ACC CoverPlus Extra Levy Classes Explained for the Self-Employed (NZ)

Your ACC classification unit (CU) is the code that sets your Work levy, and a wrong one can quietly cost you for years. Here is how CUs work, how to check yours, and how it ties into CoverPlus Extra.

If you work for yourself in New Zealand, the line on your ACC invoice that moves the most is the Work levy, and what sets it is a small code most people never look at: your classification unit, or CU. The CU is ACC's shorthand for what your business does. Get it right and you pay the rate that matches your real risk. Get it wrong and you can over-pay, sometimes for years, without knowing why.

This guide explains what a CU is, how to check yours, how the right or wrong code changes what you pay, and how it feeds into CoverPlus Extra. The figures are for the 2025/26 levy year, in force as at 19 March 2026.

TL;DR: Your ACC classification unit (CU) is a code describing your business activity, and it sets your Work levy rate.¹ Work levy rates vary widely by industry — the scheme average is $0.66 per $100 of liable earnings, but individual CUs sit well above or below it.⁵ On top of that sit a flat Earners' levy ($1.67 per $100) and the Working Safer levy ($0.08 per $100).²⁴ A wrong CU means a wrong Work levy, so it is worth checking.

What is an ACC classification unit (CU) and why does it set your levy?

A classification unit is the code ACC uses to describe what your business does, and it is the foundation of your Work levy. Each CU maps to one or more business industry classification (BIC) codes, and each carries its own Work levy rate reflecting how risky ACC considers that activity.¹ A roofer, a management consultant and a hairdresser do genuinely different work, carry different injury risk, and sit in different CUs at different rates.

Because the Work levy is rate-per-CU multiplied by your liable earnings, the CU is the lever that decides this part of your bill. If the CU on file does not match what you actually do, the rate applied is the wrong one — and an incorrect CU is the most common cause of paying the wrong Work levy.¹¹⁰ The CU only drives the Work levy; the other levies on your invoice are flat. But because Work levy rates range from a few cents to several dollars per $100 of earnings, the Work levy is where the real money is.⁵

How do I find my CU code and check it's the right one?

Your CU should appear on your ACC levy invoice, usually near the Work levy line. If you are not sure what it maps to, ACC publishes a "find your CU" tool that takes your business activity (and its BIC code) and returns the matching classification unit.¹⁰ That is the quickest way to confirm whether the code still fits what you do today.

A few things make a CU drift out of date:

• Your business changed. Many people start doing one thing and gradually shift to another — a builder who moves into project management, a caterer who becomes a food retailer. The CU does not update itself.
• You were classified at registration and never looked again. The code chosen when you first registered can sit there for years.
• Your activity was coded broadly. If the original BIC code was approximate, the CU mapped from it can be approximate too.

When you check, compare the CU description against what your business genuinely does for most of its income. If it sounds like a riskier trade than you actually perform, that is worth questioning, because riskier descriptions carry higher rates.¹ If you are unsure which of two CUs fits, ask ACC or have an adviser look at it with you rather than guess.

How does the right or wrong classification change what you pay?

The Work levy rate is set per CU, and the spread is wide. For 2025/26 the average Work levy was $0.66 per $100 of liable earnings, but individual CUs sit well above or below that — the Levy Guidebook lists codes from cents to several dollars per $100.⁵ Two self-employed people on the same income can pay very different Work levies purely because they are in different CUs.

Here is a simple illustration on $80,000 of liable earnings, holding the flat levies constant and changing only the Work levy rate.

Illustration only, on $80,000 of liable earnings for the 2025/26 levy year (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026), correct as at 19 March 2026. The Work levy rates shown are illustrative points across the range, not specific CUs; the $0.66 figure is the scheme average.⁵ Earners' levy is $1.67 per $100 including GST,² and the Working Safer levy is $0.08 per $100.⁴ Your own CU rate and totals will differ — check the Levy Guidebook and your invoice.

The point is not the exact dollars; it is the gap. On the same income, the wrong CU can swing your Work levy by hundreds of dollars a year — and it is the kind of error that keeps repeating on every annual invoice until someone notices.

One helpful provision applies if your business genuinely spans more than one activity. Under ACC's 5% concession, if the CU with the highest Work levy rate accounts for 5% or less of your total self-employed earnings, ACC can apply the lower-rate CU instead.⁷ That stops a small amount of higher-risk work from dragging your whole levy up.

How does classification interact with CoverPlus Extra cover?

CoverPlus Extra (CPX) is optional cover that lets the self-employed agree a fixed level of cover with ACC up front, paid in full if an injury stops you working, regardless of what you can prove you were earning.⁸ It changes how much you are paid at claim time, but it does not change how your Work levy rate is set — the CPX levy is still calculated using your CU's Work levy rate.⁸

So the two work together: the CU sets the rate, and your CPX agreed-cover amount sets the earnings figure that rate applies to. Choose a higher agreed cover and your Work levy rises in proportion, at your CU's rate. That is another reason to get the CU right before fine-tuning your CPX amount.

For 2025/26 the CPX agreed-cover band ran roughly $35,400 to $113,826.⁸ (ACC's live CPX page now shows $40,401 to $125,313, but those figures apply to the 2026/27 year that starts on 1 April 2026.⁸) To weigh CPX against standard CoverPlus, see our guide on CoverPlus versus CoverPlus Extra, and how much CoverPlus Extra cover to choose for setting the agreed amount.

What are the Work, Earners' and Working Safer levies on your invoice?

A self-employed invoice is built from three levies stacked together. Only one of them moves with your CU.

Figures are for the 2025/26 levy year (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026) and were correct as at 19 March 2026. The Earners' levy is capped: maximum liable earnings of $152,790 give a maximum Earners' levy of $2,551.59.³ These rates rose from 1 April 2026 (Earners' to $1.75 per $100), so check current figures before relying on them.²

A worked example on $80,000 of liable earnings, using the scheme-average Work levy, shows how the three stack up:

``` SAMPLE SELF-EMPLOYED ACC LEVY — $80,000 liable earnings, 2025/26

Work levy CU rate x earnings $0.66 x 800 = $528 (varies by CU) Earners' levy $1.67 x 800 = $1,336 (flat, capped) Working Safer $0.08 x 800 = $64 (flat)

Indicative total ~ $1,928

Change only the CU rate and the Work levy line moves; the other two lines stay the same. ```

Illustration only, scheme-average Work levy applied; your CU rate will differ. Source: ACC Levy Guidebook 2025/26 and IRD/MBIE rate tables.<sup>1245</sup>

Liable earnings are floored and capped. For 2025/26 a full-time self-employed person's minimum liable earnings were $49,365 and the maximum $152,790.<sup>6</sup> Earn below the floor and you are still levied as if you earned $49,365; earn above the ceiling and the levies stop climbing. (These rose to $50,501 and $156,641 from 1 April 2026.<sup>6</sup>) If you work fewer than 30 hours a week you may qualify as part-time, in which case levies are calculated on your actual earnings rather than the full-time minimum — but you must tell ACC your part-time status for that to apply.<sup>9</sup>

What happens to your levy if your business activity changes?

If what your business does changes, your CU should change with it, and that can move your Work levy in either direction. ACC does not automatically know your day-to-day work has changed, so the responsibility to flag it sits with you.

Two situations are worth watching. A gradual shift — where the mix of what you do drifts over a few years — is the easiest to miss, because no single moment triggers a review. And multiple activities, where you genuinely do two different things, is where the 5% concession can apply: if the higher-rate activity is 5% or less of your earnings, ACC can levy you at the lower-rate CU.<sup>7</sup> If your split is more even, ACC generally applies the CU that fits the predominant activity.

How do you dispute or correct a wrong classification?

If you believe your CU is wrong, first confirm what the correct one should be using ACC's find-your-CU tool, matching your real business activity and BIC code.<sup>10</sup> Then contact ACC to have the classification reviewed and updated. Most corrections are straightforward once you can describe what your business actually does and point to the BIC code that fits.

A few practical notes:

• Have your evidence ready. A clear description of your main activity, and the earnings share of each activity if you do more than one thing, helps ACC apply the right CU — and the 5% concession where relevant.<sup>7</sup>
• Ask about prior years. If a wrong CU has been applied to earlier invoices, raise that rather than assuming only the current year can change.
• Get a second opinion if it is borderline. Where two CUs could plausibly apply, an adviser or accountant can help you make the case.

If a correction lowers your rate, that is a saving on every future invoice — which is why the check is worth doing even though the code looks like a small detail.

A checklist to sanity-check your next ACC invoice

1. Find the CU on your invoice and read its description. Does it match what your business actually does for most of its income?<sup>1</sup>

2. Run the find-your-CU tool against your real activity and BIC code to confirm the correct classification.<sup>10</sup>

3. Check the Work levy rate against the Levy Guidebook for your CU, and remember the scheme average is only $0.66 per $100 — a much higher rate is worth questioning.<sup>5</sup>

4. Confirm the flat levies. Earners' levy at $1.67 per $100 (capped at $2,551.59) and Working Safer at $0.08 per $100 for 2025/26.<sup>234</sup>

5. Check your liable earnings sit within the $49,365–$152,790 range, and that part-time status is recorded if you work under 30 hours a week.<sup>69</sup>

6. If you have CPX, confirm the agreed-cover amount still reflects your income, knowing the Work levy rate flowing through it comes from your CU.<sup>8</sup>

7. If anything looks off, contact ACC to review the CU — and ask about earlier years if a wrong code has been repeating.

How this fits the rest of your self-employed cover

Getting the CU right is housekeeping that can save real money, but it only affects the Work levy — the cost side. The cover side is the bigger question. ACC only ever covers injury. If illness is what stops you working, ACC generally pays nothing, and for most self-employed people illness is the more likely reason they end up off work for an extended period. CoverPlus and CoverPlus Extra share that limit.

That gap is usually filled with private income protection, which can be structured to pay for illness as well as accident and to sit alongside your ACC cover so you are not paying twice for the same accident risk. As an independent adviser, Smiths can compare income protection across the major New Zealand insurers — Partners Life, AIA, Asteron, Fidelity, Chubb and Cigna among them — and line the wait and benefit periods up with what ACC already provides. If you draw a PAYE salary out of your own company, our guide for shareholder-employees on PAYE and CPX covers how classification and cover interact.

Frequently asked questions

What is an ACC classification unit (CU)? It is the code ACC uses to describe your business activity, and it sets your Work levy rate. Each CU maps to one or more BIC codes and carries its own rate based on how risky ACC considers that activity, so the CU is what makes the Work levy line on your invoice vary from one self-employed person to the next.<sup>1</sup>

How do I check my ACC classification unit is correct? Your CU appears on your levy invoice. To confirm it is right, use ACC's find-your-CU tool, which maps your business activity and BIC code to the correct classification unit. Using the wrong CU is the most common cause of paying the wrong Work levy, so it is worth comparing the code's description against what your business actually does.<sup>110</sup>

How much can a wrong CU cost me? It depends on the gap between the rate applied and the one that should apply. Work levy rates range from cents to several dollars per $100, against a 2025/26 scheme average of $0.66 per $100.<sup>5</sup> A higher-risk code than your real activity can add hundreds of dollars a year, repeating on every annual invoice until corrected.

Does my CU affect CoverPlus Extra? Yes, indirectly. CPX changes how much you are paid at claim time by letting you agree a fixed cover amount, but the levy on that cover is still calculated using your CU's Work levy rate.<sup>8</sup> The CU sets the rate; your CPX agreed cover sets the earnings figure it applies to.

What is the ACC 5% concession? If your business spans more than one activity and the CU with the highest Work levy rate accounts for 5% or less of your total self-employed earnings, ACC can apply the CU with the lower rate instead.<sup>7</sup> It stops a small amount of higher-risk work from dragging your whole levy up.

Can I get a refund if my CU was wrong in past years? If an incorrect CU has been applied to earlier invoices, raise it with ACC when you ask for the classification to be reviewed, rather than assuming only the current year can change. ACC will look at the correct classification for your activity; an adviser or accountant can help if the case is borderline.<sup>110</sup>

This article is general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. Before acting, consider whether it's right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority to provide financial advice, and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Whether a claim is paid depends on the terms, conditions, exclusions, stand-down periods and underwriting of the specific policy, and on your disclosure. ACC levy figures, classification units, thresholds and rates are set by Government and ACC and can change; figures are correct as at 19 March 2026 — check current figures at acc.co.nz and ird.govt.nz. Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 19 March 2026.