How to Calculate Your ACC Levy: A Worked Example for the Self-Employed
A full-time self-employed carpenter with $90,000 of liable income pays $3,477.60 in ACC levies for the 2026/27 year. A full-time self-employed IT consultant, classified under computer systems design, pays $1,676.70 on exactly the same $90,000. Neither of them chose the difference. It comes from a five-digit code assigned to them when they registered for GST.
Both figures are our arithmetic on ACC's published 2026/27 rates, and the working is set out below so you can run your own.
The formula, in one line
Your ACC levy as a self-employed person on standard CoverPlus is:
liable income divided by 100, multiplied by the sum of three rates, plus GST.
The three rates are your work levy rate, the earners' levy rate, and the Working Safer levy. ACC confirms all three appear as separate lines on a CoverPlus invoice (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026), and its own instruction is that levies are "your liable income multiplied by your levy rate, per $100 of your liable income" (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026).
Two of the three rates are the same for every self-employed person in the country. The earners' levy is a flat $1.52 per $100 and the Working Safer levy is a flat $0.08 per $100, both excluding GST (ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27, page 9, retrieved 19 August 2026). Only the work levy rate is yours.
Step one: find your classification unit
Every business and self-employed individual is assigned a classification unit, a unique five-digit code that ACC uses to group levy payers with a similar risk of workplace injury. The classification unit is derived from the business industry classification code you chose when you registered for GST, and it carries its own levy rate (ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27, page 3, retrieved 19 August 2026). Your code and rate appear on your invoice, and you can see them in MyACC for Business.
One rule catches people out. If more than one classification unit could apply to you, ACC states that a self-employed individual must use the unit with the highest levy rate. A business must do the same, unless it is eligible to be assigned multiple units (ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27, page 3, retrieved 19 August 2026). If you build and also design, you are levied as a builder.
Step two: work out your liable income
ACC takes your liable income from what you declared to Inland Revenue, on an IR3 individual income return or an IR7 partnership and look-through company return (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026). You do not get to nominate it.
Two thresholds then apply. Both are published for 2026/27 (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026).
The maximum liable income is $156,641. Earn more and the excess is not levied.
The minimum liable income is $50,501, and it only bites if you work full time, which ACC defines as an average of more than 30 hours a week across the tax year counting all your jobs. A full-time self-employed person who earns less than $50,501 is levied on $50,501. A part-time self-employed person is levied on what they actually earned, with no floor.
Step three: the arithmetic
Take a self-employed carpenter, working full time, with $90,000 of liable income for the 2026/27 year. The carpentry services classification unit is 42420 and its standard employer and self-employed work levy rate is $1.76 per $100, GST exclusive (ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27, levy rates table, retrieved 19 August 2026).
$90,000 is above the $50,501 floor and below the $156,641 ceiling, so the full amount is levied.
| Line | Rate per $100 | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work levy, CU 42420 | $1.76 | $90,000 / 100 x $1.76 | $1,584.00 |
| Earners' levy | $1.52 | $90,000 / 100 x $1.52 | $1,368.00 |
| Working Safer levy | $0.08 | $90,000 / 100 x $0.08 | $72.00 |
| Subtotal, GST exclusive | $3.36 | $3,024.00 | |
| GST at 15% | $3,024.00 x 0.15 | $453.60 | |
| Total invoice | $3,477.60 |
Rates from the ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27 (retrieved 19 August 2026). ACC confirms GST is added to the invoice and is deductible, but does not publish a worked total, so the last two lines are our arithmetic at the standard 15% rate.
Now change one thing. Keep the income at $90,000 and change the code to accounting services, classification unit 78420, work levy rate $0.03 per $100.
| Line | Carpenter, CU 42420 | Accountant, CU 78420 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work levy | $1,584.00 | $27.00 | $1,557.00 |
| Earners' levy | $1,368.00 | $1,368.00 | nil |
| Working Safer levy | $72.00 | $72.00 | nil |
| Subtotal, GST exclusive | $3,024.00 | $1,467.00 | $1,557.00 |
| GST at 15% | $453.60 | $220.05 | $233.55 |
| Total invoice | $3,477.60 | $1,687.05 | $1,790.55 |
The entire difference sits on one line. Two of the three levies are identical, because the earners' levy and the Working Safer levy are flat rates that do not care what you do. The work levy does, and on this pair it is 59 times larger for the carpenter.
What classification does to the answer
Across nine common classification units, on identical liable income of $90,000, the total annual levy ranges from $1,676.70 to $3,984.75.
Total annual ACC CoverPlus levy at $90,000 of liable income, 2026/27 levy year. Work levy rates from the ACC Levy Guidebook 2026/27 levy rates table (rates effective 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, retrieved 19 August 2026), with the flat earners' levy of $1.52 and Working Safer levy of $0.08 added and GST at 15% applied. The totals are our arithmetic.
| Occupation | CU code | Work levy rate per $100 | Work levy | Earners' + Working Safer | Total, GST inclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer systems design | 78340 | $0.02 | $18.00 | $1,440.00 | $1,676.70 |
| Accounting services | 78420 | $0.03 | $27.00 | $1,440.00 | $1,687.05 |
| Real estate services | 77200 | $0.16 | $144.00 | $1,440.00 | $1,821.60 |
| Cafes and restaurants | 57300 | $0.40 | $360.00 | $1,440.00 | $2,070.00 |
| Hairdressing and beauty | 95260 | $0.50 | $450.00 | $1,440.00 | $2,173.50 |
| Electrical services | 42320 | $0.68 | $612.00 | $1,440.00 | $2,359.80 |
| Plumbing services | 42310 | $1.35 | $1,215.00 | $1,440.00 | $3,053.25 |
| Carpentry services | 42420 | $1.76 | $1,584.00 | $1,440.00 | $3,477.60 |
| Roofing services | 42230 | $2.25 | $2,025.00 | $1,440.00 | $3,984.75 |
The spread across the nine is $2,308.05, or 2.4 times from lowest to highest. Extend the list to the ends of ACC's published table and it widens further: reading the 2026/27 guidebook end to end, the lowest standard work levy rate we can find is $0.02 per $100 and the highest is $5.29 per $100, for classification units covering thoroughbred and other horse racing activities and for sports clubs employing rugby league players. At $90,000, that top rate produces a total levy of $7,131.15.
Two practical points fall out of the table.
The floor is not zero. Even at the cheapest classification unit in the country, a self-employed person on $90,000 still pays $1,676.70, because $1,440 of that is the flat earners' and Working Safer levies before a cent of work levy is added. Anyone told their ACC bill will be "tiny because it is a desk job" should expect roughly $1,700 on $90,000, not a few hundred dollars.
The ceiling is where the code review pays. If your classification unit is wrong by one line in a trades group, the annual difference is in the high hundreds. Roofing at $2.25 against plumbing at $1.35 is $931.50 a year including GST on $90,000, for two codes that sit in the same construction services group of the guidebook.
The three-line check on your own invoice
ACC prints the inputs on the invoice, which makes this checkable in about two minutes (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026).
Check the classification unit description against what you actually do, not against what you did when you registered for GST. ACC assigns the unit from the business industry classification code Inland Revenue passes on, and that code does not update itself when your work changes.
Check the employment status field. Full time or part time decides whether the $50,501 minimum applies to you.
Check the liable income against your return. ACC states it uses the figure you declared, and that it cannot amend income that has been filed differently with Inland Revenue. If the income is wrong, the fix is at Inland Revenue first (ACC OIA response GOV-027418, 19 September 2023, retrieved 19 August 2026).
The honest limits on this calculation
The rates are exact and published. Four things about the totals are not.
GST is our arithmetic. ACC publishes GST-exclusive rates and confirms the invoice carries a deductible GST line, but it does not publish a worked GST-inclusive total. If you are GST registered, the effective cost to you is the GST-exclusive subtotal.
Experience Rating is excluded. Businesses that have paid at least three work levy invoices may be placed in the Experience Rating programme, which adjusts the work levy up or down on claims history (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026). The guidebook prints a separate Experience Rating column for every classification unit. The figures above use the standard column.
CoverPlus Extra is a different calculation. If you hold CPX, the levy is charged on your agreed cover amount rather than your liable income, and at a different rate from the same guidebook row. That comparison is set out in ACC levies for the self-employed.
None of this is a quote from ACC. It is the published formula applied to a stated profile. Your invoice is calculated by ACC from the return you filed, and ACC publishes a levy estimator and CoverPlus calculators for a figure specific to you.
After you have checked the arithmetic
Once you know what ACC costs you and what it would pay you, the next question is what happens when the thing that stops you working is an illness rather than an accident, which ACC does not cover (ACC, retrieved 19 August 2026). That is the calculation ACC cannot do for you.
Start with our income protection calculator to size the benefit, then talk to an adviser about what it costs on your file. QuoteHub is operated by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance and KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). Our panel is listed on our disclosure page.
References
- ACC, Levy Guidebook 2026/27 (rates effective 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, retrieved 19 August 2026): every classification unit and its rate, the earners' and Working Safer levy rates, the GST-exclusive note, and the highest-rate rule for multiple units
- ACC, Calculating your levies (retrieved 19 August 2026): the per $100 formula, minimum and maximum liable income, full-time and part-time definitions
- ACC, Cover for self-employed (retrieved 19 August 2026): the three levies charged on a CoverPlus invoice and the September invoicing cycle
- ACC, Understand your CoverPlus invoice (retrieved 19 August 2026): liable income source, classification unit, employment status and GST lines
- ACC, Understanding your levy invoice (retrieved 19 August 2026): how classification units are assigned and how Experience Rating adjusts the work levy
- ACC, OIA response GOV-027418, levy liable earnings policy (19 September 2023, retrieved 19 August 2026): ACC cannot amend income filed differently with Inland Revenue
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute personalised financial advice, tax advice or an ACC quote. Every rate is reproduced from ACC's published 2026/27 material as at the date stated, and rates change on 1 April each year. Totals shown are our arithmetic on those published rates for the stated profile. Check your own position with ACC or your accountant. QuoteHub is operated by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance and KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931), Christchurch.
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