Zambia NHIMA 2027: Basic vs Gross Pay | Harvester Help

NHIMA 2027: BASIC PAY VERSUS GROSS PAY - UPDATED 13 NOVEMBER 2026 WHAT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED? On 12 November 2026, Zambia's Health Minister announced that Cabinet had approved moving NHIMA contributions from basic salary to gross pay, with an intended start in January 2027. The announcement referred to the combined 2% contribution. Final NHIMA regulations and implementation instructions are still needed to confirm the precise definition of gross earnings and the employee/employer split. 2026 RULE: BASIC SALARY For 2026 and earlier years, Harvester calculates NHIMA at 1% of basic pay deducted from the employee plus a separate 1% employer contribution, rounded to two decimal places. This is distinct from NAPSA, which has its own gross-earnings rules and contribution ceiling. 2027 HARVESTER PREPARATION: GROSS PAY Harvester Payroll Online has a yearly NHIMA Calculation Basis setting. The current 2027 configuration is GROSS, while 2026 and earlier remain BASIC. Harvester Offline 18.121 includes a Basic/Gross option but keeps Basic until the administrator is advised to switch. These are software preparations for a proposed statutory change, not a statement that it is already effective for 2026. For Harvester Online's prepared GROSS calculation, qualifying gross payroll earnings include normal allowances, overtime, bonuses and additions already included in gross wages. The current calculation excludes separately paid gratuity, terminal benefits and per diem. That is Harvester's provisional software treatment, not a final legal definition issued by NHIMA; it may need revision when official rules are published. The existing calculation retains 1% for the employee and 1% for the employer, each rounded to two decimal places, as a working assumption pending final confirmation. SIMPLE EXAMPLE Basic monthly salary: K8,000.00 Other eligible monthly earnings: K2,000.00 Eligible gross-pay basis: K10,000.00 2026 employee NHIMA: K80.00; employer NHIMA: K80.00 2027 prepared gross-basis employee NHIMA: K100.00; employer NHIMA: K100.00 A separately paid K3,000 gratuity is not added to Harvester's provisional gross NHIMA basis. WHO CAN CHANGE THE SETTING? The yearly NHIMA basis in Harvester Online is centrally controlled by Harvester Level 10 administrators. Payroll customers can see their selected year's NHIMA basis on the read-only Tax, NAPSA and NHIMA Settings page but cannot edit it. Employee participation in NHIMA is still controlled through the employee's National Health checkbox. IMPORTANT FOR EXISTING PAYROLL Changing a year's basis does not automatically recalculate already saved payroll. Re-submitting or recalculating a payroll may apply the setting saved for that tax year. Do not reprocess previously finalised statutory months simply to test the new rule. For the proposed January 2027 start, confirm the final requirements before statutory submission. FURTHER INFORMATION Harvester News Updates: https://www.harvesteronline.net/news-updates.html#nhima-2027-gross-pay News report of Cabinet announcement (13 November 2026): https://www.mwebantu.com/government-to-absorb-nhimas-k1-7-billion-debt-overhaul-contributions/ Existing legal framework: National Health Insurance Regulations, SI No. 63 of 2019 (confirm any amendments published for 2027). This Help article describes Harvester's current configuration and the publicly reported proposal. It is not legal advice. Check the final NHIMA notice and regulations before filing contributions.