FAQs

What income do I need to declare?

If you get paid a salary or wages your employer will deduct tax and the ACC earners’ levy before they pay you. These deductions are known as PAYE (pay as you earn). Some salary or wage earners - IR56 taxpayers - are responsible for paying their own PAYE directly to the IRD.

If you’re charging rent, you may need to pay tax on the rental income you earn in the same year you receive it. Your rental income could be from a house, land, caravan, sleep-out, building, holiday home or room in your own home.

For more information on rental income tax click here or for income tax, click here.

When do I have to register for GST?

You must register for GST if you carry out a taxable activity and your turnover was $60,000 or more in the last 12 months (or will be $60,000 or more in the next 12 months), or if GST is included in your prices.

You can only charge GST on your sales and income and claim it back on purchases and expenses if you’re GST registered.

Click here for more information.

What expenses can I claim?

Businesses get taxed on their income minus any business expenses and other deductions. You need to keep records of your expenses and income and understand what types of costs count as business expenses.

These can include: day-to-day expenses (such as vehicle use and use of home), depreciation, mixed use assets and capital contributions.

Click here to find out more.

What records do I need to keep for my business?

Records make it easier to work out your income, expenses, GST (if you’re registered), meet your employer obligations (if you have staff) and confirm your accounts. If you get audited, the IRD will check these records. You need to keep these records for 7 years.

Click here to find out more.

Am I entitled to Working for Families?

To get Working for Families you will:

  • have a dependent child or children in your care under the age of 18 (or between 18 and 19 and still in school/tertiary education)

  • be the principal caregiver

  • be aged 16 or older

  • need to meet the residency requirements.

Working for Families payments are based on your family income and the number of children in your care. Find out more here.

What is payday filing?

You now need to file employment information for every payday during the month, rather than just once a month. You need to file:

  • within 2 working days of each payday if you’re filing through myIR or payroll software such as Xero

  • within 10 working days of each payday OR within 10 working days of the 15th of the month (for paydays between the 1st and 15th) and within 10 working days of month end (for paydays between the 16th and last day of the month).

If your total PAYE and ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax) is $50,000 or more you need to file electronically.

If your total PAYE and ESCT is less than $50,000 you can either file electronically or by paper. New employers can either file electronically or by paper in the first six months.

Click here to find out more.

When do I need to pay tax?

It can be hard to keep track of all the relevant dates for different types of tax - luckily we’ve created a simple collection of the important dates.

Click here to see our list