ACC levies for business owners

Accident Compensation Corporation (known as ACC) provides no-fault insurance cover for accidents in New Zealand, regardless of whether it's at home, at work, during a sports game or when you're out and about. To fund this, ACC charges levies to businesses and all working individuals based on income and type of work.

For employees, workplace accidents are covered by the employer's Workplace Cover, while non-work accidents are covered via an Earner's levy that is part of standard PAYE deductions.

If you're self-employed, a shareholder-employee, or running a business, you pay ACC levies annually once ACC send you an invoice.

The invoice you receive depends on whether you’re an employer, self-employed or a shareholder-employee. The type of invoice and ACC cover is clearly labelled in the top-right corner of the bill.

Your invoice may include some or all of these levies:

Self-employed and shareholder-employees are typically invoiced for all 3 levies to cover both work and non-work related accidents. 

Employers are invoiced for the Work Levy and Working Safer Levy but aren't invoiced for the Earner's levy since it's charged as part of their employees' PAYE deductions.

This is the standard cover type for employers and shareholder-employees. It covers employees’ rehabilitation and weekly compensation after an injury.

This is the standard cover type for self-employed individuals or contractors. If you’ve had an accident and can’t work, you’ll be compensated up to 80% of your taxable income (based on your most recent tax return).

This is an optional cover type for self-employed individuals or contractors, allowing you to choose how much of your income you want to be covered for if you have an accident and can’t work.

To get this cover, you have to contact ACC and discuss the level of earnings you want to be covered for.

If you elect for CoverPlus Extra, you'll receive two invoices a year instead of one as the Working Safer Levy is charged separately after your tax return is filed.

For more information on your specific invoice type, visit ACC’s website which explains each type in detail (including screenshots of a sample invoice).

ACC levies vary depending on:

The Work Levy rate is determined by your BIC code as each classification is assigned a specific risk rating. For example, construction businesses pay a higher rate than office-based businesses because of the greater risk of injury. The average rate sits around $0.69 per $100 of liable income for the 26/27 financial year.

The Earner’s Levy and Working Safer Levy are both flat fixed rates. The Earner’s Levy for the 26/27 financial year is $1.75 per $100 of liable income (up to a maximum cap of $$2,741.22), while the Working Safer Levy is $0.08 per $100 of liable income (or liable payroll for employers).

The easiest way to predict your ACC invoice is by using ACC’s estimation tool.

Neither Inland Revenue nor your accountant can help with ACC invoices, so this tool is the best way of predicting how much your invoice is likely to be (so you can budget for it).

There is no fixed date as it depends on when ACC issues your invoice.

For employers, invoices are issued from July each year based on liable payroll information that is filed with the IRD and then shared with ACC.

For self-employed and shareholder-employees, invoices are sent once your tax return is filed with the IRD and income info is passed on to ACC.

The payment deadline is outlined on the invoice, but is approximately 30 days from the invoice date.

For new businesses, you’ll usually not receive an invoice until your second year of trading, once your first set of tax returns are filed. This means your invoice will generally always relate to the prior year.

If you have registered a company and are taking a shareholder salary, you may receive a separate ACC invoice under your name.

Payment options include paying in full or setting up instalments directly with ACC. You can find payment methods and instructions on ACC’s website.

Please note: from 1 April 2026, ACC charges interest on all instalment plans, so paying in full by the due date is the better option if you want to avoid any extra costs.

The Work Levy and Working Safer Levy are tax-deductible as they're considered a business expense.

The Earner Levy is not tax-deductible where it relates to shareholder-employees or sole traders as it's cover for non-work related accidents so is not considered a business expense.

If you’re GST registered and an employer, you can claim the full GST on your ACC invoice.

If you’re GST registered and a shareholder employee or self-employed, only a portion of the GST on your ACC invoice is claimable. The GST component of the Earner Levy is not claimable. (Your accountant will generally do this calculation as part of the year-end work when preparing your tax return.)

If you’re not registered for GST, you can not claim the GST since you don't file GST returns.

Since we're accountants, we'll always suggest being prepared in advance.

We recommend setting aside funds each week (or month) to cover your annual ACC invoice, just like you would for tax. This means you already have the money available and ready for when the bill comes instead of trying to find funds within the 30-day payment window once it does show up.

If you receive an ACC invoice that you weren’t expecting, do not panic. While it might feel like it came out of nowhere, it's a normal part of running a business (or being a contractor) in New Zealand.

If you're unsure about your bill or if your business activities have changed, get in touch with ACC. They're responsible for calculating and issuing these invoices so can assist with any questions you might have.