NZ Salary vs Rate

NZ Salary vs Contract Rate Calculator

Detailed Comparison · 2026/27 New Zealand PAYE, ACC and KiwiSaver settings · Printed 16 October 2026

Detailed comparison of a real offer

Enter the permanent package and the contract offer you are weighing up. Everything is calculated in this browser using 2026/27 New Zealand tax, ACC and KiwiSaver settings. Contract figures exclude GST.

Permanent package
$

per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

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days
days
days
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days
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per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

Student loan repayments

Repaid at 12% above $24,128

Contract offer
$

GST-exclusive

$

Linked at 8 hours per day

hrs
hrs
months

Shorter contracts are annualised for comparison

wks

Contract period: 52.0 weeks

wks
wks
days

Expected billable weeks: 44.0

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per year

$

per year

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per year

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per year

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per year

%

Default estimate for New Zealand contractors

%
$

per year

Student loan repayments

Break-even contract rate

$110.80/hour

Equivalent daily rate $886.41

Better contract outcome

This rate is estimated to provide the same total annual value as the permanent package under the details entered.

Offered rate

$135.00/hr

$1,080.00/day

Difference from break-even

+$24.20/hr

+21.8% above break-even

Annual value difference

+$25,980

Total financial value, annualised

Monthly take-home difference

+$2,371

Cash in hand each month

Break-even compares total financial value. It does not assign a monetary value to job security, flexibility, career progression or personal preference.

Cash take-home

Money in hand after tax, ACC, student loan and retirement contributions.

Permanent

Annual net take-home$121,681
Monthly net take-home$10,140

Contract

Annual net take-home$150,129
Monthly net take-home$12,511
Total financial value

Take-home cash plus retirement contributions and employer-funded benefits.

Permanent

Take-home cash$121,681
Employer KiwiSaver$4,221
Employee KiwiSaver$6,300
Employer-funded benefits$0
Total financial value$132,202

Contract

Take-home cash$150,129
Retirement contributions$8,054
Employer-funded benefits$0
Total financial value$158,182

Gross salary = base salary less purchased leave, plus bonus and cash allowances. Tax and ACC earner levy apply to that figure, then employee KiwiSaver is deducted to reach net take-home.

Gross contract revenue = hourly rate × hours per week × annualised billable weeks. Tax deductible business expenses are subtracted to reach taxable income, then tax, ACC, student loan and retirement contributions are deducted to reach net take-home.

Total financial value = net take-home + retirement contributions + employer-funded benefits. All contract figures exclude GST.

Key inputs driving this result

Read-only. Select an item to jump back to the field that sets it.

Base salary
$180,000
Employer KiwiSaver
3.5%
Employee KiwiSaver
3.5%
Paid time off
31 days
Hours per week
40
Billable weeks
44 of 52
Business expenses
$7,500
ACC estimate
2.0%
Contractor KiwiSaver
3.5%
Your contract rate in practice

None of these figures are after tax — they show the rate before and after business costs only. All amounts exclude GST.

Advertised rate

$135.00/hr

Client billing rate for billable work

Annualised earning rate

$114.23/hr

Contract revenue divided by a full standard working year of hours

Post-expense earning rate

$110.63/hr

Revenue less business expenses over full working-year hours

Expected gross contract revenue

$237,600

Expected billable hours

1,760

Billable weeks (annualised)

44.0 of 52

Expected non-billable time

  • Non-billable time (leave, holidays, downtime)8.0 weeks (40 days)

This time is already reflected in your billable weeks, so it is not deducted again as an expense.

Permanent vs contract, side by side
Permanent versus contract

Both sides cover the same annualised 12-month period. Gross salary and gross contract revenue are different measures and are shown side by side for context only.

Where contract revenue goes
Where the contract revenue goes

Cash amounts only. Non-billable time is shown as time, not as an expense, so nothing is counted twice.

Sensitivity to billable weeks

How the break-even rate moves if you bill more or fewer weeks. Viewing this does not change your offer inputs.

Billable weeksBreak-even rateAnnual difference
40$121.88/hr+$12,804
42$116.08/hr+$19,392
44current$110.80/hr+$25,980
46$105.98/hr+$32,568
48$101.57/hr+$39,156
Negotiation guidance

A sensible target range that leaves room for downtime and rate risk is $115–$130/hour.

Contract rateMonthly take-homeAnnual difference
$110.80/hrExact break-even$10,470+$0
$120.00/hrModest buffer$11,246+$9,876
$125.00/hr10% above break-even$11,667+$15,244
$135.00/hr20% above break-even$12,511+$25,980

All rates are GST-exclusive. Differences compare total financial value over 12 months.

Better contract outcome

This contract rate is likely to generate approximately $26,000 more annual take-home value than the comparable permanent role, after leave, downtime, expenses and KiwiSaver.

Permanent total value

$132,202

Contract total value

$158,182

Total value = net take-home plus retirement contributions and employer-funded benefits.

Break-even rate
The hourly rate at which the contract produces the same total financial value as the permanent package under the values entered.
Take-home pay
Cash in hand after tax, ACC, student loan and retirement contributions. It excludes employer contributions and non-cash benefits.
Total financial value
Take-home pay plus retirement contributions plus employer-funded benefits, for the same 12-month period on both sides.
Billable weeks
The weeks you expect to invoice. It is the single working-time control: leave, closedown and non-working time are reflected here and nowhere else.
Annualised earning rate
Contract revenue divided by the hours in a full standard working year, so it shows the rate spread across all weeks rather than billable weeks only.
Business expenses
GST-exclusive annual costs of contracting. They are treated as tax deductible, so they reduce taxable contractor income.
Employer KiwiSaver
Employer contribution, shown net of ESCT. It increases package value but never monthly take-home pay.
Contractor KiwiSaver
Voluntary contributions you fund from your own revenue. Shown separately from tax and business expenses.
ACC estimate
An indicative combined earner and work-account levy percentage. Actual ACC invoices depend on your classification unit and cover options.
GST treatment
All contract rates, revenue and expenses are GST-exclusive. GST is collected on behalf of Inland Revenue and is not contractor income.

This calculator provides indicative estimates for comparing employment and contracting scenarios. It is not tax, legal, accounting, investment or financial advice. Actual tax, ACC, KiwiSaver and business-cost outcomes depend on individual circumstances.

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Important

This calculator provides indicative estimates only and should not be considered tax, legal, accounting or financial advice.

Calculations use New Zealand PAYE, ACC and KiwiSaver settings.