Reporting your overseas income

If you get income from overseas while you’re a New Zealand tax resident, you must report it.

From the 2023 tax year on, you must file an Overseas income summary – IR1261 form. You can fill it out in myIR or download it at the bottom of this page. You need to tell us:

• the type of income you earned.
• the amount of each income type earned.
• the overseas jurisdiction you earned the income in.
• the amount of foreign tax credit claimed.

Make sure you label supporting documents. You can send them as an attachment to the return or as a web message in myIR.

Complete my individual income tax return - IR3

Including different types of income

You need to report all overseas income, from all sources, broken down by income, type, and jurisdiction (the country or territory you earned the income in).

For example, you should report income from 2 trusts separately if each trust is in a different jurisdiction. Also report trust and business income separately even if they are both based in the same jurisdiction.

Income tax for partnerships

Look through companies

Trusts and estates

Income already taxed in another jurisdiction

Even if another jurisdiction has taken tax from it already you must report the income and jurisdiction it came from.

When you file your return, you can break down foreign investment funds (FIF) by jurisdiction, or you can include the whole fund under the jurisdiction ‘overseas’. If you are filing with software that does not include ‘overseas’ as an option, you can use ‘XX’ or unknown jurisdiction.

Overseas losses

You need to tell us if you made a loss on any overseas income. FIFs sometimes end up as a loss or as no income for a year. When this happens include the total for the fund under the ‘overseas’ jurisdiction.

In a supporting report, break down the fund’s income and losses. Include any losses that have been reduced to zero. Show losses by income type and by jurisdiction.

Expenses and tax credits

You can include expense claims when you report your overseas income. You only need to report the total income less expenses. If you break down income type and jurisdiction in supporting documents we can process your return faster.

You must report any overseas tax credits you earn on income. For each type of income and jurisdiction provide a total amount of overseas tax credits. If you are getting tax credits from more than 1 source on a single type of income, give us details in a supporting document.

Rental property

Report commercial rental property in the jurisdiction that the property is in, even if you earn income from it in another jurisdiction.

Residential rental property.

If the residential rental property deduction rules apply to you, do not include the income in the ‘Total overseas income’ box of your return or in your Overseas income summary - IR1261. Add it to the ‘Residential income’ section in your Income tax return – IR3.

Report any foreign tax credits you earn on residential rental income. Include these on your Overseas income summary as ‘rental’ income type. To help us process you return faster, you can include a supporting note breaking down the income, expenditure, and tax credits.

Residential rental property deductions