How Do I Set A Secondary Tax Code For An Employee With Two Jobs?

An employee whose Lightning Payroll job is their secondary income must use a secondary tax code (S, SH, ST, or SB). The right code depends on their expected total annual income from all sources.

Choosing the secondary code

• SB: total annual income up to the first threshold.
• S: total annual income within the second band.
• SH: total annual income within the third band.
• ST: total annual income above the top threshold.

The current thresholds are set by Inland Revenue and listed on the IR330 form.

How to set it

1. Open the employee and go to the Tax tab.
2. Pick the secondary code from the tax code list.
3. If the employee also has a student loan, add the SL suffix (e.g. S SL).
4. Save the employee.

Things to check

• The employee should have provided an IR330 listing the chosen secondary code.
• Casual employees often use a secondary code by default; confirm with the employee before selecting one.
• If the employee changes the code mid-year, update it from the next pay so retrospective tax adjustments are not needed.

Lightning Payroll uses the flat secondary rate for the chosen code on every pay - the rate does not vary based on earnings inside this payroll.