In New Zealand, goods and services tax (GST) is a tax added to the price of most goods and services, including imports, and is charged at the standard rate of 15%. 

There’s also a reduced rate of 9%. Some goods and services are zero-rated or exempt from GST. 

The buyer pays GST to the seller, who then pays it to the tax authority. GST is not an income tax.  

Most things you buy have GST added to the price. However, some things do not, including: rent on housing, mortgage payments, and airfares for overseas travel

Below are more details on the three GST rates in New Zealand: standard, reduced, and nil rates.

In providing taxable supplies, and once GST registered, businesses are obliged to follow various compliance rules, including record keeping. These include:

• Receipts, purchase invoices, copies of sales invoices
• Charts of accounts

• Bank statements and deposit slips
  

• Cash books and other account books

• Adjustment notes and credit or debit notes issued or received

• Documents or certificates relating to special GST treatment

• Import and export documentation

• Orders and delivery notes

• Purchase and sales books

• Stocktake records 

• Records of daily takings (such as till tapes)

Businesses operating in New Zealand must register for GST if they have a turnover of more than NZD 60,000 in the previous 12 months, or expect to exceed this threshold within the next 12 months. 

Businesses operating in New Zealand that add GST to the price of their goods or services must also register for GST.

Once registered for GST, businesses must charge GST to their customers and pay anything that is owed to the New Zealand Inland Revenue. Businesses must also file GST returns at a frequency determined by its sales figures.  

Businesses collect GST from their customers, and pay GST to their suppliers when buying goods and services relating to their business operations. If businesses have collected more GST than they paid — which is determined when filing returns — they must pay the balance to the New Zealand Inland Revenue. If businesses have paid more GST than they’ve collected, they can get a GST refund from the

New Zealand Inland Revenue.

Voluntary registration 

If businesses have a turnover of below NZD 60,000, voluntary registration is allowed in New Zealand. This applies to both resident and non-resident businesses. 

Cancelling registration

If a business realises that, based on the previously stated registration requirements, it would not have been mandatory for it to register, it may cancel its registration.

How to complete your GST registration 

Businesses can register online via the Inland Revenue website. They will need their business industry classification (BIC) code, and know which taxable period applies to them and which accounting accounting basis they want. 

Once GST registered, businesses can manage and pay GST online using myGST — a section of the New Zealand Inland Revenue’s online service.

Businesses must file GST returns based on the following:

• Businesses or taxable persons with sales of NZD 24 million in any 12-month period — file monthly.
• Businesses or taxable persons with sales under NZD 24 million in any 12-month period — file every two months.

• Businesses or taxable persons with sales under NZD 500,000 in any 12-month period — file every six months.

Filing deadlines

For GST-registered businesses, a GST return is due by the 28th of the month after the end of the taxable period. However, if the reporting period ends on November 30, the return and payment must be submitted by January 15 of the following year. 

If a GST return deadline falls on public holidays or weekends, filing obligations must be completed by the next working day.

GST refunds

Requested and approved refunds are paid into a business’s bank account within 15 days. Refunds under NZD 5 are carried forward to the next taxable period. Non-resident GST-registered businesses will not need a New Zealand bank account to receive their refund. 

Refunds in New Zealand will not be paid if they’re to be used to pay any other taxes owed. They will also not be paid if the Inland Revenue is waiting for the business to file an overdue GST return or if any information is missing from the application.

GST receipts

A business must provide receipts to buyers if they’ve been charged GST. Receipts can be used to show the New Zealand authorities that GST has been charged and paid. 

The receipt must include the name and GST number of the supplier, the date of transaction, a description and price of the goods in question, and the amount of GST included.

A non-resident business carrying out a taxable activity in New Zealand — defined by the New Zealand Inland Revenue as regular activity that involves the supply of goods or services — may need to register for GST purposes, and collect and return GST on their goods and services. 

Listed services 

From April 1, 2024, non-resident online marketplace operators selling listed services  — including ride-sharing, food and beverage delivery, and short-stay accommodation — must register for, collect, and return GST when the service is performed, provided, or received in New Zealand. 

GST for non-resident digital services  

Non-resident businesses supplying remote services to customers resident in New Zealand may need to be GST registered if their total supplies of goods and services to New Zealand consumers either exceed NZD 60,000 in the last 12 months, or will exceed NZD 60,000 in the next 12 months.  

For taxable purposes, remote services in New Zealand are considered to be: digital/online content such as games, apps, e-books, movies, TV shows, music, newspaper subscriptions, accounting services, and consultancy services. 

Supplying low-value imported goods 

Non-resident businesses that sell low-value imported goods — a physical good valued at NZD 1,000 or less — in New Zealand may need to register for, collect, and return GST. Imported goods valued over NZD 1,000 have GST and customs duties charged at the border by the New Zealand Customs Service.

Once you’ve completed all necessary registration processes, you’ll receive a VAT registration certificate within one month. 

Businesses must account for VAT from the date they submitted their registration application (not from the date they receive their registration certificate).

The tax point (time of supply) rules determine when GST is due. It’s then declared in the proceeding GST return. The general invoice rule is that the tax point is the earlier of the date of the supply or the invoice date.

Businesses may alternatively opt for the cash paid basis if their turnover is below NZD 2 million per annum.

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