Here are the main steps involved, and an approx. % showing how far through we are at each point. The chart starts at the bottom, and the top is 100%, tax returns filed and assessed by IRD!

Here is a detailed description of each part of the process

1. First, we email you a link to the online tax questionnaire. We ask you to complete this within 7 days of receipt.
2. We send you an invoice via Xero.com for 50% of the job. (Some small jobs are billed 100% up-front).
3. We'll then send you a copy of your completed questionnaire, along with a checklist and further instructions
4. You then either email your info to mytaxinfo@epsomtax.com or send it via courier (let us know and we'll send you a bag to return to us. You just call the courier on their toll free number, and they collect it from wherever you tell them to).  Once we receive your info, we then scan it and courier it back to you after the tax returns are filed.
5. ​By now, it's the first of the month, you've sent us all of your info, and we then copy this to secure online storage.
6. We start coding your info up to trial balance stage; the second 50% invoice is issued, usually a 14-day account.
7. Financial statements are compiled.
8. A checker reviews the draft financial statements and any adjustments made. 
9. Drafts are then sent to you for review (see how to understand your financial statements), adjustments made, and then we send you the final version of the financial statements. 
10. Next, tax returns are queued to be filed online with Inland Revenue and checked again by the filing and checking team.
11. We send you a copy of these returns for your records and for you to sign and return back to us.
12. IRD processes the returns.
13. About a month later, we process the donation tax credit forms.

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As a rough guide, from the date of invoice issuance to you having the draft financial statements in your hands, we aim for 8-9 weeks, subject to this disclaimer: these timeframes are indicative only and at peak times of the year e.g. May-October, it will often take longer.  

Before Processing Starts

• 2-3 weeks before - tax questionnaires sent out via email
• 1 week before - 1st invoice sent out via email

Processing Month
We'll advise you in February via email when this is.

• 1st of the month - all data should be provided by you by this date; processing starts
• 3-4 weeks later - work completed to draft stage; second invoice issued
• 7 working days later - 2nd invoice paid, draft financial statements sent to you for review
• 7 working days later - changes made as required, confirmation received from you to file with IRD
• 1-2 weeks later - tax returns filed
• 1-12 weeks later - IRD processes returns.

We trust this helps take some of the mystery out of the process. Please contact us with any questions!

Other FAQs you might have:
RENTAL PROPERTY: WHAT RECORDS DO YOU NEED TO KEEP?
USING ACCOUNTANCYONLINE.CO.NZ/MY TAX QUESTIONNAIRE
HOW DO I DOWNLOAD TRANSACTIONS FROM MY BANK'S ONLINE INTERNET BANKING?
WHAT IS XERO.COM?
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR TAX RETURNS
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Is selling your home taxable?, Or in other words, do you have to pay tax when selling your home?

Buying and selling your private or family home typically is not taxable. However some are looking to purchase a family home with the intention of reselling it in time, and a few earn their income this way – buying and selling.

If you have established a pattern of purchasing and then selling your “family home,” this could be considered as property speculation or dealing for tax purposes.

So, how do you know whether you are considered a property speculator, dealer or investor?  Click here for the IRD definition

Things to consider in answering the above question:

• what was your intention when you bought the property?
• what pattern have you established in terms of property transactions?
• are you (and if so, how) associated with a developer, builder or property dealer?
• will the Bright-line Test* apply?
• will you be affected by rezoning?

​How do you know if selling your home will be taxable?  Think carefully about the answers to these five questions.

“Ok, so I just have to hold onto a property for a really long time and then I’m not considered a dealer?”  No.  The amount of time you hold the property is immaterial.  It’s your intention at the time of acquisition.If you bought a property with the intention of reselling it, then any capital gain that you make on the sale taxable.

“Right-o.  So, is there some sort of level?  That is, my first couple of properties are tax-free and then I pay tax after that?”   Ahhh… no.  Again, it’s intention, patterns and associations – not numbers of properties sold.

“Great.  It looks like I will have to pay tax then.  How do I figure that out?”  The IRD have a great resource here – or you can contact us.

* For a definition/more info please see this article at the IRD Tax Policy website

If you have to pay provisional tax, then there is a good chance you're using tax pooling, courtesy of Tax Management NZ (TMNZ).

We've collected a few common questions here to help. If your question is not here, please contact us.

Q: IRD are calling and texting me saying my tax is overdue?
A: Correct. This is to be expected. IRD have no visibility of what money you've deposited into the Tax Management NZ tax pool until it is actually in the IRD bank account.

Q: So what do I say to IRD then? I'm a bit freaked out by this!
A: Here's what to say:

1. You are using tax pooling via Tax Management NZ
2. Can they please note this on your file
3. Ask IRD to call us as your accountants if they require any further information

You make your payments into a bank account administered by an independent trustee, Guardian Trust. Guardian Trust also oversees the TMNZ tax pool account at IRD in which your date-stamped payments are held. At no stage does TMNZ have access to your funds.
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You can view your account online and request that any amounts held in the tax pool be transferred to your IRD account at any time.

If you would like us to arrange your tax pooling or for more information, please see this page or contact us now.

Q: When does my tax return have to be in i.e. filed with IRD?
A: If you have an Extension of Time to file, the date is 31 March. If you are linked to a Tax Agent or Accountant, then usually you will have this extension.  Note that the IRD must receive your tax return by this date i.e. if you post it on this date, it will be late.

Q: Cool, so I can send my info to you guys about the middle of March and that will be ok then? That gives 2 weeks to get it sorted, right?
A. Sorry, but no. In order to get the figures right, there is a process of many eyes checking your financial statements/tax return/s. So we recommend that you allow 8-9 weeks at least for us to collate, code, compile, check and file your financial statements and tax returns.

Q: I didn't earn any income last year, but I am a shareholder in a Look Through Company. Do I have to file a tax return?
A: Yes.  You will have income or loss from the LTC and this has to be declared to Inland Revenue via a personal tax return.

Q: I don't see any impact of the LTC losses to the final tax figure?
A: You'll see your LTC losses (if applicable) shown in box 19E (on the personal tax return, or IR3).

Here is a typical Profit & Loss report. You can see the Profit hi-lighted in yellow, and the Expenses hi-lighted below (also in yellow). Then at the bottom, you can see that the result is a Loss - which is why it is written in parentheses (brackets).  

This loss amount (or negative amount) is then put on your tax return. It offsets other income you have received.  In this sample, assuming the person is being taxed at 33c in the dollar (ie they earn over $70,000 per year), then they could expect a refund of about $3,500.

All sources of income are added, e.g. wages, interest, dividends. Next, all sources of loss are added, e.g., LTC losses.  Then tax is calculated on the sum of all of these figures.  After that, tax that you have already paid is deducted, e.g., RWT, PAYE, provisional tax. The resulting figure is either a debit (tax to pay) or a credit (a tax refund).

Q: Why does the IR3 (personal tax return) you sent me show a dividend of nearly $500 from Entrust (formerly the Auckland Electricity Consumer Trust or AECT)?  I only got about $300-something?
A: The Entrust dividend is shown on the tax return as follows

• gross dividend
• less dividend imputation credits
• less dividend withholding tax

Using this formula, we arrive at the $300-something you received. You can see the exact breakdown here

Q: Why does the tax return show this? I wanted the refund to be credited to my bank account?

A: That's exactly what this means.  It says, in effect: "do you want to receive the refund in cheque format?"  The answer is "No."  IRD only gives one other option, and that is a refund to your bank account.

Q: Does my LTC get a refund as well as me?
A: No. If you have an LTC, the refunds go to you. The company is Looked Through at tax time, hence the name Look Through Company.

Q: Is the amount shown as a refund what we're going to get?
A: Probably. All returns filed are subject to review by IRD, and sometimes they don't agree with our calculations. There are a number of reasons for this:

• debts or credits we may not be aware of
• keying errors by IRD/ourselves
• other factors

However, don't panic. All errors, wherever they are made, can be easily rectified.

Q: What's an IR3 form?  How long does it take to file a return?
A: That is what the personal tax return form is called: an IR3. (If you are not NZ tax resident, the form is an IR3NR). The actual filing online takes about half an hour. Then IRD processes it, which can take anywhere from 1 week to 12 weeks or longer.  Once they’ve processed it, you then receive your tax refund.

These questions are basd on questions asked by customers. We'll be adding more examples to this page as they occur.

Other FAQs you might have:
RENTAL PROPERTY: WHAT RECORDS DO YOU NEED TO KEEP?
USING ACCOUNTANCYONLINE.CO.NZ/MY TAX QUESTIONNAIRE
HOW DO I DOWNLOAD TRANSACTIONS FROM MY BANK'S ONLINE INTERNET BANKING?
WHAT IS XERO.COM?
WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR MY TAX RETURNS?
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

You might have noticed that your invoice is a little bit more this year. Why?

Did you buy another investment property during the year? If so, that requires a bit more work to account for that, usually a couple of hours.

It might be a price increase.  ​We haven't raised our prices in 3 years; meanwhile the CPI has gone up, and up. So we adjusted the base price by 2.8%. This is actually less than inflation, so doesn't really reflect the eroding dollar. We've absorbed some of that cost ourselves.
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At the same time, accountants from this year onward will be required to comply with new AML legislation,  which we estimate will add at least 1-2 hours per year to costs. However, we can't charge all that time. So we've added $55 to try and offset that cost a little bit.

We think this is fair/reasonable, but if you have any concerns, please contact us.

What does this have to do with your tax? Well, we might have asked you to supply information, clarify a request etc etc. We know you're busy!  But we don't hear from you promptly. Instead, it drags on and on.

Frankly, that doesn't help you, us, anyone!

So, what we ask is this
1. stop for a moment,
2. send through the info,
3. get their tax refund sooner!

Moral: Stop and sharpen your axe. Work smarter, not harder!

We often get asked if there is a GST component in a Sale and Purchase Agreement for a rental residential property, or if GST needs to be claimed on the purchase of something for the property. 

The answer is no to both questions. Why? Residential rent is viewed as a "GST exempt supply" of services. Exempt supplies are goods and services which are not subject to GST and not included in your GST return.

IRD give these guidelines:

• GST can't be charged on the rent for a residential dwelling. A landlord can't claim any GST on dwelling expenses, such as maintenance, rates and insurance.
• If a residential dwelling is sold as part of a taxable activity, and it was rented for at least five years beforehand, the sale is an exempt supply.
• If a property developer acquires a property for the principal purpose of making a taxable supply and then subsequently rents the property out, a change of use adjustment may be required.

For more info, see this page at the IRD website, or  contact us.

The answer is maybe.  It really depends on your circumstances.

If 

• you are in the business of renting properties, and
• your total legal expenses for the income year are $10,000 or less

then you can claim legal fees. If they are over the $10,000 mark... well, in rental residential property that is highly unlikely!

Please see this page at IRD for more info; remember though it is only talking about rental residential property, as different rules apply for property traders/developers.

As always, if you would like more information or are not sure about your situation, please contact us.

​NB: If you are a property developer or trader, and therefore paying tax on the net profits from the sale of your buildings, then legal fees are one of the things you can claim.

Facing an IRD Risk Review is a scary thing.  You might have read about Audits, and Risk Reviews here. But what does the process (sometimes) look like?  Here it is. A request for "more information."

If they are not happy, they will go to a Risk Review or a full Audit. Sometimes they skip the Request for more info and go straight to one of those instead, depending on how dodgy things look.  Here is what a Risk Review looks like:

AuditShield insurance pays the costs of getting specialst expert advice to face this kind of thing (you don't want to face it alone!) If you'd like to get a quote on AuditShield, please contact us today.

​Note that this is only available to our clients. If you are not an EpsomTax.com client, ask your accountant about AuditShield (and why they don't have it!) 

Sometimes we ask you for a Lawyer's Settlement Statement.  What is it? Here is a sample one for your reference:

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