Property Accountants

With 1 July fast approaching, it is a good time to alert readers to some of the detail around the new bright-line and rollover relief rules which come into force from that date.Reduction of bright-line period to two yearsAs most readers will be aware, the bright-line period officially reduces to two years for all residential property from 1 July. ... Continue reading 

With interest rates easing and the property market evolving, the next two years could be a window of opportunity for savvy property investors.  If I were planning on investing in the market today, the strategy outlined below is what I’d be using to get ahead.1. Sort out your financesFirst things first: get your financial situation in order. With talk ... Continue reading 

Almost a year to the day since the Government announced rules to eliminate tax deductions on interest for property investors, the legislation has all but reached its final destination. In the last two weeks the Select Committee report on the first draft of the legislation has been released and amendments have been made to the first draft reflecting these ... Continue reading 

Back in October 2019, John Rowe wrote an article about the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) whereby tax authorities in many international jurisdictions are sharing information regarding their nationals who are living abroad. In other words, if you have investments or income overseas, and especially if you file tax returns overseas, the chances are that IRD already knows or ... Continue reading 

Motor vehicle expenses are a common type of expense incurred across a wide range of businesses. It makes sense to claim vehicle expenses when preparing your tax return, but you need to ensure this is done accurately. In the modern world, the same vehicle is often used privately in our everyday lives as well as for business, which can make ... Continue reading 

At GRA we have seen an increasing number of clients come to us after being advised to wind up their trust, or after being discouraged from setting one up at all, having been told that trusts don’t really provide any significant advantages.The reasoning is often straightforward: trusts generally don't provide the tax advantages they once did, and the ongoing ... Continue reading 

A Guide to the Revenue Account Method (RAM)If you're a new migrant to New Zealand, a Kiwi returning home after a long time away, or someone who pays tax in two countries, you've likely encountered New Zealand's complex Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules. These rules are designed to tax New Zealand residents on their offshore equity / share investments ... Continue reading 

Recently I’ve seen several interesting client problems which would undoubtedly have resulted in lots of money being lost and lots of legal fees being incurred if these clients hadn’t had GRA’s Professional Trustee on board. Having now experienced three property cycles in my adult lifetime, I know these sorts of issues (and others) commonly arise when an economy and a ... Continue reading 

I’ve noticed most people starting this year with a bit of optimism. However, it’s hard to say how much of that is based around fundamentals, and how much is more attributable to the amazing weather we have been having and a decent summer break. From our side of the Finance Desk, it has actually been a busy start to ... Continue reading 

Last month I received some great questions in my 'Ask Mark' series on Property Ventures’ Facebook page (propertyventuresnz).  One of them was a very important "back to basics" question: What factors do you take into account to consider a property to be good for investment? It is a great question, and even though I have already briefly answered it ... Continue reading