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2026/27Updated for the 2026/27 tax year. Figures sourced from Inland Revenue.

NZ election 2026 tax calculator

How will the 2026 New Zealand general election change your tax? Enter your salary to see what each party’s announced policy would do to the money that actually lands in your bank account. Figures come from the parties’ own websites, last checked 29 August 2026.

$

Current take-home pay on these settings: $59,523 a year under 2026/27 law.

These figures are your payslip only.

They assume your income is wages or salary and that you own no land, property or other significant assets. Several parties also propose taxes on what people own — land, wealth, inheritances or property sales. Those are set out under each party below and are not included in any figure here.

For Opportunity and Te Pāti Māori that could matter more than the payslip change shown, if you own a home or other assets.

  • Greens$60,573
    In your hand a year+$1,050+$20.19 a week
  • National$57,523
    In your hand a year−$2,000−$38.46 a week
    KiwiSaver at 6% — that money is saved, not taxed
  • NZ First$60,993
    In your hand a year+$1,470+$28.27 a week
    Conditional — see below
  • Opportunity$69,000
    In your hand a year+$9,478+$182.26 a week
    Includes $19,400 Citizen’s IncomeKiwiSaver at 6% — that money is saved, not taxedAlso proposes taxes on what you own, which could outweigh this — see below
  • Te Pāti Māori$64,700
    In your hand a year+$5,178+$99.57 a week
    Also proposes taxes on what you own, which could outweigh this — see below
  • ACT$59,523
    In your hand a yearNo change
    No payslip policy published
  • Labour$59,523
    In your hand a yearNo change
    No payslip policy published

Parties that have published a policy affecting a payslip are listed first, then those that haven’t; each group alphabetically. “In your hand” is take-home pay after PAYE, the ACC earners’ levy, KiwiSaver and any student loan, plus any tax-free payment a party proposes. An estimate based on announced policy — not advice.

What each party’s tax plan means on a $80,000 salary in New Zealand

On an $80,000 salary in New Zealand, with KiwiSaver at 3.5% and no student loan, take-home pay under current 2026/27 law is $59,523 a year. Under the policies announced for the 2026 New Zealand general election on 7 November 2026, that figure ranges from $57,523 to $69,000 a year depending on the party.

These are payslip figures only. They assume your income is wages or salary and that you own no land, property or other significant assets, and they exclude the land, wealth, inheritance and capital gains taxes some parties propose — which for Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity could matter more than the difference shown here.

$80,000 salary, 2026/27 settings. Take-home pay after PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan, plus any tax-free payment a party proposes.
PartyA yearChange
Current law (2026/27)$59,523—
Greens$60,573+$1,050
National$57,523−$2,000
NZ First$60,993+$1,470
Opportunity$69,000+$9,478
Te Pāti Māori$64,700+$5,178
ACT$59,523No change
Labour$59,523No change

What each New Zealand party has actually announced

Payslip-affecting policy only. Everything below was read on the party’s own website on 29 August 2026.

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

First $10,000 tax-free and a new 45% top rate on income over $160,000; other bands unchanged.

Proposed income tax bands
$0 – $10,0000%
$10,000 – $15,60010.5%
$15,600 – $53,50017.5%
$53,500 – $78,10030%
$78,100 – $160,00033%
$160,000 and over45%

How we read a policy that isn’t a full table

  • The Greens publish two changes rather than a full bracket table. We read '45% on income over $160,000' literally: the new band starts at $160,000 and replaces the current 33% band above that point and the 39% band above $180,000.
  • The 10.5% band is assumed to run from $10,000 to $15,600 (the tax-free threshold sits underneath the existing scale).

Taxes on what you own — not in the figures above

2.5% annual tax on net assets over $10m (family home exempt), and a 33% tax on gifts or inheritances over $1m (family home and family farms exempt).

Who pays: People with more than $10 million in net assets, or receiving more than $1 million in gifts or inheritance. Landlords would also lose the interest deductibility and bright-line changes made in 2024.

Not included in the figures

  • 2.5% tax on net assets over $10m, Capital Acquisitions Tax on gifts/inheritances over $1m, corporate tax rate, bank levy, big-tech withholding tax, landlord interest deductibility — none is a payslip item. See 'Taxes on what you own' above.

Source (29 August 2026): A tax system for all of us · Green Party Tax Policy 2026 (PDF)

New Zealand National Party

No change to income tax rates. Default KiwiSaver contributions rise to 6% employee + 6% employer by 1 April 2032, and KiwiSaver becomes compulsory for all workers from 1 July 2028.

KiwiSaver: 6% employee + 6% employer. This lowers take-home pay, but the money goes into your own retirement account rather than to the Government.

When: 6% + 6% from 1 April 2032; compulsory from 1 July 2028.

Not included in the figures

  • $1,500 Baby Boost payment with automatic KiwiSaver enrolment at birth.
  • Extending compulsory employer contributions to employees aged over 65.
  • Parental leave employer-contribution top-up.

Source (29 August 2026): Enhancing KiwiSaver for Everyone

New Zealand First

First $14,000 of income tax-free; other bands unchanged.

Proposed income tax bands
$0 – $14,0000%
$14,000 – $15,60010.5%
$15,600 – $53,50017.5%
$53,500 – $78,10030%
$78,100 – $180,00033%
$180,000 and over39%

When: 1 April 2026 at the earliest, 1 April 2027 at the latest.

Conditional. NZ First states this cannot happen until the books return to surplus: “this commitment cannot happen until 1 April 2026, at the earliest, and 1 April 2027 at the latest”.

How we read a policy that isn’t a full table

  • NZ First publishes the $14,000 tax-free threshold but no full bracket table. We assume the existing bands are otherwise unchanged, with the 10.5% band running from $14,000 to $15,600.

Source (29 August 2026): Back To Black Responsibly

Opportunity

Three brackets (28% / 34% / 39%) alongside a tax-free Citizen's Income of $19,400 a year and compulsory KiwiSaver 2.0 at 6% employee + 6% employer.

Proposed income tax bands
$0 – $50,00028%
$50,000 – $200,00034%
$200,000 and over39%

KiwiSaver: 6% employee + 6% employer. This lowers take-home pay, but the money goes into your own retirement account rather than to the Government.

Tax-free payment: $19,400 a year, on top of wages.

When: KiwiSaver 2.0 phased in over 8 years.

Taxes on what you own — not in the figures above, and possibly larger than them

1.75% Land Value Tax on the land value of all property, including owner-occupied homes.

Who pays: Every landowner, including people who own the home they live in. Opportunity states the Land Value Tax is what pays for the Citizen's Income — so the two are a pair, and showing the Citizen's Income without the Land Value Tax shows only one half of the policy. On a section with $700,000 of land value the levy would be about $12,250 a year, which is more than the payslip gain shown here at most salaries.

Not included in the figures

  • 1.75% Land Value Tax — not a payslip item, but see 'Taxes on what you own' above: it is the other half of this policy.
  • Replacement of most main benefits by the Citizen's Income, and the several top-up allowances that go with it. We model the $19,400 payment only, for a wage earner.

Source (29 August 2026): Tax Reset · Opportunity Policy — Tax Reset (PDF)

Te Pāti Māori

No income tax on the first $30,000, then a new six-band scale topping out at 48% over $300,000.

Proposed income tax bands
$0 – $30,0000%
$30,000 – $60,00015%
$60,000 – $90,00033%
$90,000 – $180,00039%
$180,000 – $300,00042%
$300,000 and over48%

Taxes on what you own — not in the figures above, and possibly larger than them

Wealth tax on net wealth over $2m (1.5% to $5m, 2% to $10m, 2.5% above), 5% stamp duty on residential property sales, 2% vacant house tax, land banking tax.

Who pays: People with net wealth above $2 million — a threshold some farms, small businesses and rental portfolios reach — and anyone selling a residential property, who would pay the 5% stamp duty.

Not included in the figures

  • 'No GST on Kai' — a targeted tax credit for people earning $60,000 or less, described as equivalent to 8 weeks of kai. No dollar value published, so it is not included in any figure we show.
  • Wealth tax, company tax rate, international profit transfer tax, land banking tax, vacant house tax and stamp duty — none is a payslip item. See 'Taxes on what you own' above.

Source (29 August 2026): Tax policy page · Te Pāti Māori Policy Manifesto 2026 — Tax (PDF)

ACT New Zealand

No personal income tax rate or threshold policy published on act.org.nz for this election.

Not included in the figures

  • As at 29 August 2026 ACT's website sets out a direction (“keeping your taxes low”) and past record, but no rates or thresholds we could compute from. Third-party summaries describing a two-rate system with a 28% top rate are NOT sourced to ACT's website and must not be published here. If ACT releases a tax policy before 7 November, add it with ACT's own URL.

Source (29 August 2026): Economy & Cost of Living · ACT's Record

New Zealand Labour Party

No change to income tax rates, ACC levies, KiwiSaver or student loans announced. Labour's tax policy is a 28% capital gains tax, which does not affect a payslip.

Taxes on what you own — not in the figures above

28% capital gains tax on profit from selling commercial or residential investment property, on gains made after 1 July 2027.

Who pays: People selling a residential investment or commercial property. The family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares, businesses and inheritances are excluded, and Labour says nine in ten New Zealanders would not pay it.

Not included in the figures

  • 28% capital gains tax on profit from selling commercial or residential investment property. Excludes the family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares, businesses and inheritances. Applies only to profits made after 1 July 2027, and only on sale. Revenue ring-fenced for health. This is not a PAYE deduction, so it changes nothing on a payslip.

Source (29 August 2026): Our Policies

How this was put together

The tax maths is the same engine as the rest of this site: PAYE income tax, the ACC earners’ levy, KiwiSaver and student loan repayments, following Inland Revenue’s payroll specification for 2026/27. Only the income tax scale and KiwiSaver rate change between parties.

  • Every party figure was read on that party’s own website on 29 August 2026, and each is linked above. Nothing here comes from news coverage or third-party summaries.
  • Where a party has announced a change but not a full set of brackets, the reading used is stated openly under that party rather than presented as their policy.
  • Where a party has announced nothing that affects a payslip, it is shown at current law and labelled as such. An absence is not treated as a position.
  • ACC levies and student loan repayments are current law for every party — none has announced a change. No party has said what happens to the Independent Earner Tax Credit under a new tax scale, so the IETC is applied on current-law terms for every party shown.
  • The figures assume your income is wages or salary and that you own no land, property or other significant assets. Policies that tax what people own — land, wealth, inheritances, capital gains, and property sales — are listed under each party but are not calculated. For some parties they could change a household’s position by more than the payslip difference shown, and those parties are flagged next to their figure.
  • Benefits, NZ Super, student allowances and Working for Families are not modelled. Several parties would change them, and Opportunity’s Citizen’s Income replaces most main benefits rather than adding to them. Anyone whose income isn’t mainly wages should treat these figures as not applying to them.

This page takes no position on any policy or party. It reports what has been announced and does the arithmetic. Results are an estimate based on announced policy, not financial or voting advice.

Common questions

Where do these tax figures come from?
Every figure comes from the party's own website — its policy page or the policy document it publishes there — checked on 29 August 2026. Nothing is taken from news reports or third-party summaries. Each party's sources are linked on this page. Current tax law comes from Inland Revenue's payroll specification for 2026/27.
Which New Zealand parties would actually change my take-home pay?
Te Pāti Māori, the Green Party, Opportunity and NZ First have each announced changes to income tax rates or thresholds. National has not proposed an income tax change, but its KiwiSaver policy would lift default employee contributions to 6%, which reduces take-home pay while increasing retirement savings. Labour's capital gains tax does not touch a payslip, and ACT has not published personal income tax rates or thresholds.
Is National's KiwiSaver policy a tax increase?
No. A higher default KiwiSaver contribution reduces what lands in your bank account each payday, but that money goes into your own retirement account rather than to the Government. This calculator shows the effect on take-home pay and labels it, so you can see the trade-off rather than mistaking it for tax.
Does this include capital gains, wealth or land taxes?
No. This tool covers the payslip only — PAYE income tax, the ACC earners' levy, KiwiSaver and student loan repayments. The figures assume you own no land, property or other significant assets. Several parties propose taxes on what people own, and for some of them that could change a household's overall position by more than the payslip difference shown. Opportunity's 1.75% Land Value Tax applies to every landowner including owner-occupiers, and is what the party says funds its Citizen's Income; Te Pāti Māori proposes a wealth tax from $2 million of net wealth and a 5% stamp duty on residential property sales. Each party's asset taxes are set out on this page.
What if I'm on a benefit, NZ Super or not earning?
This comparison covers wages and salary only, so it will not be right for you. Benefits, NZ Super, student allowances and Working for Families are not modelled, and several parties would change them. Opportunity's Citizen's Income in particular replaces most main benefits rather than adding to them — it is set at about the level of the Jobseeker benefit — so for someone on a benefit today it would not be the increase this tool shows for a wage earner.
Will these numbers change before the New Zealand election?
Almost certainly. Parties are still announcing policy ahead of the 2026 New Zealand general election on 7 November 2026, and some have published headline changes rather than a full set of tax brackets. Where that is the case, the reading used here is stated openly under that party. Figures are re-checked at source and this page shows the date they were last confirmed.
Want your actual pay packet under today’s rules, with KiwiSaver, student loan and the IETC? Use the full PAYE calculator, or see current NZ tax rates.

Important: none of this is law

Everything on this page is proposed policy that parties have announced ahead of the 2026 New Zealand general election on 7 November 2026. None of it has been passed into law, and some of it never will be. Policies get revised, costed differently, traded away in coalition negotiations, or dropped altogether. Whatever government forms, the tax rules that actually apply to your pay may look nothing like any single column here.

  • Figures are an estimate of a payslip only, and assume you own no land, property or other significant assets and that your income is wages or salary. They are not a picture of your overall position.
  • Some parties have published headline changes rather than full detail. Where that is so, the reading used here is stated under that party — and it may turn out not to be what the party meant.
  • Policies are still being announced. These were last checked at source on 29 August 2026 and will have moved since.

Do not make any decisions or changes based on this page.

Don’t change your KiwiSaver rate, your job, your mortgage, your property plans or anything else about your finances because of a number here. This is a free tool for understanding how tax arithmetic works — it is not financial, tax, legal or investment advice, and it is not a recommendation to vote any particular way. For advice about your own situation, speak to a licensed financial adviser or a chartered accountant. For the tax rules that apply today, see ird.govt.nz — and our terms of use.