Secondary job + student loan (total PAYE income over $180,000) (2026-27).
Take-home on SA SL — 2026-27 IRD rates
Annual deductions for someone paid on code SA SL. Numbers below include income tax, ACC earner's levy, and student loan (where applicable). KiwiSaver is not included — add your chosen rate on top.
Annual gross
Income tax (PAYE)
ACC levy
Student loan
Take-home
Effective rate
$20,000
$7,800
$350
$2,400
$9,450
52.8%
$50,000
$19,500
$875
$6,000
$23,625
52.8%
$100,000
$39,000
$1,750
$12,000
$47,250
52.8%
Source: IRD published 2026-27 tax brackets, ACC earner's levy 1.75%, student-loan rate 12% over $24,128. See full PAYE calculator for any income and pay period.
Who should use SA SL?
Use SA SL on your non-main job when your TOTAL annual PAYE income (all jobs, NZ Super and benefits) is over $180,000 AND you have an NZ student loan. Deductions on this job: 39% income tax + 12% SL = 51% from the first dollar — the highest PAYE deduction in NZ.
When to switch from SA SL
ST SLTotal PAYE income falls to $180,000 or less.
SAStudent loan is paid off.
Common mistakes with SA SL
⚠51% combined is NZ's highest PAYE deduction. A $50k secondary job loses $25,500 to PAYE + SL alone before ACC and KiwiSaver.
⚠SA SL withholds 39% income tax on every dollar of this job, but only income above $180k is taxed at that rate. If your primary job pays less than $180k, the part of this job's pay that takes your total up to $180k is taxed at lower bracket rates, so income tax is over-withheld and IRD settles that at year-end (automatic assessment or IR3).
Through PAYE, yes: SA (39%) + SL (12%) = 51%. If you also pay KiwiSaver at the default 3.5% from the same gross, that is 54.5% out of your paycheque. This is still lower than the ME SL abatement-window effective rate at the 30% bracket, which can also spike to around 55% but is a special edge case.
Can I use a tailored tax code on SA SL?
Yes. If you think SA SL will leave you with a large refund or debt at the end of the tax year, you can apply to IRD for a tailored tax code.
