Latest news on Inland Revenue's transformation
What's gone live in 2019
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With the holiday season upon us here is a brief summary of the changes that have gone live this year.
Short-process rulings
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You can now apply for a short-process ruling. This is a new way to get a binding ruling on how a tax law applies to a situation. It’s quicker and less expensive than private rulings, which means that more people can get certainty on how tax rules apply to them.
For more information, check out our website: ird.govt.nz/SPR
Ring-fencing rental losses
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New rules apply from the start of the 2019-2020 income year. You will no longer be able to reduce your tax liability by offsetting residential rental property deductions against your other income, such as salary or wages, or business income.
For more information, check out our website: ird.govt.nz/ring-fencing
Investment income
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Payers of investment income can opt into the new investment income reporting requirements. These will be mandatory from 1 April 2020.
For more information, check out our website: ird.govt.nz/investment-income
Research and Development Tax Incentive
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The Research and Development Tax Incentive is available for the 2019-2020 income year and features a 15% tax credit on up to $120 million of eligible expenditure. You can enrol now. Use the eligibility tool and guidance on our website to find out if your R&D activities meet the incentive criteria.
For more information, check out our website: ird.govt.nz/rd-tax-incentive
KiwiSaver changes
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There are two new KiwiSaver contribution rate options for members, who can now contribute 6% or 10%.
For more information, check out our website: ird.govt.nz/kiwisaver-individuals
Register for Inland Revenue's webinars
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In 2020 we’ll continue our series of tailored webinars to help you prepare for the upcoming tax changes. Our next session is on 22 January 2020 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm when we’ll share more information on:
Working for Families Tax Credit changes
Research & development tax incentive changes
Short-process rulings
Ring-fencing rental losses changes
Income equalisation
Moving on from cheques
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To learn more about our future sessions or to view previous webinars on demand, visit our website: ird.govt.nz/webinars. You will also find questions and answers from previous webinars.
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Research & Development Tax Incentive: preparing for your end of year returns
Businesses wishing to claim the Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) must first enrol through myIR.
To claim for the 2019-2020 income year you will need to:
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complete an R&D supplementary return electronically
include the value of the tax credit you are claiming in your income tax return, which you will also need to file electronically
file your R&D supplementary return and income tax return by the required dates.
You can do this yourself or ask your tax agent to do it on your behalf.
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The supplementary return is specific to the R&D Tax Incentive. It will be available to enrolled customers through their myIR account and will be visible after the end of their income year. ??To help you prepare, we’ve created a PDF showing the questions you’ll need to answer and the format. ?You can find this PDF on our website.
New Inland Revenue Tax Technical website coming in early 2020
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To help people find tax technical answers more quickly, we’re building a new Tax Technical website. The new site will be available on, but will operate separately from, the main Inland Revenue site.
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We’re improving the site in stages throughout 2020, with the first release planned for early 2020. This first release will make it easier to browse and search our tax technical publications, public consultations, and the Tax Information Bulletin (TIB).
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In the months that follow this first release, we will add more features, including:
The ability to browse for keywords e.g. motor vehicles, depreciation rates
Filters to narrow your results
Better linking between publications and to other websites
Better interlinking of TIB issues and their individual publications.
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The development of a new and improved Tax Technical website follows on from our work to modernise the Inland Revenue website over the past year.
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No cheques from 1 March
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A friendly reminder that from 1 March 2020 we will stop accepting payment by cheque, including cheques dated after 1 March 2020.
There are several payment methods offered by us and the banks.
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Pay online through your bank
You can make payments to us through your bank’s online banking facilities. This can be fast, easy, secure and you can set your payment for a future date.
Pay online in myIR
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You can make payments to us in your myIR account with your credit or debit card. You can also set up a direct debit and select the date of the payment.
We recognise that online payments may not suit everyone. The following options are also available.
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Automatic payment authority form (IR586)
You can set up an automatic payment from your bank account to us using our automatic payment authority form:
Complete the form and give it to your bank
Most suitable for fixed or regular payments, such as debt or arrears
Allows for two signatures
Available on our website, or we can post it to you on request.
Please speak to your bank about processing times for automatic payments.
Cash or Eftpos at Westpac
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You can make cash or Eftpos payments to us at a Westpac branch. Remember to bring your barcode to ensure the payment can be correctly allocated.
We encourage you to speak with your bank or a tax professional to help you find the best payment method for you.
For more information on these payment methods visit ird.govt.nz/cheques.
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Holiday office hours
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Our offices will close at 2pm on Tuesday 24 December and will reopen on Monday 6 January.
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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49.5% Yes
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48.6% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Why make picking up reserved library books harder? What do you think? Challenge: Write the last stanza for the first poem attached below.
Once books are reserved in Auckland Libraries books, when they are available no longer go alphabetically by customer but instead go into a Holds pickup shelf number based presumably somehow on when each book needs to be picked up by.
I had two books reserved that arrived on two different days in the Blockhouse Bay Library and hence each book has a different shelf number. Hard to find unless you knew the shelf number in the notification email. Even if you knew the shelf number I found myself three books by the same author on the two shelf numbers.
More recently yesterday a book I reserved was on a different shelf number than was specified in my notification email (see image below).
Sadly it is clear from library staff that a numerical system for reserves is here to stay.
I suggest that so that all books for each person has the same shelf number, the shelf number becomes the last digit of a person's library card (0-9).
Within each shelf number a book is found under the day the reserve arrives in the library (01 to 31, hopefully the same date the email is sent).
Since a customer appears to have 10 days to pick up a book, ten days of the month would appear to be required at any time (for each digit 0-9).
Once there are 10 days used the next day's reserves could go back at the beginning of the shelf number after any remaining books not collected (hopefully none) are removed (along with the old day number and the new day number (01 to 31) inserted) after the last day available and future days' books remaining moved forward to make room.
Each day number (01-31) would appear once for each shelf number (0-9) before the first book on that day- perhaps cover an old withdrawn book with paper with each day number on the spine?
When a reserved book arrives in the library the last digit of the library card could be placed on a piece of paper in the book to be removed when it is put on the shelf, to be recycled the next day.
What do you think?
See the image below and page 3 below for a letter appearing in the Western Leader on 9 September:
www.neighbourly.co.nz...
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