Ngā whakapainga hou nei mā ngā kaikaute Recent improvements for bookkeepers

Webinars

For more detail on all these changes, including screenshots, you can watch one of our webinars live and on-demand.

Transformation webinars

Changes for employers

We've made some changes to myIR and payroll accounts will look a bit different.  All employer accounts (for each payroll profile) are combined into a single Employer Activities (Payroll) account to manage Employment Information transactions and obligations. As a result of these changes:

• transactions are grouped and presented differently and will show up sooner than they did
• correspondence about employee changes is grouped so we will not write to you as often
• you may be asked to provide more information about employees such as hours paid, if you have it
• small balance write-offs, late payment penalty thresholds and use of money interest thresholds  now apply to the overall employer account balance, not each sub-account individually
• we’ll notify employers when an employee’s student loan is almost repaid - telling them the final deduction amount and the new tax code
• the new employee details (IR346) and KiwiSaver (KS1) information are in one form.

Employing staff - changes in myIR

Investment income reporting

Providers of investment income benefits or payments should be aware that:

• they need to start filing electronically, in more detail and more frequently from 1 April 2020
• there is a new exemptions register for you to check (instead of asking the person you are paying to provide you with an RWT certificate of exemption)
• the new non-declaration rate for RWT on interest income is 45% from 1 April 2020.

Exemptions register 

Direct debits in myIR

You and your clients can continue to pay us by credit card, debit card and online banking.  But now -  if you choose to pay by direct debit in myIR from a new bank account a direct debit authority will need to be set up. 

• Setting up the authority is a one-off process and will need to be set up separately for each new bank account before a direct debit payment can be made.
• You can continue to pay by direct debit for a client if you have signing authority on the bank account being used (such as if it’s your businesses own bank account) after you have set up the authority in myIR. 

Other changes in April

Student loans

The student loan repayment holiday has been renamed to “temporary repayment suspension” to make it clearer that this is a temporary break.

If you’re linked for student loans, you can bring your client’s student loan accounts into your workspace.

Cheques

We no longer accept payments by cheque, including cheques dated after 1 March. 

We're moving on from cheques

Tax technical

We’re developing a new and improved Tax Technical website – the first stage will be ready soon.

Short process rulings

Short-process rulings are a way for individuals and organisations, with an annual gross income of $20 million or less, to apply for a binding ruling on how a tax law applies to a situation.

Research and development tax incentive

The R&D tax incentive provides a tax credit at a rate of 15% of eligible R&D spend up to $120 million. To be eligible, your clients need to spend at least $50,000 per year on eligible R&D.  

Research and development tax incentive

Rental loss ring-fencing

From the 2019-20 income year onward, new rules apply to losses claimed for residential properties. Residential property losses are now be ring-fenced, meaning that they cannot be used to offset other income.

Ring-fencing residential rental losses