Tax credits (formerly rebates)
What is a tax credit? (formerly rebate)
A tax credit is a reduction in the amount of tax you need to pay. There are two types of income tax credits (formerly rebates):
- income under $9,880 tax credit (formerly rebate)
- child tax credit (formerly rebate).
If you're eligible for one of these tax credits (formerly rebates) you may get a tax refund. To claim these tax credits (formerly rebates), you need to receive a personal tax summary or file an IR3 income tax return.
Income under $9,880 tax credit (formerly rebate)
If your taxable income is under $9,880 you can claim this tax credit (formerly rebate) for every week that you were in paid work for 20 hours or more:
- earning salary or wages
- as a shareholder-employee
- as a working partner in a partnership, or
- in self-employment
If you would have done 20 or more hours of paid work a week but instead received a community wage for sickness or accident compensation payments, you can still claim this tax credit (formerly rebate).
Exception: You can't claim this tax credit (formerly rebate) if you or your partner were entitled to Working for Families tax credits (previously family assistance) during the year.
If you left school during the year you can claim either the income under $9,880 tax credit (formerly rebate) or the child tax credit (formerly rebate), whichever is larger. You can't claim both.
Child tax credit
| You can claim this tax credit (formerly rebate) if... | and... | as long as... |
|---|---|---|
|
you were under 19 years old |
you attended school anytime between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008 |
you earned income that wasn't only interest, dividends or taxable Maori authority distributions (ie, salary or wages). |
How to claim a tax credit (formerly rebate) and get a refund
If you're eligible for a tax credit you'll either need to file an IR3 tax return or receive a personal tax summary to find out if you'll get a refund. More information about both is under "Find out more" below.
If you file an IR3 tax return
Your IR3 tax return includes a tax credits section which will help you to calculate your tax credits. See "Find out more" below for information about who needs to file an IR3 return.
Personal tax summaries
If you don't need to file an IR3, use the Personal tax summary calculator to work out if you'll get a refund and how much it will be.
If you're eligible for the child tax credit or the income under $9,880 tax credit, you can use the Request a personal tax summary service under "Get it done online" to make sure your tax credits are added to your personal tax summary. Or, if you've already received a personal tax summary call us on 0800 227 774 and ask for your tax credits to be added onto your personal tax summary. If you're eligible for both, we'll calculate which one is better for your situation and add the largest one onto your personal tax summary.
Find out more
- Personal tax summaries (PTS)
- Income tax returns (IR3)
- Donations, childcare and housekeeper tax credits
Next steps
- Filing your IR3 income tax return (if you need to)
Date published: 30 Sep 2008
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