenue on the IR3, or on the IR7 for a partnership or a look through company. For the year starting 1 April 2026 the minimum liable income level is $50,501 and the maximum is $156,641. You only pay levies on liable income up to that maximum, whatever your employment status.

A side income that was ticked as full time, or left on the wrong classification unit, is the usual reason a CoverPlus invoice looks nothing like the profit. Update the activity with ACC and in myIR. If earnings from more than one source go over the maximum, ACC may allow a Multiple Employer Adjustment. That adjustment is a form to ACC, not a second cap you can guess.

CoverPlus Invoice Lines

A CoverPlus invoice lists liable income, the Work Account levy, the earners levy for non work injuries, the Working Safer levy, GST, and the invoice amount. ACC calculates each levy on every $100 of liable income. The 2026/27 levy guidebook prints every rate exclusive of GST. Inland Revenue charges GST at 15%, and that GST line is on the invoice.

The work levy is the line that changes with the job. Column 6 of the guidebook is the employer and CoverPlus self employed Work Account rate. Copy that dollar amount per $100 into the tool. If your invoice already shows an Experience Rating discount or loading, type the rate from the invoice instead. This estimate does not invent that discount. business.govt.nz says a business joins the No Claims Discount or the Experience Rating programme from its work levy over a three year period. ACC may add Experience Rating after at least three Work levy invoices.

CoverPlus Extra uses an agreed level of cover instead of liable income. For 2026 to 2027 that agreed cover sits between $40,401 and $125,313. The guidebook has a separate CoverPlus Extra rate, and a lower weekly compensation option. The invoice still has a work line, Working Safer at 8 cents per $100 of the agreed cover, and GST. This tool stays on standard CoverPlus, workplace cover, and the PAYE earners levy.

Employees on PAYE

The earners levy on a wage is already inside PAYE. Inland Revenue's earners levy page includes GST, so the 2026/27 figure is $1.75 per $100, not the guidebook's $1.52. The maximum earnings are $156,641 and the maximum levy payable is $2,741.22. The PAYE calculator is the payslip view. This employee tab is only the earners levy, with the same cap.

A bonus is extra pay and usually carries the earners levy. A redundancy payment is taxed on the column that excludes the earners levy. Schedular payments on tax code WT are different again: the payer deducts the chosen rate, and ACC invoices CoverPlus after the IR3. That invoice path is on the student loan and ACC when on WT page. An IR56 taxpayer, such as an embassy worker or a New Zealand based employee of an overseas employer, is not required to pay the work levy and should ask ACC for an adjustment if an invoice used that income.

Employers and Shareholder Employees

Employer liable payroll comes from the employer monthly schedule, IR348. Workplace cover is the standard product unless the business is in the Accredited Employers Programme, which ACC says suits employers whose annual work levy is over $250,000. Enter one person's earnings. The $156,641 cap applies to that person, then you add the next person. A single payroll total can hide the cap.

If an employee is injured and cannot work, business.govt.nz says you pay the first week of wages. ACC weekly compensation for a self employed person is up to 80% of income, worked from the last self employed return, and it depends on the cover. A shareholder employee on standard workplace cover can use the employer tab for that person's liable earnings from the IR4. If they take a PAYE salary as a working owner, the earners levy is in the wage and the company is invoiced for levies on employee wages.

Inland Revenue's look through company page: a passive investor does not pay ACC levies on look through income. A person who plays an active part in generating that income is self employed for ACC, and ACC invoices them directly. Use the self employed tab for that invoice, not the dividend.

Sample Classification Unit Rates

ACC assigns a classification unit from the business industry classification code you choose for the main activity, when you register for GST or file a return. If you are self employed and more than one activity fits, the guidebook says you must use the code with the highest Work Account levy rate. These column 6 rates are for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, exclusive of GST. The longer list is on ACC work levy by industry.

Classification unit in the 2026/27 guidebook	Work levy per $100
78340 Computer systems design and related services	$0.02
57300 Cafes and restaurants	$0.40
95260 Hairdressing and beauty services	$0.50
42310 Plumbing services	$1.35
42230 Roofing services	$2.25

The average work levy ACC publishes for 2026/27 is $0.69 per $100 of liable earnings, GST exclusive. That average is not your rate. A desk based computer business at $0.02 and roofing at $2.25 are both in the same guidebook. Search the activity at businessdescription.co.nz or in MyACC for Business, then type the rate you find.

When the Invoice Arrives

business.govt.nz: a new sole trader's CoverPlus invoice is triggered by the first individual income tax return, usually in the second year of business. After that the invoice is yearly, usually from the previous year's earnings, and a CoverPlus invoice often lands after the return, commonly in September. CoverPlus Extra is invoiced in April from the agreed cover. An employer usually gets the first invoice after the tax return, then once a year, often in July, with a provisional invoice and a wash up for the year before.

Pay by the due date on the invoice even if you have asked for a reassessment. business.govt.nz points to an ACC4618 form when the circumstances have changed. If the income on the invoice is wrong, fix it with Inland Revenue, because ACC takes those figures from the return. Update MyACC for Business if the activity or the contact details are wrong. Income tax beside this levy sits on the self employed tax calculator, which estimates the earners levy only.

Vehicle levies are a different ACC account. The confirmed average motor vehicle levy for 2026/27 is $131.94 per vehicle, GST exclusive, from 1 July. Petrol vehicles also pay through the pump. That levy is not in this calculator.

How to Read the Result

The figures stay hidden until you type the earnings, and a work levy rate if you are self employed or an employer. Full time self employed earnings under $50,501 move up to that minimum. Part time uses the amount you type. Every path stops at $156,641. Self employed and employer totals add 15% GST to the guidebook rates. The employee total is Inland Revenue's GST inclusive earners levy, so GST is not added again.

The weekly line is the estimate split across 52 weeks so the invoice is money you have already parked. ACC does not bill you weekly. The result is a working estimate from the rate you type. It is not an ACC invoice, and it does not apply Experience Rating.