New Zealand

A person is New Zealand tax resident if they have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand, regardless of time spent abroad, or if they are personally present for more than 183 days in total within any 12-month period. Residence ends only once a person has been physically absent for more than 325 days in total within a 12-month period.

The New Zealand tax year ends on 31 March. Returns, where required, are due by 7 July, but most individuals whose only income is employment income taxed at source have no filing obligation at all.

Non-residents are taxed only on New Zealand-source income, generally under the same progressive schedule that applies to residents, though public entertainers and professional athletes instead face a flat 20% withholding tax, and short visits of 92 days or less can be exempt from tax on personal-services income under certain conditions.

New Zealand generally allows no deduction for expenses incurred in earning employment income. Deductions are instead available for expenditure incurred in carrying on a business, entertainment expenditure is only 50% deductible, and interest on residential property has been fully deductible again since 1 April 2025; charitable donations give rise to a tax credit rather than a deduction.

GST registration is mandatory once turnover exceeds NZD 60,000 in any 12-month period (past or expected); the same NZD 60,000 threshold applies to offshore suppliers of remote services and low-value imported goods to New Zealand private consumers.

New Zealand's GST exempts financial services; the narrower zero-rated category includes exports, financial services supplied to other GST-registered businesses, certain land transactions between GST-registered parties, and the sale of a business as a going concern.