KiwiSaver and your take-home pay
Understand the difference between your contribution and your employer’s.
Reviewed against linked sources · 25 September 2026KiwiSaver contributions reduce the cash you receive in your pay. In this calculator, your employee contribution is a percentage of gross employment earnings. It does not reduce the gross income used to calculate income tax.
Choose the contribution that applies to you
The default employee and matching employer contribution rate increased to 3.5% from 1 April 2026. A temporary reduction to 3% may apply if approved. Other employee rates include 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Select zero if you are not contributing, rather than assuming every employee is enrolled.
Your contribution is not the whole account balance
An employer contribution is separate from the employee deduction. Employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT) can reduce what is credited to your fund. Government contributions have separate eligibility rules. The salary calculator does not include those amounts in take-home pay.
Compare before changing your contribution
Try the same salary with two different contribution rates. The difference shows the immediate cash-flow effect, not a forecast of your future fund balance. Fund returns, fees and investment tax are not modelled by the contribution calculator.
Check your employment agreement for any total-remuneration arrangement. Our salary estimate assumes the entered salary is your gross cash salary, before the employee KiwiSaver deduction.
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