We’ll make paid parental leave payments to your bank account each fortnight. We’ll treat these payments like any other income and deduct tax and any other payments, for example student loan and child support. If you would like to make KiwiSaver contributions from your parental leave payments, you can.
KiwiSaver and paid parental leave
How much your parental leave payments will be
If you're an employee, your payments will match your ordinary pay up to a maximum of $606.46 a week before tax.
If you're self-employed, your payments will be one of the following:
- your average weekly earnings up to a maximum of $606.46 a week before tax
- a minimum payment of $189 a week before tax.
You will receive at least the equivalent of 10 hours a week at the minimum wage.
How we work out your estimated income
We calculate your ‘ordinary weekly pay’ and ‘average weekly income’ and then use the higher of the two to get your estimated income. These amounts are calculated as follows.
- Ordinary weekly pay
Your last 4 weeks’, 2 fortnights’, or 1 month’s' worth of earnings (depending on how often you’re paid) from your employer divided by 4. - Average weekly income
Your highest 26 weeks' worth of income from the 52 weeks before the child’s expected due date or date of birth, or date the child came into your care, divided by 26.
Additional information is available on the Employment New Zealand website.
Amount of parental leave payment – employment.govt.nz
Receiving other income
You cannot continue to work while receiving paid parental leave. But you can continue to get certain types of income and keep your entitlement to paid parental leave, such as:
- top-up payments from your employer to supplement your parental leave entitlements
- payments for Keeping In Touch (KIT) hours
- payments for any work done before starting paid parental leave.
You need to use a secondary tax code if you receive other income at the same time as parental leave payments. Whichever payment is smaller should be taxed at the secondary rate.
Using the right tax codes will help you avoid a tax bill at the end of the year.
Tax codes and tax rates for individuals
Working for Families payments
You may be able to receive Working for Families payments while you're on parental leave. You cannot get the Best Start payment until paid parental leave finishes.
