Does leaving New Zealand change my tax responsibilities?
As a New Zealand tax resident if you are planning on leaving the country there are a few things you will need to work out prior to your departure. You will need to work out whether your tax residency status will change, if double tax agreements will affect how your New Zealand income is taxed, if you have any social policy programmes to update, and what needs to be done to finalise your tax position.
First you must understand if your tax residency status will change, as this will affect your tax obligations. If you are currently a New Zealand tax resident, you’ll only become a non-resident taxpayer if you fit the following criteria; you do not have a permanent place of residence in New Zealand and you are away from New Zealand for more than 325 days in any 12 month period. If this does not apply to you, your residency status will not change and you will continue to pay tax as a New Zealand tax resident.
You will also need to check if your new country of residence has a double tax agreement with New Zealand, as this may affect how your income from New Zealand is taxed. To read more on this click here.
Now that you know if your tax residency status is going to change when you leave New Zealand, you will now know that your tax obligations are also going to change. Click here to read more on what changes may affect you.
There are also other programmes that may change that need to be considered when leaving New Zealand. These will have different time frames from your tax obligations.
For example, if you have a student loan you’ll know that currently while you are living in New Zealand long-term it is interest free. This changes once you leave the country for around 5 out of every 6 months. At this point you may be charged interest which will be dated from the day you first left. It is best to speak to IRD about this before leaving the country, so you know what changes will be coming.
Depending on your circumstances the other programmes you may need to review before your departure are; Kiwisaver, Working for Families, Child support. For more information on what these changes may be click here.
