How Much ACC CoverPlus Extra Cover Should You Choose? NZ 2026 Guide

Your CPX agreed value sets your payout. Here are the 2026 cover bands, why the minimum often falls short, and how to match cover to your real self-employed income.

If you are self-employed in New Zealand, ACC does not work the way it does for an employee. You choose your own cover amount under CoverPlus Extra (CPX), and that number decides what you receive if an injury stops you working. Set it too low to save on levies and you may face a large shortfall when you claim.

So the real question is how much CoverPlus Extra cover (NZ) you should actually set. This guide walks through the current cover bands, why the minimum backfires, and how to match your agreed value to your real income. If your income runs above the band ceiling, our income protection for the self-employed guide shows how a private top-up fits on top of ACC.

TL;DR: how to choose your CPX cover amount

TL;DR: Choose a CoverPlus Extra agreed value that matches your real annual income, not the minimum. You can set cover anywhere from $39,492 to $122,232 (2025/26 band), paid at 100% regardless of what you actually earned. Leave it at the minimum and a $90k earner faces a roughly $50,000 payout shortfall in their first year off work.¹

How much CoverPlus Extra cover should I choose?

The short answer: pick an agreed value that sits at or near your actual annual income, then review it every year as the business grows.

CPX is different from standard ACC CoverPlus in one decisive way. Standard CoverPlus pays up to 80% of your last filed taxable income, and you have to prove your loss of earnings at claim time. CPX instead locks in an agreed value today and pays 100% of it (less tax) if you are injured and cannot work, with no need to prove what you were earning when you claim.³

This is why the cover amount you nominate matters. There is no "actual income" safety net at claim time if you set it too low. The number you choose is the number you get.

For self-employed people whose income is lumpy, recently grown, or hard to evidence at claim time, that certainty is valuable. But it works in both directions: too low a value locks in too low a payout.

What are the 2025/26 and 2026/27 cover bands?

ACC sets a minimum and maximum agreed value each levy year. You can choose any figure inside the band. The 2025/26 levy year ran to 31 March 2026, so the current band is the 2026/27 band. The worked examples below use the 2025/26 figures, which applied through the year just ended.

A few things sit alongside those bands that are worth knowing before you set a number:

• Two CPX options. Full compensation pays 100% of your agreed cover (minus tax) until you can return to full-time work, and does not reduce when you go back part-time. The Lower Levels of Weekly Compensation (LLWC) option carries a slightly lower levy but reduces your payment in line with part-time hours and stops once you work 30+ hours a week.³⁴
• The two-year limit. As a general rule, like standard ACC weekly compensation, CPX weekly comp is capped at a two-year maximum per claim from when payments start. For a long-term injury, weekly comp generally stops after two years — though the exact duration can depend on your individual claim and circumstances, so confirm your own position with ACC.⁵
• Working Safer levy. From 1 April 2025, the Working Safer levy for CPX policyholders is calculated on your chosen cover amount rather than on IRD-reported income.⁶ That rate is $0.08 per $100 of cover (8c per $100),⁷ so a higher agreed value lifts that small component of your levy.

For context, the separate self-employed liable income band that standard CoverPlus levies are based on runs $49,365 to $152,790 for 2025/26, rising to $50,501 to $156,641 for 2026/27.⁸⁹ CPX's agreed-value band is deliberately lower at the top, which matters for higher earners (more on that below).

Why does leaving CPX at the minimum backfire?

The minimum carries the cheapest levy, so it is tempting. But the minimum agreed value for 2025/26 was $39,492. If your business nets $90,000, that insures less than half your income.

A common pattern is sole traders and contractors who set CPX up years ago when the business was small and never updated it. The levy saving is small; the payout gap can be large.

ACC's own worked example shows how literally the agreed value translates to dollars: cover of $52,000 a year is paid as $1,000 a week before tax, at 100%.¹⁰ So if your real income is $90k but your CPX is sitting at the $39,492 minimum, your weekly payment is built off $39,492, not $90,000. That is roughly $760 a week before tax instead of around $1,730.

Worked example: the minimum trap

Scenario: Dave is a self-employed builder. His business nets $90,000. He set CPX at the minimum years ago and broke his leg in February, off work for a full year. (The figures below use the just-ended 2025/26 band; the 2026/27 minimum is slightly higher at $40,401, but the gap works the same way.)

Same injury, same levy year. The only difference is the number Dave chose. The minimum saved a modest levy each year but cost roughly $50,000 in his first year off work.

Matching your agreed value to your real income (and outgoings)

The cleanest rule of thumb: set your agreed value at or near your actual annual income from self-employment, capped at the band maximum.

Choosing a CPX agreed value vs income (illustrative)

Illustrative only, using the 2025/26 CPX agreed-value band $39,492–$122,232; payments are 100% of the agreed value less tax. Source: ACC CPX bands 2025/26 + MoneyHub.¹¹³

Two refinements once you have a starting number:

1. Think outgoings, not just income. Your mortgage, rates, vehicle finance, insurance premiums and family costs do not pause when you are injured. If you draw $90k but your fixed household and business outgoings consume most of it, you want cover that protects the whole figure, not a trimmed-down version.

2. Higher earners hit the CPX ceiling. The 2025/26 CPX maximum is $122,232 ($125,313 for 2026/27). If your income runs well above that, CPX alone cannot fully replace it, and the two-year claim limit caps duration regardless. That is the point at which private income protection for the self-employed sits on top of ACC. Our income protection calculator gives you a starting figure.

On cost, the gap between standard CoverPlus and CPX at the same claimable amount is small. MoneyHub's 2025/26 worked example puts $120,000 of cover at about $2,725/yr under standard CoverPlus versus $2,785/yr under CPX — roughly 2% more for the certainty of an agreed value paid at 100%. The minimum CPX ($39,492 cover) comes in around $1,008/yr.¹³ The levy difference between minimum and matching cover is real, but it is a fraction of the payout difference.

How do part-time hours and return-to-work affect payments?

This is where your choice of CPX option matters as much as the dollar amount.

• Full compensation. Pays 100% of your agreed value until you can return to full-time work. It does not reduce when you go back part-time. Best for anyone whose recovery involves a slow, partial return to the tools or the desk.³
• Lower Levels of Weekly Compensation (LLWC). Slightly cheaper levy, but compensation reduces pro-rata with your part-time hours and stops entirely once you work 30+ hours a week. ACC's own example: returning at 50% of your normal hours cuts your compensation by 50%.⁴

For most self-employed people, the full-compensation option earns its slightly higher levy because recoveries are rarely all-or-nothing. You ease back in, and full compensation means your income is not cut the moment you put in a half-day.

How often should you review your CPX cover?

CPX is often sold as "set and forget" — and there is genuinely no annual income verification once you are on it. You only have to show income evidence when you first set your CPX level, or if you apply for cover above $8,000 a month.¹²

But "no verification" is not the same as "no review". A business that grows from $60k to $100k over three years and never lifts its agreed value is carrying a 40% payout gap it does not know about.

Two practical timing points:

• Review at 31 March. MoneyHub recommends timing any switch or increase to the 31 March financial year-end to avoid pro-rating mid-year.¹²
• The 2026 band change was automatic only at the floor. If you were on the CPX minimum, ACC automatically updated your policy to the new $40,401 minimum from 1 April 2026 — no action needed. But to increase cover toward the new $125,313 maximum, you had to apply via MyACC for Business by Tuesday 24 March 2026.¹¹ If you missed that window, the next clean opportunity is the following 31 March review.

This is the kind of detail that slips when you are running a business, so it is worth diarising a yearly CPX check.

Your CPX cover-setting checklist (01–05)

01 — Work out your real annual income. Not your invoiced revenue; your actual drawings/net self-employed income. This is your starting agreed value.

02 — Add your fixed outgoings sense-check. Confirm the number covers mortgage, rates, finance and family costs, not just a bare-bones living figure.

03 — Choose the option, not just the amount. Full compensation (no part-time reduction) versus LLWC (cheaper, reduces with hours, stops at 30+/week). Most growing self-employed people want full compensation.³⁴

04 — Check the ceiling and the two-year limit. If your income exceeds the $122,232 (2025/26) / $125,313 (2026/27) CPX maximum, or you need cover beyond two years, layer in private income protection for the self-employed.

05 — Diarise the 31 March review. Lift your agreed value as the business grows, and confirm whether you need to apply (increases) or whether ACC updates you automatically (minimum floor).¹¹¹²

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum and maximum CoverPlus Extra cover for 2026?

For the 2025/26 year (to 31 March 2026) the agreed-value band was $39,492 to $122,232. From 1 April 2026 it rose to $40,401 to $125,313. You can choose any figure inside the band, and CPX pays 100% of it.¹²

Does CPX pay 100% of my cover even if I earned less?

Yes. That is the defining feature of CPX. It pays 100% of your agreed value (less tax), regardless of your actual earnings at claim time, with no requirement to prove loss of earnings. Standard CoverPlus, by contrast, pays up to 80% of your last filed income and requires proof.³

Is it worth paying more for CPX than standard CoverPlus?

The cost difference is small. MoneyHub's 2025/26 example puts $120,000 of cover at about $2,725/yr (CoverPlus) versus $2,785/yr (CPX) — roughly 2% more — for the certainty of an agreed value paid at 100% with no income proof needed.¹³

How long will CoverPlus Extra pay me?

As a general rule, CPX weekly compensation is limited to a two-year maximum per claim from when payments start, the same as standard ACC weekly comp. For long-term injuries, payments generally stop after two years, which is why higher earners and those needing longer protection often add private income protection. Individual claims can vary, so confirm your own entitlement with ACC.⁵

Do I have to prove my income every year on CPX?

No. You show income evidence only when you first set your CPX level, or if you apply for cover above $8,000 a month. After that there is no annual income verification — but you should still review your agreed value yearly so it keeps pace with your income.¹²

What happened to my cover on 1 April 2026?

If you were on the minimum, ACC automatically updated you to the new $40,401 floor with no action needed. To increase cover toward the $125,313 maximum you had to apply via MyACC for Business by 24 March 2026; otherwise the next clean window is your 31 March review.¹¹

Review your CPX cover each year

The agreed value you picked when the business was small becomes the value of your claim years later, when your income and outgoings are larger. A yearly check keeps three things current: whether the agreed value still matches your income, whether the option is still right, and whether you need a private top-up above the band or beyond the two-year limit.

Book a free review with a Smiths adviser. Book a review

General information, not personalised financial advice. Seek advice tailored to your situation before acting. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 16 June 2026.