Changes from April 1, 2013

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

There are a number of things changing from April 1. You should check that your payroll system has been updated for all of the following issues:

Minimum wage:
The minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $13.75 per hour. Training and new entrants’ minimum wages will increase from $10.80 to $11.00 per hour.
Student loans and allowances:
The repayment rate for student loan deductions increases from 10 to 12 cents per dollar earned over the current threshold of $19,084 per annum. In addition, the voluntary repayment bonus is removed for extra repayments made after 1 April 2013 on loan obligations for the 2014 tax year onwards.
KiwiSaver:
The minimum contribution rate for employers and employees will rise to 3% from 1 April 2013. Note employer contributions for employees under the age of 18 are not compulsory.
Primary and Secondary School Children:
A reminder that from 1 April 2013 PAYE must be deducted from payments of salary/wages or schedular payments to school children.
If you are still doing payroll by hand or using a spreadsheet – I highly recommend moving to an online payroll service. The cost is negligible and the time savings and stress reduction will be huge! Contact us for more information.