What you can claim with Investment Boost

Here’s what you can and cannot claim with Investment Boost, including minor use, improvements, assets under construction, and backdating when there’s a reassessment.

What you can claim for

Businesses can claim 20% deductions for the costs of new (or new to New Zealand) business assets that they bought - or finished constructing - on or after 22 May 2025.

To claim Investment Boost, the asset must be:

• new or new to New Zealand (even if it was used overseas in the past)
• first available for the business to use on or after 22 May 2025
• depreciable for tax purposes.

You can also claim for:

• new commercial and industrial buildings
• improvements to depreciable property (but not residential buildings)
• primary sector land improvements
• assets arising from petroleum development expenditure and mineral mining development expenditure incurred on or after 22 May 2025 (except rights, permits or privileges)
• mixed-use assets.

There is no limit to the value of new investments you can claim Investment Boost for.

What you cannot claim for

You cannot claim Investment Boost for:

• second-hand assets that are sourced from New Zealand
• residential rental buildings
• most fixed-life intangible assets (such as patents).

Incidental or minor use of an asset

To qualify, assets must never have been used in New Zealand (other than for specific things such as being held as trading stock). 

However, assets will still qualify if they’ve only been used in a minimal or insignificant way. For example, a single demonstration of a lawnmower while it’s being held for sale is not ‘use’ of that lawnmower. 

When assets under construction or improvements are first available for use

You can claim Investment Boost on assets (or improvements to existing assets) that first become available for use on or after 22 May 2025.

An asset or improvement is available for use when it is capable of being used. Generally this is when it is physically and legally able to be used, even if you did not begin to use it straightaway.

Other factors like the terms of a contract may also be relevant.

What improvements are

An improvement means an alteration, extension, or repair of an item of depreciable property that increases its capital value. An alteration, extension or repair project needs to be complete, or complete to an identifiable stage that increases the capital value of the asset, before there is an improvement that may be available for use.

Read more about improvements and construction in our Investment Boost examples.

Investment Boost examples

No notice required to claim Investment Boost

You don’t need to notify us about your choice to claim Investment Boost. It is included in your return, and your financial statements or IR10, with any other depreciation loss you claim.

For example, if you buy a new asset for $10,000 on 23 May 2025, include the Investment Boost amount of $2,000 (20%) as depreciation in the tax depreciation box on your Financial statements summary - IR10.

Evidence of new investment asset

You need to keep evidence to show that you bought or acquired the new investment asset and when it was first available for use in New Zealand.

What evidence you have will depend on the circumstances of the new investment asset.

It may include things like:

• invoices, receipts, proof of payment for any expenditure relating to the asset
• proof of ownership
• contracts, code compliance certificates, document showing when the asset was legally able to be used
• import documentation, bills of lading, customs clearance, freight invoices, equipment interchange receipts, terminal receipts
• correspondence from the time you bought it, for example emails, texts or letters.

You need to be able to show when the asset was physically capable of and legally able to be used in New Zealand and your expenditure on the asset.

Must depreciate if claiming Investment Boost

If you claim Investment Boost on a depreciable asset, you must depreciate the asset. You cannot elect the asset to be non-depreciable.

For more information on electing a depreciable asset to be non-depreciable read Depreciation – a guide for businesses – IR260.

Backdating Investment Boost

You can choose to claim Investment Boost for a past year if we reassess your tax for that year.

For example, if you claimed a deduction for an expense that we did not consider deductible when we reassessed your tax, you could claim Investment Boost on that expense instead, as long as it met the other Investment Boost requirements.