IR333

April 2020

First-time employer’s
guide
Information you’ll need if you’re thinking
of employing workers for the first time
 Contents
About this guide 3 This guide is A5 and can
Why paying tax matters 3 be economically printed
Are you an employer? 4 two pages per A4 sheet.
If you’re printing from a
What sort of workers do you have? 4
downloaded PDF, check
Employees 5 the layout settings in
Workers receiving schedular payments 5 your printer options to
Self-employed contractors 5 achieve this.
IR56 taxpayers 6
Volunteers 6
How to register as an employer 7
Now you’ve registered, let’s get started 8
Deductions you need to make 9
PAYE (pay-as-you-earn) 9
Student loan and child support deductions 9
KiwiSaver 10
Employer’s superannuation cash contribution
(employer contribution) 11
Payroll giving 12
Fringe benefit tax (FBT) 12
The information in
How you calculate deductions 13 this guide is based on
Forms you need to complete and send to us 14 current tax laws at the
Filing your forms and paying deductions to us 15 time of printing.
Terms we use 16
How to contact Inland Revenue 18
Privacy 18
Inland Revenue’s services 19

2 ird.govt.nz
 About this guide

This guide takes a brief look at what

you have to do when you decide to
employ workers.
It also tells you how to register with
Inland Revenue as an employer.

This guide covers:

• different types of workers
• when and how to register as an employer
• deductions you need to make
• how and when to file employer returns
• a glossary to help you understand the tax terms we use.

Why paying tax matters

Everyone who earns money in New Zealand must pay their The government uses
share of tax. Here’s how the Government spent our taxes taxpayers’ money to pay
in 2018-19. for services we all need.

Other $15.6b

Social security
$28.8b and welfare

Law and order $4.6b

Core government
services $4.8b

Education $14.3b

$18.2b Health

First-time employer’s guide 3

 Are you an employer?
The following table shows you each type of worker, You’ll find a list of the
and whether you need to register as an employer, make tax terms we use on
deductions and keep records. page 17.

Type of Register Make Keep

worker as an deductions? records?
employer?
Employee
Workers
receiving
schedular
payments
Self-employed
contractors
IR56 taxpayers
Volunteers

What sort of workers do

you have?
It’s important you know if the people who you employ Our guide Self-
are your employees or if they’re self-employed, because employed or an
this will determine whether you need to register as an employee? - IR336 will
employer and make deductions. help explain the tax
Deductions can include pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), differences between the
student loan, child support, KiwiSaver and employer’s two. You can find this
superannuation contribution tax (ESCT). See more at ird.govt.nz/forms-
information on deductions on page 9. guides

4 ird.govt.nz
Employees
An employee is someone who works for you and you
determine when, where and how they do their work.
You need to make deductions from payments you make
to employees.

Workers receiving schedular payments

Common types of
Some workers are employed under a contract for services schedular payments
and receive schedular payments. These workers are are honoraria, and
commonly known as contractors and use the WT tax code. payments made to
The types of work covered by schedular payments are on models, company
the back page of the Tax rate notification for contractors directors and
- IR330C form. entertainers.
You need to deduct tax from payments you make to
workers receiving schedular payments, unless they have
a certificate of exemption and aren’t being paid under a For more information
labour hire arrangement by a labour hire business*, or they about workers with a
have a 0% special tax rate certificate. You don’t need to certificate of exemption
make any other deductions like KiwiSaver or student loan read our Employer’s
deductions from their pay—this is their responsibility. guide - IR335.

Self-employed contractors
Common types of self-
Self-employed contractors are workers who don’t receive employed contractors
schedular payments and aren’t employees. They control include mechanics and
how they work, provide their own tools and invoice you plumbers.
for their services.
You don’t need to make deductions from payments you
make to self-employed contractors, but you must still keep
records of the person or company and how much you
paid them.
However, if you have a written agreement with the
contractor stating you will treat their payments as
schedular payments and deduct tax on their behalf, you’ll
need to register as an employer and treat them as a worker
receiving schedular payments.
* Non-resident contractors can use a COE for payments they receive under a labour
hire arrangement by a labour hire business. First-time employer’s guide 5
 IR56 taxpayers
For more information
The term “IR56 taxpayer” is used to identify workers on IR56 taxpayers, go to
who are responsible for paying their own tax, can be an ird.govt.nz/ir56
employer, but are not self-employed contractors.
The most common IR56 taxpayers are private domestic
workers, who work part-time, eg:
• home-helpers
• caregivers
• nannies
• gardeners
• domestic odd-jobbers.
You don’t take deductions from any payments you make
to them, but you must still keep records of the person and
how much they were paid.

Volunteers
A volunteer is someone who works voluntarily and doesn’t
get paid for it.
Even though you didn’t pay them, you should keep records
of the person who volunteered and when they worked.

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How to register as an employer
If you’ve now decided you’re an employer, you must
register with Inland Revenue as soon as you start
employing. If you know in advance that someone will be
working for you, you can register before they actually start.

Step 1: Get an IRD number

You need an IRD number to register as an employer. If Companies can
you’re an individual and want to start employing workers, automatically apply for
you can register as an employer under your own personal an IRD number, and
IRD number. If your business is a partnership, company, register as an employer,
trust or other organisation, and doesn’t already have an when they register with
IRD number, you’ll need to apply for one using an IRD the Companies Office.
number application - resident non-individual - IR596
form or Non-resident offshore business IRD number
application - IR744.

Step 2: Complete an Employer registration -

IR334 form
You can register as an employer online at
ird.govt.nz/employers
If you don’t have access to the internet, you can call us on
0800 257 773 and we’ll post you the IR334.
You’ll receive a confirmation letter and an employer pack
within 10 working days of registering. The pack tells you
what you have to do and by when.

First-time employer’s guide 7

 Now you’ve registered, let’s get
started
Make sure new employees fill in a Tax code declaration
- IR330 form. The IR330 will tell you what rate of tax
to deduct from their salary or wages and any other
deductions to make, eg, student loan repayments.
If your worker doesn’t give you a completed IR330, you
must deduct tax at the non-notified rate. This is 45 cents in
the dollar plus ACC earner’s levy.
Make sure new contractors receiving schedular payments
fill in a Tax rate notification for contractors - IR330C
form. The IR330C will tell you what rate of tax to deduct
from their schedular payments.
Note: there are minimum tax rates that must be used,
refer IR335. If they’ve completed the IR330C and haven’t
selected a tax rate, use the standard rate listed on the back
of the IR330C.
If the contractor doesn’t give you a completed IR330C you
must deduct at the non-notified rate. This rate is 20% for
non-resident contractor companies and 45% for all other
contractors.
When you start employing, you’ll need to start a record-
keeping system. Records need to be kept in New Zealand
for seven years. These include:
• wagebook information
• PAYE payment receipts
• completed IR330 and IR330C forms
• letters from us asking you to change your employee’s
tax code or rate.
See our Employer’s guide - IR335 for a full list of the
records you need to keep.

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Deductions you need to make
You need to make deductions from payments made For employees, PAYE
to employees and from workers receiving schedular is made up of tax and
payments. Self-employed contractors and IR56 taxpayers ACC earners’ levy
don’t have tax deducted. (which covers the cost
of non-work related
PAYE (pay-as-you-earn) injuries).

As an employer, you must deduct PAYE from all payments

you make to people working for you. The amount you
deduct will depend on the code the employee puts on
their Tax code declaration - IR330 form.
For more information
Some employees may have a special tax code which tells on tailored tax codes
you to deduct PAYE at a different rate. read our Employer’s
Workers receiving schedular payments (WT tax code) have guide - IR335.
a flat rate of tax deducted.

Student loan and child support

deductions
You may also need to make deductions for student loan
and/or child support from your employee’s wages or salary.
Some of your employees will use a tax code with “SL” on
the end, eg, M SL or S SL. This means they’ll need to have
student loan deductions made from their salary or wages
together with PAYE.
If anyone working for you needs child support deducted
from their salary or wages, we’ll send you a child support
deduction notice. It will tell you how much to deduct each
pay because this depends on their personal circumstances.

First-time employer’s guide 9

 KiwiSaver
KiwiSaver is a voluntary, work-based savings scheme to
help New Zealanders save for their retirement. KiwiSaver is
open to all New Zealand residents and people entitled to
live here permanently.
You’ll need to give each new employee a copy of Your
introduction to KiwiSaver - employee information - KS3.
If your employees decide to enrol in KiwiSaver, you’ll
need to make deductions from their gross salary or
wages at their chosen rate (3%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%).
You’re also required to contribute a minimum 3% to their
KiwiSaver account. These are called compulsory employer
contributions.
All KiwiSaver deductions need to be paid to us at the same
time as PAYE and any other deductions.
You shouldn’t give financial advice to your employees.
If they have questions about their KiwiSaver options,
tell them to talk to an independent advisor or go to the
“Sorted” website at www.sorted.org.nz
For more detail about your KiwiSaver employer
responsibilities, employee enrolment criteria and
deductions, see our KiwiSaver employer guide - KS4.

Employer’s superannuation cash

For more information
contribution (employer contribution) on ESCT and employer
and ESCT contributions read our
Employer’s guide -
All contributions you make to your employees’
IR335.
superannuation funds, including KiwiSaver schemes
and complying funds, need to have ESCT (employer’s
superannuation contribution tax) deducted.
The exception to this is if the employee and employer have
agreed to treat some or all of the employer contribution as
salary or wages under the PAYE rules.

10 ird.govt.nz
Any other contributions that employers make to other
funds are not liable for ESCT, but are liable for FBT (fringe
benefit tax). These funds include:
• sickness, accident or death benefit funds
• life, pension, personal accident and sickness insurance
policies
• an insurance fund of a friendly society
• funeral trusts
• superannuation schemes that aren’t registered under
the Superannuation Schemes Act 1989 or haven’t had
ESCT deducted.

Payroll giving
To see a full list of
Payroll giving is a voluntary scheme where employees can approved donee
have donations made directly from their salary or wages organisations go to ird.
to support approved donee organisations and receive an govt.nz/donee
instant tax credit.
You can choose whether to set up payroll giving and how
it will run. If you do, it’s up to your employees whether For more information
they participate. on electronic filing,
see page 15.
If you choose to set up payroll giving, you must send your
employer returns electronically.
Read our Payroll giving - IR617 guide for more
information.

First-time employer’s guide 11

 Fringe benefit tax (FBT)
FBT is a tax on benefits or perks that employees receive
on top of their salary or wages. All employers who provide
benefits must pay FBT.
The common types of fringe benefits are private use
of work cars, low-interest loans, and free, subsidised or
discounted goods or services.
If you don’t intend to provide any fringe benefits, you need
to select “No” on the Employer registration - IR334 form.
If you start providing fringe benefits later on, you’ll need to
tell us.
Read our Fringe benefit tax guide - IR409 for more
information about FBT.

How you calculate deductions

To calculate PAYE, student loan and KiwiSaver deductions,
use our online PAYE/KiwiSaver deductions calculator at
ird.govt.nz/tools-calculators
The calculator tells you exactly how much to deduct
from your employees’ wages. You can personalise it for
each employee, which makes it easier to keep deductions
separate. You can download and/or print a copy of the
results for your records.
The PAYE calculator doesn’t calculate the amount of
child support to deduct. We’ll send you a child support
deduction notice with the amount.
If you don’t have access to the internet you can order
printed copies of the Weekly and fortnightly PAYE
deduction tables - IR340 or Four-weekly and monthly
PAYE deduction tables - IR341.

12 ird.govt.nz
Forms you need to complete File your employer
and send to us forms online. It’s secure,
easy and fast. To register
go to ird.govt.nz/myIR
You’ll need to fill out a New employee details - IR346
form for each new employee and send it to us with the
Employment information - IR348 form that includes their
first pay, or earlier.
You’ll need their name, KiwiSaver status, IRD number and
tax code. Include their address and date of birth if they
have provided you with this information.
The Employment information - IR348 form shows all
the people who worked for you in a pay cycle, what they
earned and what was deducted from their earnings.
After you submit your first Employment information -
IR348, this information will be automatically shown on
your subsequent IR348 forms.
If you file by paper and have more employees than fit on
the IR348, use the IR349 for any remaining employees.
For examples on completing these forms see our
Employer’s guide - IR335.

First-time employer’s guide 13

 Filing your forms
Every payday you must complete and file an Employment
information - IR348 form, with the details of your
employees’ gross wages, deductions and other required
information.
Show their employment start date and their end date if
applicable, the pay frequency, the pay period start and finish
dates, their gross earnings (including any benefits received
under an employee share scheme), PAYE or tax on schedular
payments, earnings not liable for ACC earners’ levy, child
support, student loan, KiwiSaver employee deductions and
net KiwiSaver employer contributions and ESCT deductions.
If you’re filing electronically the due date is within two
working days after the payday. Paper returns must be
received within 10 working days from the payday. If filing
by paper you can file twice a month even if you have more
than 2 pay days in a month.
As a new employer you can file paper returns for the first
six months or until your PAYE and ESCT deductions are
$50,000 or more whichever is the later. During this time,
you must file an Employment information - IR348 every
payday and send your payments to us once a month.
You can still choose to file electronically at any time during
this period.
Note: You must show student loan extra deductions on
your IR348 in either:
• SLBOR – employee requests voluntary extra deductions
• SLCIR – we request you to make compulsory extra
deductions.

14 ird.govt.nz
Paying deductions to us
If the payment due date
When to pay your deductions depends on your gross falls on a weekend or
annual PAYE (including ESCT). public holiday, you have
until the next working
Annual gross PAYE Annual gross PAYE day to pay.
(including ESCT) (including ESCT)
under $500,000 $500,000 or more
You have one due date You have two due dates If your payment is late,
for the month. each month. we may charge interest
and possibly penalties.
You must pay the 20th of the same month for
Read our Penalties and
deductions on the 20th deductions made between
interest - IR240 guide.
of the next month. the 1st and 15th of the month.
Eg, deductions made in 5th of the next month for
May are due 20 June. deductions made between
If your annual gross the 16th and the end of the
PAYE (including ESCT) month.
is $50,000 or more You must file your returns
you must file online electronically.
electronically.

Filing online using the Payroll

Returns account
Filing online is the most accurate and efficient way to send us
You can use myIR
your information. You can file your New employee details -
to register for GST,
IR346 and Employment information - IR348 forms through
file GST returns, change
the Payroll Returns account which you can find in your myIR
your bank account
account on our website.
details and much more.
You’ll need to register for a myIR secure online services
account. Go to ird.govt.nz/myIR to register.

First-time employer’s guide 15

 How to contact Inland Revenue

How to get our forms and guides

You can get copies of our forms and guides at
ird.govt.nz/forms-guides

Need to speak with us?

Have your IRD number ready and call us on one of these
numbers.
General tax, tax credits and refunds 0800 775 247
Employer enquiries 0800 377 772
General business tax 0800 377 774
Overdue returns and payments 0800 377 771
We’re open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to
1pm Saturday. We record all calls.
Our self-service lines are open 7 days a week - except
between 5am and 6am each day. They offer a range of
automated options, especially if you’re enrolled with
voice ID.
Find out more at ird.govt.nz/contact-us

Privacy
Meeting your tax obligations means giving us accurate
information so we can assess your tax and entitlements
under the Acts we administer. We may also exchange
information about you with some government agencies
and another country.
Find our full privacy policy at ird.govt.nz/privacy

16 ird.govt.nz
Terms we use

ACC Accident Compensation Corporation

ACC earners’ levy Money paid by employees and self-employed people

to ACC to help cover the costs of non-work personal
injuries.

Employee Someone who works for you and you determine

when, where and how they do their work.

Employer Someone who hires workers.

ESCT (employer’s A tax on the monetary amount you contribute to

superannuation your employee’s KiwiSaver scheme.
contribution tax)

Flat rate of tax A rate of income tax that doesn’t change with
different levels of income, and doesn’t include the
ACC earners’ levy.

FBT (fringe A tax on benefits that employees receive from their

benefit tax) employer as a result of their employment.

Gross salary The total amount of money the worker earns before
deductions.

Income tax A tax on income earned from salaries and wages.

Interest Money either charged for unpaid tax, or paid for

overpaid tax. Interest isn’t a penalty—it’s a charge for
use-of-money.

myIR A secure online service which lets you send us emails,

register for and file GST returns, and update your
contact information or bank account details.

First-time employer’s guide 17

 PAYE (pay-as-you- A combination of income tax and ACC earners’ levy
earn) deducted from an employee’s salary or wages by an
employer and paid to Inland Revenue.

Penalty Money Inland Revenue charges when you don’t keep

to your tax obligations.

Schedular Payments made to certain workers employed under

payments a contract for services.

Self-employed Someone who works for themselves and deals with

their own taxes.

Tax code A code specific to your employee that tells you what
type of deductions to make and how much.

Wages Earnings paid to your employee.

Wagebook A book to record your employees’ wage and

deduction information

Worker An employee, someone receiving schedular

payments, self-employed contractor, IR56 taxpayer
or a volunteer.

18 ird.govt.nz
Inland Revenue’s services

myIR
You can manage your tax and entitlements online with a
myIR account.
myIR is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Find
out more, and register, at ird.govt.nz/myIR

ird.govt.nz
Go to our website for information, and to use our services
and tools.

Follow us on Twitter
Follow @NZInlandRevenue for tweets on tax and social
policy matters, including due dates and consultations.

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when we publish each issue.

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If English is not your preferred language, ask for Language
Line and the language you want when you call us.
There are over 40 languages available. Find the full list at
ethniccommunities.govt.nz/language-line

First-time employer’s guide 19