Accommodation Supplement Table NZ: Entry Thresholds

The entry threshold is the minimum weekly qualifying accommodation cost before the 70% subsidy starts. An income threshold is different: it is used to reduce Accommodation Supplement for a person who is not receiving a main benefit. Mixing the two can make an estimate look far too high or too low.

For a renter paying exactly the entry threshold, the cost-based payment is zero. For every qualifying dollar above it, the standard formula adds 70 cents, subject to the area maximum and any income or asset effect.

A single person on Supported Living Payment does not use the $93 non-beneficiary or Jobseeker rent threshold; the published SLP figure is $106. A couple with children on SLP uses $227 for rent or board, while a standard non-beneficiary or Jobseeker couple with children uses $205.

Do not mix a threshold from one table with a maximum from another household row. Sole Parent Support has only sole-parent categories. Couples on different benefits, a partner receiving NZ Super or Veteran’s Pension, and other special arrangements need the matching Work and Income table.

A single person on Supported Living Payment pays $250.00 rent in Area 3. The published rent threshold is $106, leaving $144.00 of cost above the threshold. Seventy per cent is $100.80.

The Area 3 single maximum is $80, so this standard example is capped at $80 a week. The threshold determines where the calculation begins; the regional maximum determines where it stops.

A boarder does not compare the whole board payment with the table. Work and Income first treats 62% as accommodation cost. For $400.00 board, that is $248.00 before subtracting accommodation income or the entry threshold.

Rent, board or other occupant contributions received can be accommodation income. They are deducted from costs before the threshold is applied. The person paying you may be described differently under policy depending on whether part of the property is self-contained, so provide the actual arrangement.

These homeowner figures apply through 31 March 2027. Work and Income says the entry threshold for certain home ownership costs rises from 30% to 40% of the relevant base rate on 1 April 2027. Do not use this 2026/27 homeowner column for a later assessment.

The published change does not affect rent or board, and exemptions apply to people receiving NZ Super, Veteran’s Pension or Supported Living Payment. The calculator is dated so you can see which rule set it uses; check the official table again when the effective date changes.