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Schedular payments are payments made to contractors who perform certain activities. Tax is deducted from these payments but they're different to salary or wage payments.

Who gets schedular payments?

Contractors doing certain activities or services, or contractors working in certain industries.

A contractor can be an individual, partnership, trust or company. Contractors can be New Zealand tax residents or non-resident taxpayers. Some examples of contractors getting schedular payments are:

  • an IT project manager contracted by a recruitment agency (labour hire business) to one of the agency's clients
  • a builder contracted to a labour hire business
  • a freelance journalist paid to write a magazine article
  • an insurance agent or salesperson paid commission
  • a company director paid directors’ fees
  • a commercial cleaning partnership paid by a local business to clean their offices
  • companies contracted to supply labour to the agricultural, horticultural or viticultural sectors
  • non-resident contractors, entertainers and sportspeople.

Some prize money won in competitions may also be schedular payments.

There are special rules for non-resident taxpayers getting schedular payments.

Non-resident contractors

Non-resident entertainers and sportspeople


The Tax rate notification for contractors - IR330C lists the activities which schedular payments can be paid for.

Last updated: 30 Apr 2021
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