Five checks before relying on a salary estimate
Spot period, deduction and assumption errors before a number enters your budget.
An accurate formula can still produce an unsuitable answer when the inputs describe the wrong situation. These checks help you decide whether a salary estimate is a useful comparison for your circumstances.
1. Match the amount to its period
Look at the input label and frequency together. An amount of $6,250 per month corresponds to $75,000 per year in this model. Entering $6,250 with “Yearly” selected describes a different income. Do the annual conversion yourself once as a sense check.
2. Separate cash salary from a package
The salary input means gross cash employment earnings. If an offer includes employer contributions, allowances or a discretionary bonus in one total, establish which components belong in the steady salary scenario. Do not count an employer contribution as cash salary and then assume the result predicts your bank deposit.
3. Check each selected deduction
KiwiSaver, student-loan and tax-credit options are separate assumptions. A default option does not establish your eligibility or enrolment. Change one option at a time to understand why net pay moved. For example, 3.5% of $75,000 is $2,625: that is the annual employee contribution represented by this selection.
4. Reconcile the lines
Add the modelled deductions back to take-home pay. In the default $75,000 example, $58,967 net plus $14,720.50 income tax and $1,312.50 ACC returns to $75,000. If a credit is selected, income tax already reflects it; do not add it to take-home again.
5. Compare the model with the actual situation
This website annualises steady main-job earnings. A second job, irregular bonus, tailored code, unpaid gaps or part-year eligibility can need a different calculation. The correct response to an unexplained difference is to compare assumptions and source rules, not force a spreadsheet or payslip to match an annual estimate.
Report a discrepancy clearly
Tell us the calculator name, tax year, non-sensitive example inputs, the displayed result and the outcome you expected. Include the official rule you think applies when possible. Do not send an IRD number, account password or banking details. Reproducible examples help distinguish a bug from an unsupported scenario.
Review a salary estimate · Report a possible error · Official income-tax rates ↗
Questions or corrections?
Send the relevant page and a non-sensitive example through our contact form. Read our calculation methodology to see the scope of the model.