Payday filing in New Zealand: an employer’s guide
Every pay run now ends with a return to Inland Revenue, due two working days later. Most of the work is upstream — getting hours approved in time for the pay run that the filing describes.
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Key takeaways
- You file employment information with Inland Revenue every time you pay employees
- Electronic filers have 2 working days after each payday; paper filers have 10 working days
- Electronic filing is compulsory once your annual PAYE and ESCT reaches $50,000 (after your first 6 months as an employer)
- Register a new employee on or before their first payday, and give a leaver’s finish date by their last day
- Filing and paying are separate: deductions are paid by the 20th of the following month, or twice a month for large employers
What payday filing is
Payday filing means sending employment information to Inland Revenue every time you pay your employees — weekly, fortnightly or monthly, matching your pay cycle. It reports what each employee was paid and what was deducted: PAYE (including the ACC earners’ levy), KiwiSaver, ESCT, student loan and child support.
Filing deadlines
| How you file | Deadline | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Electronically (payroll software or myIR) | Within 2 working days of each payday | Any employer |
| On paper | Within 10 working days of each payday | Employers with annual PAYE and ESCT under $50,000, or in their first 6 months as an employer |
The clock starts on the payday — the day employees are paid — not the last day of the pay period. A Friday payday is due by the following Tuesday if you file electronically, assuming no public holiday in between. Late filing can attract penalties and interest.
The employment information schedule
For each employee paid, the schedule reports their earnings for the pay and the deductions taken from it — PAYE, KiwiSaver contributions and ESCT, student loan and child support — as calculated in the pay run. Inland Revenue specifically requires the payday and the pay period each employee worked, and the pay period dates can differ from one employee to the next.
Payroll software builds this automatically from the pay run. Paper filers use the Employment information form (IR348), and correct an earlier one with the Employment information amendments form (IR344), one per pay period.
New and departing employees
New employees
Register each new employee on or before their first payday, once. Inland Revenue needs their start date, full name, IRD number and KiwiSaver status, and asks for their address and date of birth if you have them. If an employee does not appear in myIR when you file, add them as a new employee. Paper filers use the New employee details form (IR346), sent before the first payday or with the IR348 that includes the first pay.
Before the first pay run you also need their Tax code declaration (IR330) — without it, PAYE is deducted at the 45% non-declaration rate — and their KiwiSaver position, which our KiwiSaver employer guide covers.
Departing employees
Tell Inland Revenue the date the employee left, on or before their last day. In myIR that is an employment end date on the employee record; on paper it goes in the finish-date box on the IR348. The final pay, including any annual holiday pay owed under the Holidays Act, is filed like any other pay.
Paying the deductions
Filing and paying run on different clocks:
- Small to medium employers pay by the 20th of the month after the payday.
- Large employers — more than $500,000 of PAYE and ESCT a year — pay twice a month: by the 20th for paydays from the 1st to the 15th, and by the 5th of the following month for paydays from the 16th to the end of the month.
If you stop paying wages for a month or more, let Inland Revenue know.
Making payday filing routine
With two working days to file, the filing itself is rarely the problem — payroll software produces it from the pay run. What pushes a filing late is a pay run that cannot close: unapproved timesheets, a missing clock-out, a question about whether a public holiday was an otherwise working day. A late pay run is a late filing, and a corrected pay run is an amended one.
Clock-in records approved against the roster, and payroll integration that sends them straight to your payroll system, close that gap. The payroll export readiness checker shows where your current process is likely to hold a pay run up.
Related guides
- PAYE for employers — tax rates, codes and a worked weekly pay
- KiwiSaver employer contributions — the deductions you report alongside PAYE
- Payday filing (glossary) — the definition in a paragraph
Sources
Checked on 15 October 2026.
Close the pay run on time, every time
Approved hours and rates sent straight to your payroll system, so the filing that follows each payday is on time and right first time.
This guide summarises Inland Revenue's payday filing requirements for employers and is not tax or payroll advice. Deadlines and thresholds can change. Check Inland Revenue, or take advice, before relying on it for a specific case. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
Payday filing questions
- Within 2 working days of each payday if you file electronically (through payroll software or myIR). Paper filers have 10 working days. The deadline runs from the payday, not the end of the pay period.
- Yes — payday filing changed how often you report, not how often you pay. Most employers pay deductions by the 20th of the following month. Large employers pay twice a month: by the 20th for paydays from the 1st to the 15th, and by the 5th of the next month for the rest.
- Tell Inland Revenue if you are not paying wages for a month or more, so you are not chased for returns you have no reason to file.