Support for all January to February 2023 weather events

We are offering extra support to businesses, self-employed people and property owners affected by the severe weather that happened from January to February 2023. This information covers all events. We also have separate pages with further support for particular events:

Cyclone Gabrielle

Cyclone Hale

Heavy rainfall in the upper North Island

Businesses and self-employed people

The following is in addition to the general support we offer to businesses and self-employed people in an adverse event.

Insurance pay-out tax relief

If you get an insurance pay-out for destroyed business assets, your profits and your depreciation recovery income may be taxed. You can defer payment by declaring the income in a later year, if the assets are replaced by the end of the 2027-28 income year.

To declare the income in a later year, you must file an election by 30 April 2024, or with your earliest income tax return, when you can reasonably estimate what your insurance pay-out will be.

If you file an election, you can leave the deferred income out of your income tax return for that income year. You must make an election each year to continue to defer the income, until you replace the asset.

When you replace the asset, your deferred income is subtracted from the cost of the replacement asset in your income tax return. If you do not replace the asset by the end of the 2027-28 tax year, the tax relief will end in that year. If your business ceases operation, or you replace assets in an income year before the 2027-28 tax year, the relief ends in the earlier income year.

Our Tax Policy website has more detail on insurance pay-outs:

Commentary on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023-24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill: page 106

Time frame for writing off bad debts

For the 2023 income year, the date by which affected businesses can write off debt as bad has been extended to 31 May 2023.

Time frame for payment of beneficiary income

For the 2022 income year, the date by which affected trusts must pay income to a beneficiary of the trust has been extended to 31 May 2023.

Accommodation expenditure

Accommodation costs for an employee on an out-of-town secondment is exempt income of the employee. This is for work done to help with recovery or rebuild in the areas affected by the North Island flooding events.

The date an employee must have started out-of-town work by is 1 April 2024.

More business support

Find out more about the general support offered to businesses and self-employed people in an adverse event.

Help with your business tax in an adverse or emergency event

Property owners

Your property will not be taxed under the bright-line test and other land time-related tests if it was affected by a weather event and purchased by a Crown or local authority.

You qualify for the bright-line test main home exclusion if you needed to vacate your home for a reasonable period to repair flood damage.

Relief payments and Working for Families 

You do not need to include support or relief payments for the weather events in your income for Working for Families. 

Find out more about the general support offered to families and individuals in an adverse event:

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