Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Just got my 2011-2012 tax refund through:thumbsup: Thought I'd issue a reminder to those who arrived last year that they may be entitled to an income tax refund.
If you have only worked part of a tax year then you may be due a tax refund. You would have to apply for it by filling in an IR3 [full tax return] rather than the easier route you can use once you've been resident the whole year. There are companies that can claim refunds on your behalf but it's easy enough to do yourself especially once you've been here a whole year. In my opinion the tax refund companies are really a bit of a scam.
The IR3 is a bit long winded but not that hard once you sit down with a calculator and your income and tax records.
http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-in.../end-year/ir3/

I work for 2-3 different employers which is why I get one!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

And to add to this.... you can claim refunds for child care and charity donations every year :thumbup:

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Hi Persephone - are you sure you have to do an IR3? I arrived March 2011 - I requested a Personal Tax Summary (PTS) after doing the online calculation just to make sure I didn't OWE, and they have confirmed a $700 refund which should be in my bank in a couple more days.....I don't think you always have to do an IR3?

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Not an expert so could be wrong of course! Doesn't happen often though:p

I got that info from the IRD website:
Also there is a calculator somewhere on there that tells you to file an IR3 if you were not tax resident for the whole year. If you can claim via the PTS then it is incredibly easy to do so much preferable.
Were you claiming for the 2011-2012 year? If you were then you were resident for the whole tax year so could claim via the PTS.
If it was the 2010-2011 year [so based on your earnings in March 2011] then that makes life easier for you new arrivals as no long winded IR3...:)

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Part tax year arrival needs an IR3.

Whole tax year as resident doesn't.

Also note that you can do these retrospectively.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Well i'll keep schtum - I arrived 10th March 2011 on a WHV (not as resident) so was claiming 11-12 - and they've granted it to me just with a PTS soooo............I'm happy!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

That fits with what me and BEVS have written. You were a resident for tax purposes for the whole of the 11-12 tax year so no you wouldn't have had to fill in an IR3. Not the same as having the right to reside in NZ indefinitely ie residency-sorry not sure how to phrase this properly!
If you wish to claim a refund for the tax year 2010-2011 [for which you were only resident for tax purposes for 21days] then you will have to fill in an IR3.:)

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

ah! sorry for confusion then! yes of course, resident for tax purposes I was indeed.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

how long does it take for them to send you a refund?? I sent my paperwork in about 6 weeks ago and haven't heard a dicky bird!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

I'm still waiting from May!! They are having serious processing issues this year!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Mine took about 2 weeks back in June. I did it all online so didn't need to send any paperwork in.
Can't believe you're still waiting from May, you'd have been ahead of me as well:confused:

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

I think that's the key... apply after the 'rush' ( I've done that in previous years and it has always been processed quickly). I'll give them another call today.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Yayyyyyyy got mine last week, deffo worth the wait!!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

I arrived last April and started work an August and got a good whack back! Course no one tells you this - I found out from my kiwi colleague who'd just come back from her OE.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

I got here last August and just processed mine. Once I was finally able to fill it in online (something wrong with the site I think) they paid up in under 2 weeks. I thought it would be a few hundred but I got a couple of thousand back! Glad I looked into it

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

You should be able to do it online through your IRD number. Don't forget to claim your UK refund either.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

I do all mine online, the IRD have my bank details on file and the refund is just transferred into it.
Can't believe it's going to be time to do it all again soon though due to changing circumstances I'll have to do a full IR3 this year:sneaky:

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Nick.. What do you mean UK one too?

I got 185NZD back the other wekk for 2011-12, :thumbsup:
Better than a kick in the tits eh..

Gary.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Hi Wessa
Nice to see you on here!
I think he means the tax refund you can claim back from the UK when you first move over. Most people will have worked a part year in the UK and if you're on PAYE then that means you will have overpaid tax [as they calculate it as if you're working for the full year]

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

sorry need some clarification

can we claim tax back from NZ tax office?
husband I believe claimed back tax in the UK from when he came over on Sept 2011 and started working but has not claimed or attempted to claim anything for here (NZ).
I we can how do we go about doing it?

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

If he was employed between Sept 2011 and April 1st 2012 and paid tax on a pay as you earn basis then he will probably be due tax back. Each wage slip is taxed as if he earned that amount for a full year.

He will need to file a full IR3 (full tax return) as he will only have been in NZ for part of the year.
Go to http://www.ird.govt.nz/ There is a calculator which you can use to check whether you are owed a refund. If he knows how much tax he paid and how much he earned then just enter that. If he doesn't have that info then contact the IRD and ask for a Personal Tax Summary for that year.
If a refund is due then search for form IR3 for the 2011/12 tax year, fill it in and return it. It took me 1-2 hours when I did it.

If you've worked the full tax year and are due a refund then there is a simpler way of doing it, but this is probably not relevant if he is on a regular salary. I had two jobs and irregular hours so I always overpaid tax.:sneaky:

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

success we got a couple of thousand back. paid off CC :thumbsup:

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Excellent! :drinkwine::drinkwine::beer: Drinks on you then;)

Did my IR3 before we went away and already got my refund. It is so much easier and quicker to do online! It does all the maths for you- no need to add A and B then divide by F which is the product of C and G and so on...

We're renting out our home so sorting the costs out there was the main part this year.

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All my buddies used a company to get their $ back (mugs) but as I only had 1 employer I used the IRD website. Agree with what everyone has said, it's pretty easy and people there to help if you need it. Took about 30 mins maybe? Mainly on an automated phone call chatting to a computer, setting up my MyIR thing, quite embarrassing in front of ya work colleagues ha ha. $711 back, simples, job done.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

::thumbup: drinks on you then!

It's just the same if you have more than one job. Get a tax summary from the IRD and just enter the total wages and total tax paid for a year (or add it up manually if you prefer!) I worked for three employers at the same time so two were on the higher tax code for a second job...

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

We arrived in August 2014. Do you think we could claim any tax back on NZ earnings? And what is the easiest way to do so?

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Yes you can and very easy to do, just go to your IRD page and use the calculator to see how much you may get back and then apply for the PTS - be aware if you owe tax then if you request a PTS you will have to pay it.

If you don't have an online account with IRD suggest you set one up.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

did it online and it came up:
You don't have to file an IR3 tax return or receive a personal tax summary for this year
Based on the information you've provided below you're entitled to a tax refund of XXXXX

does this mean that they will automatically sort it out and send me out a cheque?

Cheers

Des

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

On the safe side fill in the PTS and then they put the money into your account

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

awsome thanks. I also got chinned with some high tax on my savings account over here coz i didn't enter my IRD so will try and claim that too if I can work out how.

Free money!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Not really free money, it's a refund but useful nevertheless. You would have had to declare interest (unearned income) on savings as part of the online form filling exercise to get your refund calculated.

Your tax refund goes into your myIR account by mid-late June. You then confirm it and they forward it to your nominated account.

At least, that's what the lady on the phone said when I phoned the IRD yesterday. I got a text message from the IRD earlier in the week advising me to log into my IR to see if I had a tax refund due.

I had forgotten my log in and password so I requested it be e-mailed to me and it was.

Later that day I got a letter from the IRD advising that eDocuments are replacing paper statements, notices and letters. Also, if I hadn't used myIR recently here's a reminder of my user ID and e-mail address. Ironic or what ?!

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

mmm, tried to select the PTS option but it's only valid if you were resident for the entire tax year,

Des

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

how odd - ok well give them a ring and they will go through it with you on the phone. make sure you have the details of any interest you may have earned on your bank accounts to hand as they will ask and if you have a joint bank account don't forget to split the interest in half

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

You will have to fill out an IR3 [tax return] if not tax resident for the whole year - you can't do it via a PTS.

It is still fairly simple to do if you register online with the IRD and get them to 'send' one to you online via MyIR. That is where you write in any interest and tax paid and it will all get added together along with your salary. Your refund can be credited straight into your bank account if you choose.
:)

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

If you arrive mid year (all income pensions, no paye) do you fill out both a uk and a nz return declaring the income for the relevant part year or?

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Despite being shouted down by assorted tax 'experts' on the need for this. I submitted a UK tax return for residual UK income (a reasonable refund) and a NZ return for NZ income since arrival (a reasonable credit) so all is sweet.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Yes. That was the way to go.

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

Doesn't that fall afoul of the double taxation arrangements?

I thought the reason you could get a refund for leaving the UK part way through the year is that they assume NZ will be taxing you for that tax year. So how can you also get a refund from IRD for that same tax year?

I arrived in NZ last September and got a few thousand back from HMRC. I haven't tried applying for an NZ tax refund for the 2015-16 tax year yet, but would like to know if I can

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

It appears that each country treats your income for the part year as your annual income and tax

Re: Tax refunds if you arrived in NZ last year
 

It appears that each country treats your income for the part year as your annual income and taxes you at the appropriate (lower) rate thus tax rebates. I am not complaining. You should have completed an NZ IR3 for the 2015/16 year - don't think this is optional :-)