KiwiSaver For Self Employed: Voluntary Contributions
KiwiSaver for self employed people is voluntary. You join a scheme provider yourself. You choose the amount and the timing. There is no compulsory employer 3.5% on drawings, invoices, or schedular income.
Inland Revenue will not auto enrol you when you start contracting. It will not send an ACC style invoice if you skip a year. The government contribution can still land, but only on money you put in yourself between 1 July and 30 June.
On PAYE wages
Payroll KiwiSaver
New eligible staff aged 18 to 65 are usually auto enrolled. Deduct 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%. Default is 3.5%. Compulsory employer 3.5% if the tests are met. Temporary 3% reduction is an Inland Revenue notice.
Self employed or not working
Voluntary KiwiSaver
Join a provider at any time. Agree the amount and frequency with that provider. Pay the provider or Inland Revenue. Change the amount any time by talking to the provider. No employer match on that income.
Can I join KiwiSaver if I am self employed?
Yes. Inland Revenue’s page for joining if you are self employed or not working is blunt: KiwiSaver is not just for employees. You can join at any time by contacting the scheme provider of your choice. Guide KS12 (April 2026) is the self employed pack. Joining, KS2 rates, and first home sit on the KiwiSaver hub. This page stays on voluntary payments when there is no PAYE job.
You can join if you are a New Zealand citizen, or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely, and you live or normally live in New Zealand. You cannot join on a temporary, visitor, work, or student visa. If you are under 18 you can only join through a scheme provider, not through an employer. Inland Revenue holds contributions for new members for 2 months (62 days) from the date it is told you are new, then passes them to the provider.
If the business is a trust, partnership, or company and you are paid a salary or wage with PAYE deducted, you join like an employee: through payroll or a provider. If you are not paid a salary or wage with PAYE deducted, you enrol directly through a provider. That split decides whether 3.5% payroll rules apply, or this voluntary path.
How do I pay in if there is no payslip?
Inland Revenue lets you pay the provider or pay through Inland Revenue. KS12: you and the provider agree the amount and frequency. You can change that contribution at any time by talking with your provider. The 3.5% to 10% list is the employee menu, covered on KiwiSaver 3.5% change from 1 April 2026.
Pay the provider. Inland Revenue calls this the preferred method, because it avoids extra transfer time. Generate: if you are self employed or not employed, there is no minimum initial investment. Direct debit is one way providers take it.
Pay Inland Revenue. Use Pay tax in internet banking and select KiwiSaver, or set up an automatic payment. Direct credit payment code KSS leaves the time period blank. Particulars are your IRD number (add a 0 at the front if it is 8 digits). Reference stays blank.
First 3 months, no scheme chosen. Inland Revenue: extra contributions in that window must go through Inland Revenue. Interest is currently 2.93% after tax, paid to the provider with the contributions.
| Employee on wages | Self employed voluntary | |
|---|---|---|
| How you join | Often auto enrolled at a new job, or KS2 through the employer | Contact a provider. You can join at any time |
| How much | 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of before tax pay. Default 3.5% | Whatever you agree with the provider. Change it any time with them |
| Employer 3.5% | Compulsory if the tests are met | None on this income |
| How you pay | Wage deduction, filed with PAYE | Provider (preferred) or Pay tax and select KiwiSaver |
| Government $260.72 | Your own deductions count toward $1,042.86 | Your own voluntary payments count. Same $1,042.86 test |
Sources: Inland Revenue joining KiwiSaver if I am self employed or not working, how KiwiSaver works, joining KiwiSaver, KS12 April 2026, making payments directly to my KiwiSaver provider, and internet banking payment codes.
Government contribution still needs your own money
Inland Revenue: the maximum is $260.72. To get it all you must contribute at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June. Employer contributions, past government contributions, and Australian transfers do not count. On self employed income there is no employer line, so the whole $1,042.86 is yours to send. Full rules sit on KiwiSaver government contribution $260.72 rules.
Once you have made a voluntary payment it is locked in until you are eligible to withdraw (currently 65), unless an early path applies. KS12 lists first home after 3 years, significant financial hardship, serious illness, or moving overseas permanently to a country other than Australia. Inland Revenue prefers paying the provider so the money is not sitting in a transfer queue at 30 June.
Use case: Nelson plumbing (labelled example)
Situation: a labelled example. Sam left a PAYE job, now invoices as a sole trader, no PAYE wages. KiwiSaver: Inland Revenue does not auto enrol that income. Sam stays in the existing scheme, agrees a dollar amount with the provider, and pays the provider or uses Pay tax and selects KiwiSaver. There is no 3.5% employer match on those invoices. To chase $260.72, Sam needs $1,042.86 of own money in by 30 June. Action: if Sam later takes a wages job, tell that employer they are already in KiwiSaver so payroll can deduct 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%, and employer 3.5% can start if the tests are met.
What if I start a PAYE job later?
Tell the employer you belong to KiwiSaver so deductions start from your pay. You choose 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%. If you are eligible you also get employer contributions. KS12 repeats the same split. Paid parental leave is different again: KiwiSaver from PPL is optional when you complete the application, and employer contributions can follow if you choose deductions and you are eligible.
Is KiwiSaver protected if the business fails?
Inland Revenue: your KiwiSaver savings are an asset. In a KiwiSaver scheme the funds are protected from your creditors while they remain in the fund. The Insolvency and Trustee Service: funds in a KiwiSaver scheme are protected unless you withdraw them during bankruptcy. That is not a promise that business assets stay safe. If you own the business, the Official Assignee can shut it down and sell those assets.
Pull highlight: Inland Revenue cannot give advice on whether you should join, or which provider to pick. KS12 points you to Sorted.org.nz. The Financial Markets Authority regulates KiwiSaver schemes. KiwiSaver is not guaranteed by the government. You invest at your own risk.
To see a year by year balance with your own dollar amount and no employer line, use the self employed view on the KiwiSaver calculator.
What people get stuck on
r/PersonalFinanceNZ sole trader threads ask if skipping contributions since January created a debt. Inland Revenue’s self employed path is voluntary. There is no PAYE style arrears invoice for drawings. Forum advice to “just put in about a thousand for the tax credit” still has to hit Inland Revenue’s $1,042.86 of your own money by 30 June if you want the full $260.72, and the year is 1 July to 30 June, not the tax year.
Stale accountant pages still quote 50 cents and $521. Follow Inland Revenue today: 25 cents and $260.72 from 1 July 2025, with a $180,000 taxable income cap. BDO’s July 2026 note on compulsory KiwiSaver from 1 July 2028 is a political proposal, not current Inland Revenue law. Right now self employed contributions stay voluntary.
The Financial Markets Authority still has older 3% employee wording on its about KiwiSaver page. For payroll rates, follow Inland Revenue: default 3.5% from 1 April 2026. For self employed, FMA and Inland Revenue agree on the point that matters here: you decide how much, and you pay the provider.
You can only belong to 1 KiwiSaver scheme at a time. Change by applying to the new provider. Read the product disclosure statement before you join.
Frequently asked questions
Is KiwiSaver compulsory if I am self employed?
No. Inland Revenue treats KiwiSaver as voluntary. If you are self employed or not working, you join by contacting a provider. You agree the amount and timing. Nobody invoices you for a missed percentage the way PAYE KiwiSaver works on wages.
How do I pay KiwiSaver if I am self employed?
Pay your scheme provider, or pay Inland Revenue with Pay tax in internet banking and select KiwiSaver. Inland Revenue prefers the provider path because it avoids extra transfer time. You can also set up an automatic payment. Once paid, the money is locked in until you are eligible to withdraw, currently 65, unless an early withdrawal rule applies.
Do self employed people get the KiwiSaver government contribution?
Yes, if you meet the same tests as anyone else. Inland Revenue: put in your own money between 1 July and 30 June. The maximum is $260.72 if you contribute at least $1,042.86, with taxable income of $180,000 or less and age 16 to 65. Employer money does not apply on this income, so the $1,042.86 has to come from you.