2026 January - Severe weather in Northland, Tairāwhiti, Thames-Coromandel, Western Bay of Plenty and Hauraki

On 20 and 21 January 2026 local authorities declared this severe weather a local emergency event. 

We may be able to help if you are in one of these regions or districts and your business or personal income is affected.

• Northland
• Tairāwhiti
• Thames-Coromandel
• Western Bay of Plenty
• Hauraki

Contacting us

Our emergency helpline is 0800 473 566. 

For other ways to contact us, see our contact page.

Natural disasters adverse emergency events contact us

See our website for more information on how we can help.

Natural disasters, adverse and emergency events

Help for you or your family

We may be able to help with your personal tax, KiwiSaver, or student loan payments. For child support or Working for Families payments, you’ll need to let us know if your situation has changed.

Help for you or your family in an adverse or emergency event

Taxation of relief payments

Any payment you receive between 15 January 2026 and 31 July 2026 to help with this severe weather event does not need to be included in your family scheme income, when calculating your Working for Families entitlement.

Estimate your entitlement

DET 26/01: Declaration that the January 2026 severe weather event is an emergency event for the purposes of family scheme income (taxtechnical.ird.govt.nz)

Help for your business

If you have a farm, a business or are self-employed, we can help you manage your business tax following an adverse or emergency event.

Help with your business tax in an adverse or emergency event

Help for farmers and growers

 You may be able to get help through the income equalisation scheme if your income is affected by this event.

We have made ‘class of case’ decisions to cover farmers and growers in the affected regions.  Details are as follows.

Income equalisation scheme – late deposits

You can make late deposits for the 2025 income year up to 31 May 2026.

Income equalisation scheme – early refunds

You can apply for the early refund of a deposit if you made your deposit before 20 January 2026. 

Normally, income equalisation deposits are not available for refund until 12 months after they have been made.

Your application for an early refund must be in writing. It may take approximately 5 days to process.

The refund will be income in the year you make the application, unless you apply it to the previous income year.

Income equalisation scheme

Customers outside of the affected region 

For customers affected by drought conditions in other regions or districts you can apply to us on a case-by-case basis for the same relief.