Minimum wage increase

The adult minimum wage will rise from $23.15 to $23.50 per hour, and the starting-out and training minimum wage will increase from $18.52 to $18.80 per hour.

If an employee is aged 16 or over, the employee must be paid at least the minimum wage. There are 3 types of minimum wage:

• adult
• starting-out
• training

An employee’s age and work situation determine their minimum wage. Employees aged 16 and over must be paid at least the adult minimum wage, unless they’re starting out or a trainee. Employees under 20 may be entitled to the starting-out wage, depending on their circumstances. Employees aged 20 or over, completing 60 credits of industry training, must be paid at least the training wage.

ACC Earners Levy

PAYE calculations also include the ACC Earners’ Levy. The ACC Earners’ Levy will increase from 1.60% to 1.67% as of 1 April 2025. This means all employees will see a small increase in the amount of tax deducted from their pay, and therefore a small decrease in the net amount they receive after tax.

• For a person earning $1000 per week, the levy will increase from $16 to $16.70.
• For a person earning $1500 per week, the levy will increase from $24 to $25.05.

The ACC Earners’ Levy does not apply to earnings over a threshold, and that threshold is increasing to $152,790. That means the maximum levy someone could pay in the 2025/26 year is $2,551.59.

ESCT thresholds

ESCT stands for Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax. Typically you’ll see this as the tax that is applied to the employer contribution for KiwiSaver. These thresholds are increasing from 1 April. Nothing you need to do here – this is only really noticeable if you look at how the employer contribution is split between this tax and the net value the employee receives to their KiwiSaver.