Tax Changes Resources

In November 2023 I wrote a blog about the new GST rules being applied for Airbnb properties listed through online marketplaces. You can find this here.There has since been an update to this that will make life marginally simpler for those owners who are not GST registered. In my blog I described the “flat-rate credit”, which is the 8.5% ... More 

With 1 July fast approaching, it is a good time to alert readers to some of the detail around the new bright-line and rollover relief rules which come into force from that date.Reduction of bright-line period to two yearsAs most readers will be aware, the bright-line period officially reduces to two years for all residential property from 1 July. ... More 

One 14 March 2024, the government released draft legislation coming good on its promise to reduce the bright-line period to two years and repeal the interest limitation rules. The highlights are as follows:Bright-lineA two-year bright-line period will apply to all property where sale occurs on or after 1 July 2024.  The date that you enter into the agreement to ... More 

Today (20 December 2023) the coalition government announced that the bright-line test will be reduced to two years from 1 July 2024. This is what Nicola Willis had to say:"Today I am announcing our immediate decision to bring the brightline test for residential property back to two years, effective from 1 July 2024. Removing this effective capital gains tax means ... More 

Today, New Zealand’s coalition government with National, Act and NZ First was finally announced. Some important decisions around tax and property investment have already been confirmed. Note that at time of writing we are still waiting on the detail around much of this, and we will further provide updates as they are announced. Reversal of interest non-deduction rulesThe thing that we ... More 

In the May 2023 Budget, the Labour government announced that from 1 April 2024, the trust tax rate will increase from 33% to 39%. What does this mean for you and your trust?What, if anything, can you do to manage this?Should you still have a trust?These questions are answered in the webinar Anthony Lipscombe and I presented on 24 May ... More 

Everyone likes more money in their back pocket, and we’re about to get a few extra dollars to try and counteract the effect of inflation. The coalition government recently announced in their budget that there would be a shift in the tax rate thresholds for individuals from 31 July 2024. Not a moment too soon. For years we’ve been suffering the ... More 

Anyone who provides lodging or ride-sharing services through an online marketplace in New Zealand, such as Airbnb or Uber, will be affected by new Goods and Services Tax (GST) changes, which came into force on April 1, 2024. What is the new legislation?Prior to 1 April 2024, service providers were exempt from GST if their turnover was below the $60,000 ... More 

Lots of our clients are asking GRA what is on offer from the various parties for the 2023 election, so I thought it would be useful to recap the tax changes made by Labour in their past two terms, and then canvas the different offerings from political parties to reverse their changes. As a disclaimer, I’m not a fan ... More 

Prior to the inception of the bright-line rule, it was relatively common practice to restructure the ownership of residential property to get better asset protection, estate planning and tax outcomes, or when circumstances changed. For example, you might convert an existing home to being a rental, or own a holiday home personally that you want to be protected in ... More 

I want to close the year by highlighting a couple of positive developments in the GST rules – one that came into effect earlier in 2022, and one that is proposed to come into effect from next year.Earlier this year a long-standing issue that prevented GST from being claimed on asset transfers within a group structure was resolved. To ... More 

Almost a year to the day since the Government announced rules to eliminate tax deductions on interest for property investors, the legislation has all but reached its final destination. In the last two weeks the Select Committee report on the first draft of the legislation has been released and amendments have been made to the first draft reflecting these ... More 

The government have made changes to two areas of legislation that affect property investors: tax (interest deduction and bright-line), and the Resource Management Act.  Tax ChangesIn October the government finally introduced legislation into parliament setting out the proposed interest deduction rules. Here is a summary of the highlights.a) We still do not have finalised legislation. Even these draft rules are ... More 

The Government’s release of draft legislation this week was disappointing on a number of fronts. First, what was expected to be complex legislation has been successfully made nearly indecipherable. Second, it is of course disappointing that they are pressing ahead with the rules being effective from 1 October despite only this draft version being available to taxpayers at this ... More 

Most readers will be well acquainted with the fact that we are expecting the interest deductibility rules to kick in from 1 October 2021. You will also likely be aware that as at the time of writing (early September), these rules are yet to be revealed. This is an entirely unacceptable state of affairs, leaving investors to make purchase ... More 

There have been many changes to legislation affecting property investors over the past 4½ years. We have had:•  Healthy Homes Standards•  Loan-to-value ratio (LVR) changes•  Requirement for heat pumps•  Loss of claiming interest as an expense How have property investors reacted and what has happened? Before I go on, there is one thing I want to get off my chest first. ... More 

On 10 June 2021, the Labour Government opened up a five-week consultation period on the new interest deductibility rules. They have released a Design of the interest limitation rule and additional bright-line rules discussion document which is lengthy and quite detailed, and reveals some interesting thinking, some of which I think is surprisingly taxpayer friendly. On first look through the document, ... More 

The tax changes recently announced by the Labour Government have left many property investors feeling unsettled. So I thought it would be helpful to discuss the current property market, the impact of the rules, and what you should be doing to manage this new environment. The current property market•  The property market has been hot for the best part of ... More 

I'm seething about these tax changes. And it’s not just the fact that Labour lied to us; it’s the whole bigger picture and the implications for ordinary New Zealanders. This Government is attacking middle New Zealand with all these housing initiatives and tax reforms – it’s mums and dads being hit, not property oligarchs. According to February 2021 stats from ... More 

As part of the Government’s property policy announcements today (23 March 2021), there are two significant changes to tax rules that will impact residential property investors. If you don't support the changes, there is a petition that you can sign (link here and at the end of this blog). I ran a webinar discussing these changes on 25 March. You ... More