Understanding your levy invoice
When you file a tax return Inland Revenue passes your details on to us so we can invoice you for levies. This happens whether you're self-employed, a contractor, a shareholder-employee or you have staff.
On this page
Glossary of terms
BIC code
A code that describes the business activity you do.
Claims
A claim is when your health provider applies to us for cover of an injury on your behalf.
Claims history
Whether there's been any work-related injury claims made to us by your employees.
Contractor
You're a person or company that works on a contract basis. You agree to provide goods or services at a mutually agreed price and within a specific timeframe.
CU code
CU codes group businesses with similar levels of risk together to decide the levy rate you pay and share the cost of injuries fairly.
Employers
You're responsible for paying salary or wages to one or more employees.
Full-time
You work on average more than 30 hours a week, over a tax year.
Part-time
You work on average 30 hours or less a week, over a tax year.
Self-employed
You're working for yourself and you're responsible for paying your own tax.
Shareholder employees
You're both a shareholder and an employee of a company.
Work levy
This levy covers accidents inside the workplace. The rate is determined by your classification unit (CU).
The amount of levies you pay each year depends on:
- your CU - what work you do and the industry you're in
- if you have employees - how much you pay them
- if you're self-employed or a contractor - how much you earn and if you work full-time or part-time
- the type of cover you're on
- your claims history.
How we get your business details
When you file a tax return or register for GST with Inland Revenue, you'll choose a Business Industry Classification (BIC) code. This describes the business activity you do, eg your BIC code for gas plumbing services would be 'E323120 Gas plumbing'.
Inland Revenue passes these details on to us, along with your liable income or payroll, and contact details so we can invoice you for levies.
Let us know if your details are incorrect:
Assigning your business a classification unit (CU)
We use your BIC code to assign you or your business a classification unit (CU). CUs group businesses with similar levels of risk together to decide the levy rate you pay and share the cost of injuries fairly.
We assign levy rates to CUs based on data from past claims. This information helps us predict how many claims we’ll get from each levy group and what they’ll cost.
For example, a professional athlete has a higher risk of injury at work than an office worker. This means we'll assign the professional athlete a different CU and they'll pay a higher work levy.
Our levy guidebook has the full list of CUs and their levy rates:
You can see what your current CU is on your MyACC for Business and check your BIC code on the BIC website.
Understanding your cover options
You're covered by us as soon as you start your business or start working for yourself. If you've just started out, you'll be on our standard cover. This cover will change as your business grows, you hire employees or if you choose one of our opt-in products such as CoverPlus Extra or the Accredited Employer Programme.
Choosing the best cover option
Your claims history and your levies
If your business has paid at least three Work levy invoices, we may add you to the Experience Rating programme. This adjusts your Work levy based on historical claims and health and safety performance.
Your levy can stay the same, be discounted or have a loading. You could reduce your Work levy by preventing injuries at work and helping your injured employees get back to work sooner.
When you’ll get a levy invoice
The time frame depends on the type of business you are:
- self-employed and contractors- after you file a tax return you'll receive an invoice from us based on your income filed with Inland Revenue
- employers and shareholder-employees- you’ll receive an invoice from us every year based on your liable payroll filed with Inland Revenue. This invoice includes both your final levy and a provisional levy
- if you’re a new business, your invoice will be triggered when you file your first tax return. This is usually in your second year of business.
Explaining your levy invoice
If you’ve received an invoice but you’re not sure what it means, we’ve put together this handy resource to help you understand each section.
Paying your levy invoice
You need to pay your invoice within 30 days after the issue date shown on the invoice, unless you've set up a payment plan with us. You can pay your invoice online or find out other ways you can pay.
If we owe you a refund
If you're due a refund, we’ll send you a notice to let you know how much you’re owed. Any refund will be automatically paid into your nominated bank account.
You can securely provide us with your bank details through MyACC for Business. We'll process your refund and pay it to your bank account.
You can:
- log in or register for MyACC for Business and add your bank account on the ‘Profile’ tab. If you have a tax agent or advisor, they can add a refunds-only bank account on your behalf
- email or post the direct credit slip at the bottom of your credit note
- phone or email us to add a bank account.
Contact us
If you have any questions or want to know more, contact our business team:
Email business@acc.co.nz
Phone 0800 222 776 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
Phone (from overseas) +64 7 859 8675
Use live chat through MyACC for Business
Talk to us using live chat: