On 1 September 2026, NAIT cattle levy rates for tags will raise to $1.35 (ex GST) and the slaughter levy increases to $1.91 (ex GST) for each animal. UTT levy remains at $13 (ex GST). For more information refer to NAIT levy consultations.
Levies paid by farmers
You pay levies for your cattle and deer to help fund our NAIT, TBfree and MBfree programmes.
Levies you pay for cattle
If you have beef or dairy animals you pay a levy for NAIT, TBFree or M. bovis:
- On their NAIT tag
- When they are slaughtered
- When they are exported
- When milksolids are sold to processors
NAIT tag levy
The tag levy for cattle is $0.97 (ex GST) per tag. When you buy tags, you pay the levy as part of the cost.
NAIT slaughter levy
The NAIT slaughter levy for each animal is $1.49 (ex GST). Meat processors collect this levy.
Levy changes
NAIT unsafe-to-tag (UTT) levy
You can only send UTT animals to meat processors. They collect $13 (ex GST) for each animal, as well as the standard slaughter levy of $1.49 (ex GST)
TB differential slaughter levy
Meat processors also collect a TB levy for cattle at slaughter to help fund the TBfree programme. Rates differ for dairy and beef cattle. They are:
- $14.50 (ex GST) per head for dairy cattle
- $4.50 (ex GST) per head for beef cattle.
The maximum levy rate allowed is:
- $15 (ex GST) per head for dairy cattle
- $8.50 (ex GST) per head for beef cattle.
How meat processors charge the right TB slaughter levy
Meat processors use the production type of your animals, as recorded in NAIT, to charge the correct levy.
Before you send cattle to slaughter, check that you have given your animals the correct:
- production type — that is, beef or dairy
- farm production type — this is used to decide the TB slaughter levy for any untagged animals.
Dairy animals finished as beef
You'll be charged the levy for beef if you changed the production type of your animals from dairy to beef 62 days or more before slaughter.
If you've been charged the wrong TB slaughter levy
Contact us to enquire about levy charges if you think they aren't correct. We'll evaluate the information you give us through our disputes procedure. In some cases we may be able to update or amend the production type in your NAIT account after cattle have been sent to a meat processor.
Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) cattle levy
The M. bovis cattle levy is collected to support funding of the M. bovis programme on behalf of beef and dairy industries.
The levy is applied to the production of milk solids for dairy cattle, and animals slaughtered for beef cattle.
Each year, the levy rates are reviewed and when necessary, adjusted to reflect the latest shifts in the relative size and value of each industry.
The rates are:
- 0.0 cents (ex GST) per kilogram of milksolids produced in New Zealand by a dairy farmer for supply to a dairy processor
- 40 cents (ex GST) per head for beef cattle slaughtered.
The levy is managed by assigning the correct animal production types in the NAIT system.
Levies you pay for deer
Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) is funded by levies you pay when you harvest deer velvet or the animals are slaughtered.
There are different rates for fallow deer.
Levies you pay for live exports of cattle and deer
The TB levy for live cattle and deer that are exported is $11.50 (ex GST) per head, with a maximum levy allowed of $15 (ex GST) per head.
How meat processors charge the right TB slaughter levy
Meat processors use the production type of your animals, as recorded in NAIT, to charge the correct levy.
Before you send cattle to slaughter, check that you have given your animals the correct:
- production type — that is, beef or dairy
- farm production type — this is used to decide the TB slaughter levy for any untagged animals.
Dairy animals finished as beef
You'll be charged the levy for beef if you changed the production type of your animals from dairy to beef 62 days or more before slaughter.
If you've been charged the wrong TB slaughter levy
Contact us to enquire about levy charges if you think they aren't correct. We'll evaluate the information you give us through our disputes procedure. In some cases we may be able to update or amend the production type in your NAIT account after cattle have been sent to a meat processor.
Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) cattle levy
The M. bovis cattle levy is collected to support funding of the M. bovis programme on behalf of beef and dairy industries.
The levy is applied to the production of milk solids for dairy cattle, and animals slaughtered for beef cattle.
Each year, the levy rates are reviewed and when necessary, adjusted to reflect the latest shifts in the relative size and value of each industry.
The rates are:
- 0.0 cents (ex GST) per kilogram of milksolids produced in New Zealand by a dairy farmer for supply to a dairy processor
- 40 cents (ex GST) per head for beef cattle slaughtered.
The levy is managed by assigning the correct animal production types in the NAIT system.
Levies you pay for deer
Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) is funded by levies you pay when you harvest deer velvet or the animals are slaughtered.
There are different rates for fallow deer.
Levies you pay for live exports of cattle and deer
The TB levy for live cattle and deer that are exported is $11.50 (ex GST) per head, with a maximum levy allowed of $15 (ex GST) per head.