A prescribed investor rate (PIR) is the rate used to calculate how much tax you'll pay on your Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) taxable income.
For us to ensure you pay the right amount of tax at the end of the financial year (31 March), we need to have your correct tax details.
Calculating your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR)
If you are not a tax resident of New Zealand, your PIR is 28% by default.
To calculate your PIR rate as a resident of NZ, simply find where you sit inside the table below:
Your PIR is determined by looking back at your income from the two previous tax years.
To find your rate for the current tax year ending March 2026, you look at your income from:
Year 1: 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024
Year 2: 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025
You get to choose the lowest rate you qualified for in either of those two years.
Because you can use the lower of the two previous years, the 2026 tax year could be more efficient for you if:
You were a student in 2024: Even if you started a paying job in 2025, you can still use your "student-level" PIR (10.5% or 17.5%) for your Kernel PIE funds right now in 2026.
You took parental leave or a career break in 2025: Even if you are back to full-time work now, that "low-income year" allows you to keep a lower PIR for the current 2026 period.
Determining the PIR for your Trust
If you are applying for a Trust account, you can calculate the PIR rate by clicking here.
Determining the PIR for your Company
If you are applying for a Company account, you can calculate the PIR rate by clicking here.
How to change your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR)
Step 1: Log into the Kernel platform.
Step 2: Navigate to your profile, by clicking the icon in the top right corner (usually with the initial of your first name showing).
Step 3: Select 'Profile & Settings'.
Step 4: Under the 'Profile' tab, scroll to the bottom and update the appropriate field with your desired PIR rate.
Step 5: Click the 'Update personal details' button to save your changes.
Please note: A limitation of our joint, trust and company accounts is that you aren't able to update your PIR & RWT rates via the Kernel platform. You will need to email our team at support@kernelwealth.co.nz for us to update this information in our system.