Being paid partly in US dollars and partly in ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) has become common in Zimbabwe's formal sector, and it makes payslips genuinely more complicated — because the two currencies are taxed under two different sets of rules.
The foundation to understand is that Zimbabwe publishes separate PAYE tax tables for USD and for ZiG. They look different, but the ZiG table is simply the USD table multiplied by 28: the tax-free amount is USD 100 or ZiG 2,800 a month, the 20% band runs to USD 300 or ZiG 8,400, and so on up the scale. Both stay fixed for the whole year rather than moving with inflation. You're taxed in the currency you're paid in. So if your pay is split, each portion is generally assessed under its own currency's tables.
This has a few practical consequences. Your USD portion is taxed on the USD tables (which our calculator covers), and your ZiG portion on the ZiG tables. The two are then considered together for your overall tax position. The ZiG table published for 2025 still applies in 2026, so if the ZiG side of your payslip uses different bands, that's worth asking your payroll department about.
If your pay is split, the single most useful thing you can do is ask your payroll department to show you how each portion is taxed — which currency's tables, at what point NSSA and the AIDS levy are applied, and whether they're on the current tables. It's not that split pay is taxed unfairly; it's that the moving parts multiply, and understanding them helps you check your own payslip.
Our calculator currently covers the USD tables, which handles the USD portion of a split salary. A ZiG calculator is planned, and when it's ready we'll be able to help with both sides.
This is general information, not tax advice. To calculate the USD portion of your pay, use the calculator. ZiG support is coming.