Calculators

Weekly main benefit, abatement and Accommodation Supplement

Estimate a weekly main benefit and what goes with it.

Four things decide the answer and only the first is widely known:

  • The base rate, which depends on the benefit and the living situation.
  • Abatement. The first $160 a week of other income is free. Above that a sole parent loses 30c in the dollar to $250 and 70c after, and everyone else loses 70c from the start. This is the part people get wrong: they assume a dollar earned is a dollar lost, and for the first $160 it is not lost at all.
  • The Accommodation Supplement, which is 70% of housing costs ABOVE an entry threshold, not 70% of the rent. The threshold is 25% of the base rate for renters and boarders and 30% for owners, and only 62% of a board payment counts as a housing cost at all.
  • The Winter Energy Payment, 1 May to 1 October, which is only paid while some main benefit is still payable after abatement.

The rates are read from the published register rather than typed, and rate_source returns which figure was used, when it was last verified against the Work and Income tables, and when it next changes. Benefit rates move every 1 April, so a cached answer given in May is wrong.

This is an estimate of the published rates, not an assessment. Entitlement also depends on residency, relationship status, assets and obligations that no calculator sees, so it will not match a Work and Income decision.

post/v1/benefit-entitlement

Request

  • Base URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz
  • URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz/v1/benefit-entitlement
  • Auth: API key in header X-API-Key

Request body

benefit_type'jobseeker' | 'sole_parent' | 'supported_living'

Which main benefit is being received.

situation'single_25' | 'single_20_24' | 'single_18_19_away' | 'single_18_19_home' | 'couple_no_children' | 'couple_children' | 'sole_parent'

Living situation, which selects the weekly rate.

weekly_incomenumber

Other gross weekly income before tax. The first $160 a week is free of abatement.

accommodation_costnumber

Weekly rent, board or ownership cost.

housing_type'rent' | 'board' | 'mortgage'

Only 62% of a board payment counts as an accommodation cost.

areainteger

Accommodation Supplement area, 1 to 4. Area 1 is the highest cost.

childreninteger

Number of dependent children.

winterboolean

Whether the Winter Energy Payment period applies, 1 May to 1 October.

Example request

{
  "accommodation_cost": 340,
  "area": 2,
  "benefit_type": "jobseeker",
  "children": 0,
  "housing_type": "rent",
  "situation": "single_25",
  "weekly_income": 140,
  "winter": false
}

Response

The weekly entitlement built up step by step, with the rate's provenance.

disclaimerstring required

Scope and limits of this estimate.

Example response

{
  "disclaimer": "An estimate of the published Work and Income rates, not an assessment. Actual entitlement depends on residency, relationship status, assets and obligations that no calculator sees. Rates change every 1 April.",
  "result": {
    "abatement": 0,
    "accommodation_cost_counted": 340,
    "accommodation_supplement": 105,
    "accommodation_supplement_max": 105,
    "base_rate": 372.55,
    "benefit_after_abatement": 372.55,
    "entry_threshold": 93.14,
    "inputs": {
      "accommodation_cost": 340,
      "area": 2,
      "benefit_type": "jobseeker",
      "children": 0,
      "housing_type": "rent",
      "situation": "single_25",
      "weekly_income": 140,
      "winter": false
    },
    "rate_source": {
      "effective_from": "2026-04-01",
      "id": "jobseeker-single-25",
      "next_expected_change": "2027-04-01",
      "next_expected_change_basis": "stated in the register",
      "source": "https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/jobseeker-support.html",
      "value": 372.55,
      "verified_on": "2026-08-17"
    },
    "total_weekly": 477.55,
    "winter_energy_payment": 0
  }
}

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.