Politics / Business

Budget 2024: Try RNZ's tax calculator

10:04 am on 31 May 2024

Photo: RNZ

Many New Zealanders would be very pleased to find more money in their pay packet after 31 July this year, Finance Minister Nicola Willis told this year's Budget lock-up.

No one would be left worse off by the changes, she said.

If that's true, what might you stand to receive in a few months' time?

Read more on Budget 2024:

The government made much of changes to the brackets that tax rates apply to.

For many earners, though, the more substantial increase will be from the independent earner tax credit (IETC), which has been extended to an extra 420,000 people in full or in part.

People earning up to $66,000 will now get the full $10 a week credit, and others earning up to $70,000 will get a partial credit.

A minimum wage worker in a full-time job (equivalent to an annual salary of $48,150) will receive just $2.50 a week in tax cuts. But they will also receive the full in-work tax credit of $10 a week, taking their total tax relief to $12.50 a week, or $650 a year.

The Budget documents stated 1.9 million households would benefit from the overall relief package by an average of $30 a week. Households with children would benefit by $39 a week on average.

The following calculator allows you to see how much you will receive from both that tax bracket changes and the increased eligibility for the IETC.

The government has asked all government departments to find between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent in savings, and has chosen not to continue some initiatives that the previous government had introduced to ease cost-of-living pressures, such as free public transport for children under 12.

You can also find a copy of the government's own calculator here.