What is my tax code?
On this page you can find out about:
Tax codes, what they are and how they are used
As a salary or wage earner your tax code is how your employer knows how much tax to deduct from your income. Different tax codes apply to different work situations, so it's important that you complete a Tax code declaration (IR330) form with the right tax code each time you get a new job. The tax code you use depends on how many sources of income you have and whether you have a student loan.
How to work out your tax code
You can use our handy tool to work out your tax code.
If you receive schedular payments
If you receive schedular payments your tax code will always be WT. The WT tax code tells your payer you only need to have income tax deducted from your pay. You are responsible for paying any ACC levies directly to ACC. You tell your payer the rate of tax to be deducted by completing a Tax rate notification for contractors (IR330C) form. You will need to complete a new form each time you change payers or you want to change your tax rate.
Find out more about schedular payments
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You've received a letter saying you're using the wrong tax code
If we notice you are on the wrong tax code, we'll send you a letter asking you to update your tax code. If you don't do this, we'll contact your employer directly.
Once you know what tax code you should be on you need to complete the Tax code declaration (IR330) form and take it to your employer.
Work out your tax code
If you're using the wrong tax code
If you use the wrong tax code you may pay too little or too much tax. This could mean you end up with a tax bill at the end of the year.
You can check if you're using the right tax code by going to: work out your tax code.
If you need to change your tax code, you should complete the Tax code declaration (IR330) form and give it to your employer.
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Why you need a different tax code for your second job
The tax code you use for your main job is worked out using only the income from that job. If you get a second or subsequent jobs, the tax code for each of these is worked out by taking into account your total income earned across all of your different jobs.
Different tax codes apply to different work situations, so it's important that you complete a Tax code declaration (IR330) form with the right tax code each time you get a new job.
Find out more about when to use secondary tax codes
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