Student Loan When Self Employed
A student loan when self employed is a repayment you make yourself. Inland Revenue does not take it from invoices the way an employer takes SL from a wage. The rate is still 12% of every dollar over the annual repayment threshold.
You have an end of year repayment if adjusted net income is $500 or more, and that amount plus any salary and wage income is over $24,128. For the 2026 tax year that threshold covers 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. StudyLink: repayments start once you earn over $24,128 a year before tax.
Do you have an end of year student loan repayment?
Inland Revenue’s repaying my student loan when I am self employed or earn other income page is the test. Work the three steps in order. A dollar split sits on the student loan repayment calculator.
Official starting point
Inland Revenue: the amount you have to pay each year is 12% of every dollar you earn over the repayment threshold. $24,128 for the 2026 tax year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) and the same $24,128 for the 2025 tax year. StudyLink: Inland Revenue manages the loan balance and repayments. Check it in myIR.
What counts as adjusted net income?
Inland Revenue: adjusted net income is any income you earn that is not salary or wages, minus any expenses. Losses are not included. If you have those income sources, you file an income tax return at the end of the tax year. IR3 steps sit in the IR3 filing checklist for sole traders.
| Income Inland Revenue lists | Student loan treatment |
|---|---|
| Self employment and contracting work | Adjusted net income. You make the repayment. There is no SL tax code on an invoice. |
| Withholding tax income, partnership income, shareholder salary, directors’ salary | Adjusted net income. File the year end return. |
| Interest, dividends, Māori authority distributions, trust income, rental, overseas income | Adjusted net income. Same $500 plus threshold test. |
| Casual agricultural and election day work, taxable property sale | Adjusted net income if Inland Revenue treats the sale as taxable. |
| Salary and wages | Not adjusted net income. Employer deducts when you use an SL tax code. Still added when Inland Revenue tests the $24,128 line. |
Inland Revenue: adjusted net income also includes other sources that may not need to be declared on an income tax return. File an Adjust your income IR215 if you receive those other sources. Inland Revenue’s end of year adjustments page: complete IR215 in myIR any time during the tax year or after it ends.
Caution: the threshold is one line, not one per job
Forum threads treat invoices as if they get a fresh $24,128. Inland Revenue uses salary and wage income plus adjusted net income. If the cafe wage already sits over $24,128, invoice profit of $500 or more still creates an end of year student loan repayment. Parking only income tax in the set aside pot is the miss in how much tax to set aside NZ sole trader.
PAYE job plus invoices
Inland Revenue’s salary or wages page: when you get a salary or wage and have a student loan you must add SL to your tax code. Main job codes are M SL or ME SL. Secondary jobs have no unused threshold: 12% from the first dollar. That split is the student loan primary vs secondary pay guide. Invoices still sit on adjusted net income. Filing clocks sit on the Self Employed Tax hub.
Inland Revenue’s worked wage example for the 2026 tax year: $600 a week before tax minus $464 weekly threshold equals $136. Then $136 times 12% equals $16.32. That is the payslip line. It does not replace the year end test on contracting profit.
Use case: Christchurch photographer, labelled
Situation: PAYE cafe job already over $24,128. Weekend invoices. Adjusted net income $8,200 after expenses. Student loan still open in myIR.
Action: both tests are met ($8,200 is $500 or more, and cafe wages plus invoices sit over $24,128). File the IR3. Expect an end of year student loan repayment on the adjusted net income. Do not treat the cafe SL deductions as cover for the invoices.
Use case: Dunedin tutor, labelled
Situation: first year in their own name. No PAYE job. Adjusted net income $18,400. Student loan from last year’s course.
Action: $18,400 is $500 or more, but the combined figure is under $24,128. The end of year obligation test on that page is not met. First year income tax can still be due. Student loan repayments are not a first year holiday if you later clear the threshold.
Pull highlight: Inland Revenue, end of year repayment if adjusted net income is $500 or more and that amount plus any salary and wage income is over the annual repayment threshold.
Interim repayments after a $1,000 year end bill
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 spread the load. They count towards the next end of year obligation. For most people the dates are 28 August, 15 January, and 7 May.
Plus 5% is $115.
Interim total $2,415 for the next year, split across the three dates.
Inland Revenue: estimate the interim amount in myIR. Select the student loan account, then More, then Estimate interim assessment. If the estimate is less than what you need to pay based on the end of year repayment, Inland Revenue may charge a penalty. Mycare still tells contractors to send an SLE3 and quotes $19,448. Follow the live Inland Revenue pages, not that help article.
Trap: treating 7 February as optional
Inland Revenue’s student loan dates: end of year student loan repayments are due on 7 February. If you have an amount to pay, you will have received a letter or text. Contractor guides still print 7 February, which is a common income tax pay date, not this student loan date. Late payment interest may apply if the overdue amount is $334 or more.
Interest, the $40 fee, and late payment
Inland Revenue’s student loan interest and fees page: if you are a New Zealand based customer, you are entitled to an interest free student loan. StudyLink says the same if you stay in New Zealand. If you do not make payments on time, you may be charged late payment interest. If you go overseas, interest may be charged. Contact Inland Revenue before you leave.
For the 2027 tax year Inland Revenue lists an annual overseas based interest rate of 5.6%, late payment interest of 9.6%, and a reduced late payment rate of 7.6% if you stick to an instalment plan. Late payment interest is only charged on the overdue amount, and only if that overdue amount is $334 or more. If your student loan balance is $20 or more at 31 March, Inland Revenue charges a $40 administration fee, unless you were charged an establishment fee in the same year.
StudyLink: extra repayments are allowed if you want to pay the loan off faster. Inland Revenue has a student loan repayment calculator for how long that takes. First year timing for income tax is a different clock: you can still owe student loan repayments in year one if the $500 and $24,128 tests are met. That sits beside first year self employed no provisional myth.