NZ tax codes explained

Your tax code tells your employer how much PAYE to deduct. Use the wrong one and you'll either be under-taxed (a bill later) or over-taxed (a refund you wait a year for).

The main codes

• M — your main job or highest source of income, no student loan.
• ME — main income and you qualify for the Independent Earner Tax Credit.
• M SL — main income with a student loan.
• SB, S, SH, ST — secondary income codes, by your total income band.

Which one is mine?

Put M (or ME) on your highest-earning job. Any other job gets a secondary code based on your combined income. Add "SL" if you have a student loan. If you're unsure, IRD's "Do I need to change my tax code?" tool confirms it.

Why it matters

PAYE is just an estimate collected through the year. The right code keeps that estimate close to what you actually owe — see exactly what lands in your account with the take-home calculator, or read how secondary tax really works.