Two offers. Which one really pays more?
What lands in your account after PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan, then what each whole package is really worth with the bonus, employer KiwiSaver, extra leave and perks. 2026/27 IRD rates, in the pay period you think in.
A Offer A puts $47.50 more in your hand every fortnight after tax. But once the whole package counts, B Offer B is worth $7,016 more a year. The lower salary is the better offer.
Offer A
Only so the answer can say which offer is which.
The yearly salary before tax, as the offer letter states it. PAYE, ACC, your own KiwiSaver and any student loan come off it, using the settings above. Paid by the hour? Multiply the rate by your weekly hours, then by 52.
The rest of the package: bonus, KiwiSaver, leave and perks
Paid to you, and taxed like salary
Money paid to you every year on top of the salary: a bonus at what you realistically expect to get (not the maximum), commission, or a cash allowance for a car or phone. It is added to the salary and taxed with it, so PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan all come off it.
Paid once, usually in the first pay or two, and taxed like pay. It counts in year one only, so it is shown on its own line, after tax, and left out of the yearly package value. Check whether you would have to pay it back if you left early.
Paid by the employer, on top of your pay
What the employer adds to your KiwiSaver on top of the salary: at least 3.5% since 1 April 2026, or 3% if you chose the temporary lower rate. It is worked out here on the base salary, and counts only while your own KiwiSaver above is more than 0%. If the offer is “total remuneration” with KiwiSaver inside the salary, put 0 here; the in-the-hand figure will then be a little high, because the employer’s share comes out of that total.
The yearly premium the employer pays for your cover. Count it if you would otherwise buy similar cover yourself. Counted at full value: any fringe benefit tax on it is the employer’s cost, not yours.
What the car saves you: roughly what owning and running your own car for your private driving would cost a year, not the price of the car. A vehicle you may only use for work is worth nothing here.
What you would otherwise pay to park near work: a monthly lease times 12, or a daily rate times the days you would go in. Leave it at 0 if you would not drive.
Courses, a qualification, conferences or a professional membership the employer pays for directly. Count only what you would have paid for yourself; training the job needs anyway puts nothing extra in your pocket.
A phone or internet plan in the employer’s name, a gym membership, staff discounts you would really use: what each saves you in a year. A phone or internet allowance paid in your pay is taxed, so it goes in the bonus box instead.
Time off
Days beyond the four weeks every employee is entitled to after 12 months; five weeks is 5 extra days. Each day is valued at what taking it unpaid would cost you: the base salary divided by 260 working days, after tax.
Offer B
Only so the answer can say which offer is which.
The yearly salary before tax, as the offer letter states it. PAYE, ACC, your own KiwiSaver and any student loan come off it, using the settings above. Paid by the hour? Multiply the rate by your weekly hours, then by 52.
The rest of the package: bonus, KiwiSaver, leave and perks
Paid to you, and taxed like salary
Money paid to you every year on top of the salary: a bonus at what you realistically expect to get (not the maximum), commission, or a cash allowance for a car or phone. It is added to the salary and taxed with it, so PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver and student loan all come off it.
Paid once, usually in the first pay or two, and taxed like pay. It counts in year one only, so it is shown on its own line, after tax, and left out of the yearly package value. Check whether you would have to pay it back if you left early.
Paid by the employer, on top of your pay
What the employer adds to your KiwiSaver on top of the salary: at least 3.5% since 1 April 2026, or 3% if you chose the temporary lower rate. It is worked out here on the base salary, and counts only while your own KiwiSaver above is more than 0%. If the offer is “total remuneration” with KiwiSaver inside the salary, put 0 here; the in-the-hand figure will then be a little high, because the employer’s share comes out of that total.
The yearly premium the employer pays for your cover. Count it if you would otherwise buy similar cover yourself. Counted at full value: any fringe benefit tax on it is the employer’s cost, not yours.
What the car saves you: roughly what owning and running your own car for your private driving would cost a year, not the price of the car. A vehicle you may only use for work is worth nothing here.
What you would otherwise pay to park near work: a monthly lease times 12, or a daily rate times the days you would go in. Leave it at 0 if you would not drive.
Courses, a qualification, conferences or a professional membership the employer pays for directly. Count only what you would have paid for yourself; training the job needs anyway puts nothing extra in your pocket.
A phone or internet plan in the employer’s name, a gym membership, staff discounts you would really use: what each saves you in a year. A phone or internet allowance paid in your pay is taxed, so it goes in the bonus box instead.
Time off
Days beyond the four weeks every employee is entitled to after 12 months; five weeks is 5 extra days. Each day is valued at what taking it unpaid would cost you: the base salary divided by 260 working days, after tax.
Put both salaries in and the answer lands here: what each offer puts in your hand every pay, and what each whole package is really worth.
Two realistic offers where the lower salary is worth more.
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Estimates only (how tax figures are worked out): tax code M, no secondary tax. Employer KiwiSaver is shown before ESCT, the tax the employer deducts from its own contribution, which reduces it; it is worked out on the base salary, and counts only when your own KiwiSaver is above 0%. Health cover, a vehicle, parking, training and other employer-paid perks are shown at the value you enter, because any fringe benefit tax on them is the employer’s cost, not yours. A cash car, phone or other allowance is taxed like pay, so it goes in the bonus box. A sign-on bonus is taxed like pay and counted in year one only. Extra leave is valued at the base salary divided by 260 working days for each day, after tax. 2026/27 rates (PAYE brackets unchanged since 1 April 2025), ACC earners' levy 1.75% (cap $156,641), student loan 12% over $24,128. Tax rates checked 22 August 2026.