In the 2025 tax year, 4,750,300 individuals were included in the series. That number is a 1.1% increase compared to the 2024 tax year.
The graph above shows the number of individuals by income tax band for the 2005, 2015 and 2025 tax years.
Individuals with taxable income between $0 and $100 are not included in the graph. This is because of a high number of individuals and small amounts in total. You can download the data for these groups on the 'Tax on taxable income datasets' page.
Notes on data trends
The graphed distributions show spikes of increased numbers of individuals at various taxable income levels below $35,000. These reflect transfers of income-tested taxable benefits and New Zealand Superannuation.
In the 2005 tax year, there were spikes near the personal tax thresholds of $38,000 and $60,000 of taxable income.
In the 2015 tax year, there were spikes at the personal tax thresholds of $48,000 and $70,000, after changes to the personal tax thresholds in the 2010 tax year.
In the 2025 tax year, the personal tax thresholds changed part-way through the year (31 July 2024). This resulted in composite rates and make it difficult to identify any spikes. However, there was a spike at $180,000 income, which reflects the increase in the top personal income tax rate to 39c in the 2022 tax year.
The new personal tax thresholds for the 30% and 33% rates are now at $53,500 and $78,100, so new peaks around these income levels may develop in the coming year.
Where to find more details
Details of changes in the personal tax thresholds and rates since 2001 are now available in the released statistics.
The graphed distributions stop at $150,000 of taxable income for the 2005 tax year and $200,000 income for 2015 and 2025 tax years. The upper limits are in the download link on the 'Tax on taxable income datasets' page.