Choose Your Own Schedular Rate Min 10%
Choose your own schedular rate min 10% if you are a contractor on schedular payments and you want a number other than the page 3 standard. Inland Revenue lets most people pick a rate. The 10% figure is a floor, not a suggested bill.
If you are a non resident on a temporary work or entry visa, the floor is 15%. Visiting non resident entertainers and professional sportspeople do not get a choice. Their rate is 20%. Write the rate to one decimal point on IR330C. Tax code WT.
Official starting point
Inland Revenue’s work out and declare my tax rate page: you can use the standard schedular payment tax rate by following the flow chart in the form, apply for a tailored tax rate, or choose your own rate. If you choose your own rate it must be at least 10%. If you are a non resident on a temporary work or entry visa it must be at least 15%.
Which path you are on
Walk the IR330C flowchart in order. The first yes that applies wins. Process clocks sit on the Withholding and Schedular hub. Salary or wages still use how to complete IR330 for a new job.
Caution: 10% is a floor, not a plan
Forum threads still pick 10% because it is the smallest number on the form. Inland Revenue: if you do not declare the right tax rate for your schedular payments during the year, you will have tax to pay at the end of the year. If you do not pay that debt, Inland Revenue may enforce a prescribed withholding rate. A prescribed rate cannot be cancelled by you. It stays until Inland Revenue stops it.
The four rate tools, side by side
| Path | When it applies | Floor Inland Revenue names |
|---|---|---|
| Choose your own rate on IR330C | Inland Revenue’s getting schedular payments page lists this as one of four options. Write the rate to one decimal. Separate form per source of contracting income. | At least 10%, or at least 15% on a temporary work or entry visa. business.govt.nz: up to 100%. |
| Standard activity rate | You follow the flowchart and do not choose. Page 3 of IR330C lists the activity number and the standard percent. | The listed standard, for example 20% on labour hire activity 19, 33% on directors’ fees. No notification is 45% if the form is missing. |
| Tailored tax rate | IR23G: apply only if the calculated rate will be lower than the IR330C minimum. IR330C: expenses that lower the tax you need to pay are a reason. Reapply each tax year you want one. | The rate on the certificate. Labour hire residents who want 0% use this path, not a certificate of exemption. |
| Prescribed withholding rate | Inland Revenue’s prescribed withholding rate page: they may set one when a contractor has not met tax obligations. Give the certificate to anyone you work for. You cannot override it. | Never more than half of the schedular payment. Extra prescribed percentage uses tax code ARR. |
Pull highlight: Inland Revenue, you cannot use a tax rate lower than 10% without applying for a tailored tax rate. IR23G: apply for that tailored rate only if the calculated rate will be lower than the IR330C minimum.
How to pick a number that is not 10% by default
Inland Revenue’s tax rates for individuals page: you can choose your tax rate for income from schedular payments. Those payments sit in your total income for the tax year, with salary, interest, and self employment. New Zealand uses progressive rates from 1 April 2025: 10.5% on 0 to $15,600, then 17.5%, 30%, 33%, and 39% from $180,001. A flat WT percent is a prepayment. It is not those bands applied invoice by invoice.
Help choosing: Inland Revenue’s tax rate estimation tool for contractors. The work out page says it takes about 10 minutes. IR330C also points to ird.govt.nz/tools-calculators. Download IR330C 2024, write the rate to one decimal, give it to the person who pays you. Tell them if your tax code later changes. A take home split on one invoice sits on the withholding tax calculator.
business.govt.nz: choosing the right tax rate means you are less likely to have a tax bill at the end of the tax year. You still file an IR3. You still pay ACC, KiwiSaver, student loan, and child support yourself. Inland Revenue’s schedular payments page: tax is deducted, but the payments are different to salary or wage payments. Inland Revenue NZ’s public post on 27 January 2025 told small businesses and freelancers they may need to know about making and receiving schedular payments. That post does not set a rate.
Geekzone threads treat the page 3 table as a final tax bracket. It is a withholding starting point. Inland Revenue still taxes total income on the IR3. r/newzealand freelancers with a PAYE job often pick 30% or 33% WT so the leftover bands are not a surprise. That is cash planning, not a published Inland Revenue target. Do not copy Calculate.co.nz’s 10% to 40% nominated cap. business.govt.nz allows 10% to 100%.
Use case: Auckland IT, labelled
Situation: Hypothetical New Zealand resident placed by a labour hire firm. Activity 19 standard rate is 20%. They also have a PAYE job that already uses the lower individual bands.
Action: they may choose a rate above 20% on IR330C, as long as it is not below 10%. Run Inland Revenue’s estimation tool. Write the percent to one decimal. Give a new IR330C if the mix of jobs changes. Do not treat 10% as the clever answer.
Use case: Wellington cleaner, labelled
Situation: Hypothetical commercial cleaning contractor. Activity 5 standard rate is 20%. High vehicle and product costs. They want less than 10% withheld.
Action: 10% is the lowest chosen rate on IR330C. Below that needs a tailored tax rate certificate, then a completed IR330C showing the certificate rate. GST still follows the $60,000 test or adding GST to prices. Contractor GST: GST for contractors basics.
What a chosen rate does not cover
IR335: do not deduct ACC earners levy, KiwiSaver, or student loan repayments from schedular payments. IR330C: ACC invoices you directly. Inland Revenue’s about page: register for GST if you earn $60,000 a year or more (before expenses) from schedular payments, or if you add GST onto your prices. App gigs that never hit a labour hire desk sit on gig economy income tax.
If you skip IR330C, the payer still deducts. Inland Revenue’s deductions from payments to contractors page: 45%, or 20% if the contractor is a non resident company. That is not you choosing 45%. Give a completed form if you want a chosen rate instead.