Calculating your levies

Find out how we calculate your levies. Before you can calculate your levies you need to know your classification unit (CU), your total liable income for the year, and the type of cover you have.

On this page

    Glossary of terms

    BIC code

    A code that describes the business activity you do.

    CU code

    CU codes group businesses with similar levels of risk together to decide the levy rate you pay and share the cost of injuries fairly.

    Employee

    A person working for salary or wages from an employer.

    Employer

    You're responsible for paying salary or wages to one or more employees.

    Liable income

    The part of your income that you have to pay levies on.

    Part-time

    You work on average 30 hours or less a week, over a tax year.

    Self-employed

    You're working for yourself and you're responsible for paying your own tax.

    Shareholder employee

    You're both a shareholder and an employee of a company.

    Use our levy calculators to calculate your levies. Unless you've applied for one of our optional cover products, you'll be on our standard cover.

    If you just want an estimate

    If you’re new to business or just want an idea of how much your levies will be, try our levy estimator.

    Estimate your levies

    What you need to calculate your levies

    Before you can calculate your levies you need to know your:

    • type of cover
    • Business Industry Classification Code(BIC) or Classification Unit (CU)
    • liable income(if you’re self-employed or a shareholder-employee)
    • liable payroll (if you’re an employer)
    • employment status – full-time or part-time work (if you’re self-employed).

    How to find your BIC code or CU

    View your current CU in MyACC for Business. If you don’t already have an account registering is easy, all you need is your ACC ID or IRD number. All of your details will be visible once you’ve logged in.

    Log in to MyACC for Business

    Register for MyACC for Business

    You can also search for your BIC code. Once you've found it you'll see your CU as well.

    Find your BIC code

    How to find your liable income or payroll

    Your liable income or payroll is based on the income information you declared with Inland Revenue on the:

    • IR3 Individual income return (for self-employed people)
    • IR4 Companies income tax return (for shareholder-employees)
    • IR348 Employer monthly schedule (for employers)
    • IR7 Partnerships and look through companies (LTCs).

    Minimum and maximum income you’ll pay levies on

    We set the minimum and maximum levels of liable income on 1 April every year. If your income or your employee’s income is above or below these set amounts, we’ll use this to calculate your levies.

    If you’re self-employed

    No matter what your employment status, you’ll only pay levies on your liable income up to the maximum level.

    Your work hours include all the hours you work per week, even if you have more than one job.

    If you work part-time

    Part-time work is an average of 30 hours or less a week over a tax year. If you work part-time you won’t be affected by the minimum level. We’ll levy you based on your actual liable income.

    If you work full-time

    Full-time work is more than 30 hours a week on average over a tax year. If you work full-time and earn less than the minimum over a tax year, we’ll use the minimum amount to calculate your levies for that year.

    If you work full-time and earn more than the minimum over a tax year, we'll levy you based on your actual liable income.

    If you have income from multiple sources

    If you have multiple sources of income, like a mixture of PAYE and shareholder-employee income, you may be eligible for a Multiple Employer Adjustment if the combined earnings in the levy calculation exceed the maximum liable income level for that levy year.  

    If your levy calculation is above the maximum liable income level across different sources please contact us by submitting the form below: 

    Year starting from 1 April

    Minimum liable income level

    Maximum liable income level

    2023 - 2024

    $43,349

    $139,384

    2022 – 2023

    $42,465 

    $136,544

    2021 - 2022

    $36,816 

    $130,911 

    2020 – 2021

    $36,816

    $130,911

    2019 – 2020

    $36,816

    $128,470

    2018 – 2019

    $32,760

    $124,053

    2017 – 2018

    $31,720

    $122,063

    2016 – 2017

    $30,680

    $120,070

    2015 – 2016

    $29,640

    $118,191

    CoverPlus Extra

    CoverPlus Extra uses your nominated level of cover instead of your liable income.

    Year starting from 1 April

    Minimum level of cover

    Maximum level of cover

    2024 - 2025

    $35,400

    $113,826

    2023 - 2024

    $34,679

    $111,507

    2022 – 2023

    $33,972

    $109,235

    2021 - 2022

    $29,453                         

    $104,729

    2020 – 2021

    $29,453

    $104,729

    2019 – 2020

    $29,453

    $102,776

    2018 – 2019

    $26,208

    $101,029

    2017 – 2018

    $25,376

    $99,242

    2016 – 2017

    $24,544

    $97,650

    2015 – 2016

    $23,712

    $96,056

    Contact us if you need information from previous years.

    If you employ staff

    You’ll only pay levies on an individual’s earnings up to the maximum level. If an employee on your payroll earns more than the maximum, we’ll only levy you for the maximum.

    Year starting from 1 April

    Maximum liable income for employees

    2023 - 2024

    $139,384

    2022 – 2023

    $136,544

    2021 - 2022

    $130,911

    2020 – 2021

    $130,911

    2019 – 2020

    $128,470

    2018 – 2019

    $126,286

    2017 – 2018

    $124,053

    2016 – 2017

    $122,063

    2015 – 2016

    $120,070

    Contact us if you need information from previous years.

    Current levy rates for businesses

    We calculate your levies based on your liable income multiplied by your levy rate, per $100 of your liable income. Our levy guidebook has the full list of CUs and their levy rates:

    Levy guidebook 2023-2024

    How your claims history affects your levies

    If your business has paid at least three Work levy invoices, we may add you to the Experience Rating programme. This adjusts your Work levy based on historical claims and health and safety performance.

    Your levy can stay the same, be discounted or have a loading. You could reduce your Work levy by preventing injuries at work and helping your injured employees get back to work sooner.

    Understanding the Experience Rating programme

    Supporting your injured employee to recover at work

    Contact us

    If you have any questions or want to know more, contact our business team:

    Email business@acc.co.nz
    Phone 0800 222 776  (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
    Phone (from overseas) +64 7 859 8675

    Use live chat through MyACC for Business

    Talk to us using live chat:

    Log into or register for MyACC for Business

    Last published: 1 September 2023