Work out your tax code

Have you been contacted by Inland Revenue about your tax code, or do you need to work out what tax code you should be using? Use our decision tree to work out your tax code.

Tax codes

Your tax code is what decides how much tax is deducted from your income. The tax code that you will need to use depends on how many sources of income you have, and whether you have a student loan.

Income tax rates

Income tax rates are applied to your combined income at the end of the tax year to work out your tax obligation.

Sole traders

A sole trader is a person trading on their own.

ACC earners' levy rates

Read the previous years' ACC earners' levy rates.

Partnerships and look-through companies (LTCs)

In a partnership, two or more people run a business together. Companies with five or fewer shareholders can elect to be a LTC.

Companies

A company is a formal and legal entity in its own right, separate from its shareholders with its own unique tax obligations.

When companies make losses

If a company’s total expenses exceed its total income, it will generally have a loss for tax purposes. Companies in a loss position do not have to pay income tax. Unless the company is a loss attributing qualifying company, the company will not be able to pass this loss to shareholders who are individuals.

Trusts and trustees

General information about how trusts and trustees are taxed.