He pēhea e tākehia ai te moni whiwhi How income gets taxed

Your taxable income

Most income you get is taxable. This means we’ll include it in your end of year automatic calculation, or if you file an individual tax return – IR3 then you’ll need to declare the income.

Taxable income can include income from:

• working including salary, wages or self-employed income
• benefits and student allowances
• assets and investments including Kiwisaver and rental income
• overseas income.

Some income is not taxable, so we will not include it in your end of year automatic calculation. If you file an individual tax return – IR3, then you will not need to declare the income.

Non-taxable income can include:

• prize money and inheritances, although interest earned from investing these is taxable
• gifts or koha, if the giver gets nothing in return
• reimbursing someone for money they’ve spent
• specific non-taxable employment allowances such as for temporary additional transport costs

Read more about different types of income.

Types of individual income

Types of business income

If you are not sure if your income is taxable, you can contact us.

How income is taxed

Either someone else takes tax out of your income on your behalf or you pay the tax yourself.

If someone else takes tax out of your income they pass the tax on to us on your behalf. You are paid the after-tax amount.

If you pay tax yourself, you work out how much you need to pay at the end of the tax year (31 March) and pay the tax directly to us.