Student Loan And ACC When On WT
Student loan and ACC when on WT are your clocks, not the payer’s. Tax code WT is income tax on schedular payments. It is not an SL tax code and it is not an ACC earners levy deduction.
A wage with M SL takes 12% student loan over the pay period threshold, and PAYE already bundles the earners levy. A WT invoice does not. You still repay the loan if adjusted net income plus wages sit over $24,128, and ACC still invoices you after the IR3.
PAYE job, SL on the payslip
- Inland Revenue: add SL to your tax code so the employer deducts repayments.
- Main job M SL or ME SL: 12% of every dollar over the pay period threshold.
- 2026 tax year example on that page: $600 a week minus $464 equals $136, then 12% equals $16.32.
- Secondary job: no unused threshold. 12% from the first dollar.
- PAYE also collects the ACC earners levy with the wage.
WT invoice, you pay later
- Inland Revenue’s tax code page: use WT for income from schedular payments.
- IR330C: your tax code will always be WT. There is no WT SL.
- Payer deducts the IR330C rate only. No student loan line. No ACC levy line.
- You repay the loan yourself if the $500 and $24,128 tests are met.
- ACC invoices CoverPlus levies after Inland Revenue passes the IR3 details.
What the payer is allowed to take
Inland Revenue’s tax schedular payments and file employment information page: multiply the contractor’s tax rate by their gross payment. Remember that you do not need to deduct student loan repayments, KiwiSaver deductions or ACC levies from schedular payments. Who files that return sits on the Withholding and Schedular hub.
| Clock | Salary or wages | Schedular payments, tax code WT |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | PAYE from the tax code on IR330 | Withholding at the IR330C rate |
| Student loan | Deducted when the code includes SL | Not deducted. You repay on adjusted net income |
| ACC earners levy | Taken with PAYE | Not deducted. ACC invoices you |
| KiwiSaver | Employee deduction if you are in the scheme | Not deducted. IR335: the worker’s responsibility |
| Child support | Deducted from wages when Inland Revenue requires it | IR335: contractors on schedular payments still have child support deducted |
Sources: Inland Revenue tax schedular payments page, Employer’s guide IR335, Tax rate notification for contractors IR330C January 2024.
WT is not an SL tax code
IR335: do not make student loan repayment deductions from contractors receiving schedular payments. Inland Revenue’s self employed student loan page still counts withholding tax income as adjusted net income. The 20% (or other IR330C rate) the agency sent is income tax, not the 12% loan repayment. Split the invoice on the withholding tax calculator, then work the loan on the year end test.
How the student loan test works on WT income
Inland Revenue’s repaying my student loan when I am self employed or earn other income page: the amount you have to pay each year is 12% of every dollar you earn over the repayment threshold. Adjusted net income is any income that is not salary or wages, minus expenses. Losses are not included. Withholding tax income is on that list.
You have an end of year repayment obligation if adjusted net income is $500 or more, and that amount plus any salary and wage income is over the annual repayment threshold. IR335: the student loan annual repayment threshold for the 2027 tax year is $24,128. Weekly $464, fortnightly $928, every 4 weeks $1,856, monthly $2,010.66. Those pay period figures are for SL tax codes on wages. They are not an extra $24,128 on each WT payer.
StudyLink: you need to start making payments once you earn over $24,128 before tax a year, or $464 a week before tax, even if you are still studying. You may apply for a repayment deduction exemption if you are still studying and some weeks sit over $464 but the year stays under $24,128. That exemption is for wage deductions. It does not stop the year end test on contracting profit. The full $500 and interim clocks sit on student loan when self employed.
Inland Revenue labelled wage example, not a WT invoice
$600 weekly pay before tax minus $464 weekly threshold equals $136. $136 times 12% equals $16.32. That is what M SL does on a main job for the 2026 tax year. A WT payer does not run that line. If the same person also has contracting profit of $500 or more, and wages plus that profit sit over $24,128, Inland Revenue still creates an end of year student loan repayment on the adjusted net income.
ACC invoices after the tax return
IR330C: if you receive schedular payments you will receive an invoice for your ACC levies directly from ACC. ACC: when you file a tax return Inland Revenue passes your details so ACC can invoice you. CoverPlus is the standard cover once you start self employment. Work levy follows your classification unit. Earners levy covers non work injuries. ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27: earners levy is $1.52 per $100 of liable earnings. Working Safer levy is $0.08 per $100. Classification unit rates sit on ACC work levy by industry.
ACC’s calculating your levies page: if you are self employed or a contractor, liable income is based on the IR3. For the year starting 1 April 2026 the minimum liable income level if you are self employed is $50,501 and the maximum is $156,641. Forum threads about a huge bill after a few contracts are often a full time hours assumption. Tell ACC if you were part time. Do not treat a student loan living costs drawdown as ACC liable wages. Work and Income’s MAP: non taxable extra help such as Winter Energy Payment does not count as income for the student loan threshold. WT invoices do.
Interim student loan after a WT year
Inland Revenue’s interim student loan repayments page: you have to make interim repayments in the next tax year if your end of year repayment is $1,000 or more. They count towards the next end of year obligation. Inland Revenue’s labelled example: end of year repayment $2,300 becomes $2,415 the next year ($2,300 plus 5%). For most people the dates are 28 August, 15 January, and 7 May. End of year student loan repayments are due on 8 February. That is a loan clock, not the WT the payer already sent.
Use case: Hamilton electrician, WT only
Situation: labelled New Zealand resident on IR330C, tax code WT, student loan still open. No PAYE job. Agency withholds the activity rate.
Action: keep the WT as income tax only. Track profit after expenses. If that adjusted net income is $500 or more and over $24,128, expect a 12% student loan bill at year end. File the IR3 so ACC can invoice CoverPlus. Do not wait for an SL line on the remittance advice.
Use case: Dunedin cafe plus contracts
Situation: labelled PAYE cafe job on M SL already over $24,128. Weekend WT invoices. Student loan still open.
Action: cafe SL deductions do not cover the invoices. If invoice profit after expenses is $500 or more, Inland Revenue still wants an end of year student loan repayment on that adjusted net income. ACC still looks at the IR3 contracting boxes. Put 12% of that profit aside, separate from the WT the cafe never took.
What people get stuck on
r/newzealand asks why student loan and ACC are not deducted with the 20% withholding. Inland Revenue and IR335 answer that in one line: those deductions are not made from schedular payments. The August student loan bill and the later ACC invoice in that thread are the year end clocks, not a payer error. r/PersonalFinanceNZ asks if ACC charges levies on student loans. ACC bills liable work income. A living costs loan is not a wage. A student allowance paid through PAYE can already have an earners levy. If the invoice used a full time minimum after a few contracts, ring ACC and correct the hours.
Geekzone contractors who park 2% for ACC are guessing. Use the guidebook earners levy of $1.52 per $100 plus the work levy for your classification unit, on liable income up to $156,641. Calculate.co.nz still quotes a 1.75% earners levy for 2026/27. The ACC Levy Guidebook opened for this article says $1.52 per $100. Forum “put aside 12% of everything and that covers ACC too” mixes two clocks. Student loan is 12% over $24,128. ACC is a separate invoice.