Income tax Dates
If you're a New Zealand tax resident, you pay tax on interest and dividends you earn from bank accounts and investments in New Zealand and overseas.
If you earn interest from New Zealand, your payer will usually deduct resident withholding tax (RWT) before they pay you.
Resident withholding tax (RWT)
If you get dividends from a company, your dividends will usually have imputation credits attached. You use these imputation credits to pay tax on your dividends. The imputation credits represent income tax paid by the company.
If your dividend is not fully imputed (not enough company tax was paid) then resident withholding tax should be deducted.
Dividends can be provided to shareholders in the form of cash or by way of provision of goods or services (non-cash dividends). If you’d like to know more about non-cash dividends, see our interpretation statement:
Interpretation Statement 21/05: Non-cash dividends
If you get interest and dividends from overseas, there are different rules depending on your situation.
Tax for New Zealand tax residents
If you are not a tax resident, you pay tax on investments you have in New Zealand.
Tax for non-resident taxpayers
If you have financial arrangements, you'll also need to know how this can affect the tax you pay.