ACC Earner Levy Rate

The Earner Levy Rate for the 2018 tax year will remain at $1.39 for every $100 of liable.

ACC Earner Levy Maximum Liable Earnings

The maximum liable earnings for the ACC Earner levy will increase from $124,053 to $126,286 for all pay periods paid on or after the 1st of April 2018.  Any income above $126,286 will not be subject to the ACC Earner Levy.

Student Loans

The annual Student Loan repayment threshold has increased to $19,448. This is the level above which Student Loan deductions will be taken. This is broken down to pay period threshold amounts in the following table.

If you’re paid…                                 Your repayment threshold is…

Weekly                                                $374.00

Fortnightly                                           $748.00

Four-Weekly                                       $1,496.00

Monthly                                               $1,620.66

Annual                                                $19,448.00

 

Other Legislative Changes

Employee Share Scheme (ESS) Changes

The 2018/2019 IRD Payroll Specification Document outlines a change to the way that ESS benefits need to be reported on the Employer Monthly Schedule (EMS).

From 1 April 2018, (i.e. for the EMS period of April 2018 which is due either 5th or 20th May 2018) the taxable value of the benefit is to be shown as a separate record on the EMS whether or not PAYE has been withheld, with the following information:

  • Employee IRD number
  • Employee name
  • Employee tax code (must be shown as "ESS")
  • Gross earnings and/or schedular payments (i.e. the taxable value of the ESS benefit)
  • Earnings and/or schedular payments not liable for ACC Earners’ Levy (i.e. the taxable value of the ESS benefit)
  • PAYE/Tax (if applicable)
  • Student Loan deductions (if applicable)

If you use our applications to run your payroll, you can sit back and relax as we’ve taken care of this for you.

New Minimum Wage Rates

  • The adult minimum wage rate will increase from $15.75 to $16.50 (before tax) an hour.
  • The starting-out wage and training minimum wage will also increase from $12.60 to $13.20 (before tax) an hour.

Please note, you will need to change the rate for any employees concerned as Datacom does not automatically change wage rates.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call the help desk on 0800 856 856 between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday-Friday, where one of our consultants will be glad to help.