Tax Facts
KiwiSaver
All New Zealand residents and people
entitled to live here permanently up to the age of 65
are eligible for KiwiSaver. All new eligible employees
must be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver. However
there are some employees who are exempt from automatic
enrolment. These include:
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Those under 18 years of age |
|
Casual agricultural workers or Election Day workers
|
|
Private domestic workers |
|
Casual and temporary employees employed under
a contract of service that is 28 days or less |
All eligible existing employees can
join the scheme at any time they wish by notifying their
employer.
There are 3 employee contributions rates, being 2%,
4% or 8%. The employee can elect the rate at which they
want their contributions deducted. If an employee does
not elect a rate then the default rate of 2% will be
used by the employer for contribution deductions made.
Compulsory Employer Contributions
From 1st April 2008 it became compulsory
for employers to contribute to their employees’
KiwiSaver scheme.
This compulsory contribution started at 1% of employees’
gross salary or wages on 1st April 2008 and increased
to 2% on 1st April 2009. The employer contributions
will not increase any further in future years.
Government Assistance
The government also:
|
Contributes $1,000 (tax free) when a member first
joins |
|
Pays annual member tax credit (for those 18 and
over) of up to $1,042.86 |
|
Funds first home deposit subsidy through Housing
NZ if the relevant criteria are met |
Note: There is no Crown guarantee of KiwiSaver schemes
or investment products of KiwiSaver schemes.
List of KiwiSaver Scheme Providers
Employers must:
|
Give new employees and other existing staff who
are interested an Employee
information pack (KS3) |
|
Pass employees' details to Inland Revenue to enable
them to be enrolled |
|
Deduct contributions from employees' gross salary
and pay these to IRD through the PAYE system |
For more information on KiwiSaver and how this may apply
to you give us a call or refer to the KiwiSaver
for Employers information available on the IRD website.
|
ACC Premiums
