18 Mar 2026 4 min read
Last year, the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025–26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill was introduced, and while it's yet to be passed, other changes and residual items will come into effect in April 2026:
To help you understand what’s changing and how it may affect you, IRD is releasing helpful webinars covering five short topics. The first two sessions are now available:
From 1 April 2026, the default employer and employee contribution rates rise to 3.5% (from 3%), then step up again to 4% on 1 April 2028— this means now is the time to set up your payroll and budgets accordingly.
Employees can apply for a temporary rate reduction which takes effect from 1 Apr 2026. Employers can match this reduced rate, but must return to the default when the employee’s rate changes again. Employer contributions have also been extended to 16 and 17 year olds from 1 Apr 2026.
Barriers that prevent many farm and other rural workers from using their KiwiSaver accounts to buy their first homes are also being removed. The legislation will be introduced mid-2026 and remove the requirement for those who are “workers in service tenancies” to have to live in their first-home if they use KiwiSaver to purchase it.
IRD have undertaken a survey of Investment Boost. Investment Boost is a partial expensing regime that lets businesses claim an immediate 20% deduction for the cost of qualifying new investment assets in the year the asset is first available for use (or when expenditure is incurred for non depreciables), applying to assets from 22 May 2025.
It’s intended to lift capital investment and productivity and excludes assets previously used in New Zealand. Interesting survey outcomes include:
The full results of the survey will be available later this month.
A new interpretation statement covers the general principles for the income tax treatment of costs incurred when carrying out work on property used in a business or income-earning activity. It provides more clarity, updated structures and examples, and reflects recent case law.
IRD has provided guidance for the treatment of off-market share cancellations. It covers when payments made on share cancellations aren't to be treated as dividends, how to request a Commissioner’s notice, and the implications if a payment is later found to be a dividend. The exposure draft is open for comments until 23 March.
On 20 and 21 January 2026 local authorities declared the severe weather events as a local emergency event. IRD may be able to help if you are in one of the regions or districts and your business or personal income is affected. You can find out if you're eligible here.
Highlights from Volume 38 No 2 include:
For retirement villages, there’s one area of complexity where the correct treatment can really pay dividends, and that’s GST. However, it can get complicated for retirement village operators; it’s easy to get wrong and can be very expensive to fix.
NZ IFRS 18 is coming, whether you’re ready or not. The sooner you start thinking about it, the smoother and more cost-effective the transition will be. We’ve been hearing quite a few of the same questions from Kiwi organisations, so we’ve put together the following list of the most commonly asked questions which address some of the more tricky issues you’ll face with NZ IFRS 18.
Big changes could be coming for earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand. Proposed reforms aim to cut red tape, shift to a more risk-based system, and potentially save building owners billions. For many, this could mean fewer buildings on the EPB register and far more affordable remediation. Grant Thornton partner Matt Hannah and Matt Williams from BMC Consult reveal what might this mean for your building’s value, rent, insurance or lending:
