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Income Tax Act 2007

Income - Exempt income

CW 17D: Payments related to health or safety

You could also call this:

“No tax on workplace health and safety payments”

When your employer pays you for something related to your health or safety at work, this section applies. This is because the payment is meant to manage risks to your health and safety, as outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. You do not have to pay tax on the amount your employer pays you for this purpose, but only up to the amount that would not be considered a fringe benefit if it was a non-cash benefit, as explained in section CX 24.

Your employer’s payment is considered exempt income, which means you do not have to pay tax on it, as long as it meets the conditions. This means that if your employer gives you something to help with your health or safety, like a benefit, you will not have to pay tax on the value of that benefit. The payment must be related to your health or safety and follow the rules set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1432065.

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Part C Income
Exempt income

CW 17DPayments related to health or safety

  1. This section applies when an employer pays an amount to, or on behalf of, an employee that is related to the employee’s health or safety and is aimed at managing the risks to health and safety in the workplace as provided for under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

  2. The amount paid by the employer is exempt income of the employee to the extent to which the payment is for a benefit that would be excluded by section CX 24 from being a fringe benefit if the benefit was a non-cash benefit provided to the employee.

Notes
  • Section CW 17D: inserted, on , by section 25(1) (and see section 25(2) for application) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024–25, Emergency Response, and Remedial Measures) Act 2025 (2025 No 9).