With the country now at Level 3, many more businesses can now operate which is great news. Worksafe has published guidelines for operating safely at Level 3 and there’s a good page about workplace operations at all levels on the business.govt.nz website. Business tax support The government announced a further set of tax proposals to help businesses manage the impacts of COVID-19. These include: Greater flexibility for taxpayers in respect… Read more
What’s in the $3.2 billion support package? The government’s latest coronavirus support package includes further measures to try and ease the pain of the lockdown. It includes tax breaks, business advice and help for tenants and landlords. There are no in depth details available yet, so we will have to hold on, likely until 27th April. Tax loss carry-back scheme A large portion of the package is the tax loss… Read more
Over the course of a few weeks nearly everyone’s business and life has been turned upside down. It’s been a crazy time with toilet paper shortages, businesses forced to close, an overload of information (and mis-information on social media). With the recent disruption in mind, we wanted to help support you however we can. We’ve seen a number of our clients already impacted by the virus and decided to… Read more
Tax time has come around again. In particular, Terminal and Provisional taxes are due in April and May: 2019 Terminal Tax – due 7 April 2020 2020 Provisional Tax, 3rd instalment – due 7 May 2020 Our recommendation is to pay the tax in full if you can, especially the 2019 Terminal Tax. If you cannot pay in full, pay what you can afford. Then consider options for the balance as… Read more
Following on from our Covid-19 Update, we have created a short video to walk you through the process of applying for wage subsidies and leave payments. Please pay particular attention to the criteria for the wage subsidies and leave payments. Application for Wage Subsidies and Leave Payments Tutorial NB: This link is best opened using Google Chrome. If you require any assistance with your application, please do not hesitate to contact… Read more
We know you are being inundated with correspondence regarding the Covid-19 virus, so we hope we are able to support you with constructive support and suggestions at this time. Things to consider doing at this point The key to going forward is to have a plan. And know that this plan needs to be fluid. Make a list of your concerns – write these down. Then put some priority around… Read more
Are you using your car for business purposes? It’s timely to outline the process for claiming tax on your work vehicle expenses. If you’re using a vehicle for business purposes, you can claim tax back on expenses. If you use the vehicle only for business, you can claim the full running costs. If you use the vehicle for any personal travel, you’ll need to separate the running costs of your… Read more
Week 1: First things first Talk to your accountant or bookkeeper. They’ll tell you what you need to do before 31 March including what you can claim for and what you can’t. Remember, tax time is busy for them too, so the more prepared you are, the smoother the process, and the better the result. File your return on time. Don’t waste your hard-earned cash on unnecessary interest and penalties. Get your… Read more
The new law on ring-fencing rental losses is now in force, which means: In most cases ring-fenced deductions will be carried forward and can only be used against residential rental or sale of property income in future years. Property investors will, in most cases, no longer be able to reduce their tax liability by offsetting residential rental property deductions against their other income, such as salary or wages, or business income.… Read more
Five new ways to do it. If you normally write a cheque to pay for your taxes, it’s time to decide how you will pay in the future. As of 1 March 2020, Inland Revenue will no longer be accepting cheques. By the end of the last financial year (June 2019), only around 5% of payments received by Inland Revenue were by cheque, so they made the call to phase… Read more
Overseas businesses selling goods valued at $1,000 or less online to New Zealanders are now required to register for, collect and return GST where their supplies to New Zealanders exceed (or are expected to exceed) $60,000 in a 12-month period. This is good news for local businesses who may have been at a competitive disadvantage by having to charge GST on their sales, when their foreign competitors didn’t. Want to… Read more
Have you found yourself in a position where you are late paying an income tax payment, or unable to pay in full? Don’t despair – we can help! Before you pay Inland Revenue, get it touch with us to discuss how you can use tax pooling to preserve your payment dates and save potential interest and penalties. For unpaid income tax, you can settle what you owe Inland Revenue by… Read more
From 1 April 2019 Inland Revenue has introduced new tax rules regarding charging of use-of-money interest (UOMI) on Provisional Taxes paid by taxpayers using the Standard Provisional Tax option. Previous Rules A taxpayer who used the standard option to calculate their Provisional Tax and whose Residual Income Tax (RIT) was less than $50,000, would only be subject to UOMI from their Terminal Tax due date (generally 7 April). If a… Read more
Keeping track of sales, earnings, expenses, and purchases is fundamental to the overall health and sustainability of your business. Effective bookkeeping produces the data you need to evaluate your current practices, anticipate challenges, and set attainable future goals. But despite their proven importance, many business owners dread and avoid accounting tasks. In fact, 40% of surveyed entrepreneurs claim that bookkeeping is one the worst parts of running a… Read more
Further developments with digital services tax and collection of the International Visitor Levy were announced and the Government remains committed to modernising and simplifying the tax system. Pre-Budget The major announcement pre-Budget was that Capital Gains Tax is now off the table and that has pretty much overshadowed any tax announcement since. The Government also announced two specific pre-Budget tax measures: GST on telecommunications, and repeal of racing totaliser duty… Read more
ACC and Student Loan rate changes from 1 April: The Student Loan Scheme annual repayment threshold increases from $19,448 to $19,760. Average ACC Work levies paid by employers and self-employed people will decrease from 72 cents to 67 cents per $100 of liable earnings. The Earners levies paid through PAYE (or invoiced directly through ACC for self-employed people) remain at $1.21 per $100 of liable earnings. Tax Working Group report… Read more
Payday filing We have mentioned this in the past, but don’t forget payday filing for employers is compulsory from 1 April 2019. Please contact us if you need any help with complying with the new process and rules. No more cheques for IRD Do you send post-dated cheques for tax payments? It’s time to go digital! From now on you’ll need to use online banking to make future-dated payments as… Read more
1: Fill your drawers Can you stock up on stationery, postage and courier bags before 31 March? Claim now and save. 2: Staff expenses If you owe employees holiday pay, bonuses, long service leave or redundancy payments, you can claim for these now — as long as they are paid within 63 days of the balance date. 3. Can you fix it? If you’ve got any significant maintenance or repairs on the cards, do it before year-end… Read more
Hundreds of Kiwi business owners are enjoying the benefits of payday filing – are you? If not, you’ll need to be by 1 April when payday filing becomes compulsory. Now’s the time to work out how you’re going to integrate it into your payroll processes and save time on your tax obligations. Payday filing means you need to: File employment information every payday instead of an Employer monthly schedule (IR348).… Read more
No business owner looks forward to a letter from the taxman requesting a closer look at the books. If you’ve received an audit letter – an official request by the tax authority to review your accounts and confirm your taxes have been paid to date – don’t panic. Prepare. These four steps will help you get through the process with minimal stress and the best possible outcome. Respond promptly If… Read more