Secondary tax codes | SB, S, SH, ST, and SA guide

Quick answer

How secondary tax codes work

Use a secondary tax code if this income is not your main or highest PAYE income.
The main band choices are SB, S, SH, ST, and SA.
Add SL if this same income also needs New Zealand student loan deductions.
Annual PAYE income uses the tax-year window from 1 April to 31 March.

Bands

SB, S, SH, ST, and SA thresholds

Annual PAYE income	Code without student loan	Code with student loan
NZ$15,600 or less	`SB`	`SB SL`
NZ$15,601 to NZ$53,500	`S`	`S SL`
NZ$53,501 to NZ$78,100	`SH`	`SH SL`
NZ$78,101 to NZ$180,000	`ST`	`ST SL`
NZ$180,001 and over	`SA`	`SA SL`

What counts

How IRD defines annual PAYE income

IR330 note 2 says annual PAYE income can include salary, wages, weekly accident compensation, NZ Superannuation, Veteran’s weekly compensation, Veteran’s Pension, student allowance, and schedular payments earned from 1 April to 31 March.

Student loans

Why SB SL or S SL can over-deduct

IR330 note 6 says SB SL or S SL may deduct more student loan repayment than you need from a secondary job. You may be able to apply for an exemption or a special repayment deduction rate.

Official basis

IRD sources

M vs ME tax code

Go back to the main-income path and see when ME or ME SL is allowed.

IR330 vs IR330C

Check which form to use if you have both employee and contractor income.

IR330 form guide

See what the IR330 tax code declaration form covers before you hand it to a payer.