New Tax Legislation (Mar 2019)
New tax legislation is expected to be passed into law in March 2019. The primary impact of this is that tax refunds and tax bills will now be automatically issued by the IRD at the end of each tax year without need for someone to request and confirm a personal tax summary. We still recommend using a tax agent to check that the assessment is correct to ensure that you will be receiving the maximum possible tax refund. Historically we have often found that the IR’s initial assessment is incorrect, especially in relation to WFFTC entitlements.
Extension to Brightline Test for Residential Property (Mar 2018)
From 29 March 2018 the bright-line test for residential property has been extended from 2-years to 5-years with the enactment of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017-18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017. The extended bright-line test only applies to properties for which an agreement to purchase the property was entered into on or after 29 March 2018. If an agreement to purchase a property was entered into before that date, the 2-year bright-line test will still apply.
The 5-year bright-line test applies in the same way as the 2-year bright-line test.
The residential land withholding tax (RLWT) rules have been extended from 2-years to 5-years as a result of extending the bright-line test. An offshore person will be liable for RLWT on residential land sold within five years of purchase, if the purchase date was on or after 29 March 2018
Labour election win good news for refunds (Nov 2017)
Bill English played the National "Tax Cuts" card pretty hard during the election, but our own analysis indicates that the promised tax cuts weren't all they were cracked up to be. What they seemed to gloss over was that their intention to remove the Independent Earners Tax Credit would have lead to a significant drop in the value of the annual tax refunds for many people earning between $24,000 - $48,000. This rebate currently boosts the annual tax refund for many of our clients by $520. We heard it claimed that the IETC was being scrapped as only half of all tax payers who are eligible for this rebate actually claim it.....the great news is that we claim this rebate for 100% of our clients who are eligible for it. Getting a few extra dollars in your weekly pay packet, but losing $520 at the end of the year didn't seem like a great idea to us, or to Labour who intend reversing the tax cuts and retaining this valuable tax rebate.
2017 Tax Refunds Being Released (June 2017)
That's right, we've started issuing thousands of tax refunds to our clients. We expect the vast majority of refunds to be issued by the end of June. However, some people may experience some delays and may not receive their refund until July or August rest assured we are working tirelessly to get all refunds issued as fast as possible.
2017 Tax Refunds (March 2017)
Over the next few weeks we will start reviewing our clients entitlement for a 2017 tax refund. Ordinarily we aim to get our refunds to our clients within 5 working days of receiving their application, however refunds for the 2017 tax year will not be issued by the Inland Revenue until mid June at the earliest. There may be a few reasons why your refund takes longer than this, such as:
Inland Revenue have issued the wrong type of return so we need to contact them to get the correct return issued
Inland Revenue have placed your refund into review
Please don’t worry if your account has gone into review. You can rest assured that we are working hard and talking to Inland Revenue directly to get your refund released as soon as possible. Some reasons as to why your refund could be in review are:
Inland Revenue are reviewing your Working for Families entitlement (this is the most common reason).
Your partner or spouse needs to file an IR3 return.
Your refund amount is a large refund ie over $2,500
Income details from your employer need to be confirmed. Your employer may not yet have advised the Inland Revenue of how much tax has been deducted from your wages.
An assessment of your student loan repayment obligation is still taking place.
You owe Child Support and Inland Revenue are assessing your obligations.
If your refund has not been released after the time frame Inland Revenue has provided, we will then contact them again and get a referral sent to remove the error holding up the refund. We check weekly for any changes and will contact you as soon as an update can be provided. Should you have questions regarding your refund please feel free to email us with your details or call us on 0900 REFUND.
IRD number application changes (October 2015)
From 1 October 2015 new rules require international customers to have a New Zealand bank account number before applying for a New Zealand IRD number. They need to include the bank account number on their IRD number application form. The Inland Revenue have introduced two new application forms on 1 October for international customers to provide this information. One form is for individuals and the other form is for entities (for example, companies, trusts and partnerships).
Removal of the Government KiwiSaver $1,000 contribution (May 2015)
As part of the Budget 2015 announcement, the $1,000 kick-start contribution Government makes to new KiwiSaver members’ accounts has been removed. People who have joined KiwiSaver before 2pm, 21 May 2015 will get the kick-start contribution.
Inland Revenue Tax Agent “Security Audit” Results (Dec 2014)
MYTAXBACK takes its obligations very seriously – in fact we aim for perfection at all times. A recent Inland Revenue ‘AUTHORITY TO ACT’ check in October confirmed we’re still on the right track. The Inland Revenue check our processes to make sure we meet their strict parameters before we act on behalf of our clients. I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that we passed this check with flying colours again this year and scored a perfect 100%. This means that when you join our tax agency, you can be assured that we operate in accordance with the directives of the Inland Revenue regarding the linking of clients to our agency. We meet the Inland Revenues required standard to act on your behalf and will always do so with your best interests in mind.
The Parental Tax Credit has increased this year (Nov 2014)
For the 2015 tax year, the government, as part of their election promise has increased the value of the Parental Tax Credit (PTC). Previously, if you had a new child, depending on your personal circumstances, you may have been entitled to $150 per week for 8 weeks or a total of $1,200 in total. However, the PTC has increased to $220 per week for 10 weeks. The total value of this tax credit is now potentially $2,200, so if you have had a new child during the past year it’s definitely worth letting us know so that we can ensure you receive this money.
Scammer Jailed (Sept 2014)
Recently we have heard of several IRD phone scams that were operating in and around the Auckland area.
We are now able to report that the head of a highly organised syndicate of scammers has recently been jailed for a period of four years. Katrina Briggs of Mangere, led a syndicate that used friends, family and social media contacts to claim 270 tax refunds she was not entitled to. This amounted to a total of $1.16 million dollars of tax payers money. 18 people had been working on Briggs' behalf collecting tax information through Facebook, knocking on doors and approaching people in shopping malls pretending to be tax agents. The collectors were paid a cut of the refunds they helped to fraudulently collect for Briggs. Briggs was sentenced to a total of four years and three months jail in the Manukau District Court after pleading guilty to a representative charge of 'causing loss by deception'. Judge Gerard Winter told Briggs her offending was against every New Zealand taxpayer.
The NZ Police have confirmed that 18 other people have been sentenced in connection with this case.