Property Accountants

A number of clients have been asking us how the GRA directors are voting in the election, and we are happy to be upfront about this. Of course everyone has different perspectives and priorities, so we are in no way telling you what to do. But if you’d like to know who we will vote for and why, read ... Continue reading 

I have written several blogs warning taxpayers about the aggressive tactics the IRD have sometimes been employing. This is a trend that is unfortunately shows no signs of abating. In fact, it appears to be getting worse. Recently we’ve noticed some IRD auditors jumping from an initial (you’re being audited) letter, straight to statutory demands for information within unrealistic timeframes. ... Continue reading 

Banks have recently tightened their criteria and changed their serviceability rules so much, that it has become much harder for investors to get finance. And for large investors, it is almost impossible. The RBNZ has told banks that they must adopt ‘sensible lending’ practices, which means they need to stress test their clients’ ability to make their loan repayments. ... 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 

The IRD have introduced new regulations that allow the Commissioner to disclose information about a taxpayer’s tax debts to approved credit reporting agencies if certain preconditions are met. (These new regulations are found in section 85N of the Tax Administration Act.) One of these preconditions is that the amount of the taxpayer’s reportable unpaid tax must be greater than ... Continue reading 

It is a requirement in New Zealand for parties to provide their IRD numbers when buying or selling real estate (whether as an individual or through another entity such as a company or trust). Normally this does not pose any sort of problem. However, there will be significant issues if you are selling a property that has been generating ... Continue reading 

Are you interested in investing in property but find yourself locked out due to the high buy-in costs or the recent debt-to-income (DTI) restrictions?  Joint ownership of property may be a path worth exploring to get in the game and ensure you don’t miss out on the next growth cycle. This approach can leverage the collective purchasing power of ... Continue reading 

New Zealand has become an attractive destination for foreign investment, particularly in real estate. However, when investing in property in New Zealand, foreign investors must understand the tax framework they are dealing with which, among other considerations, includes the thin capitalisation rules, commonly referred to as ‘thin cap’. These rules are crucial for anyone considering borrowing to finance their investments, ... Continue reading 

A labyrinth case, involving legal proceedings spanning a decade, has finally made its way through four courts. The ultimate judgement delivered by the Supreme Court is probably one of the most ground breaking decisions in respect of trusts and relationship property that this country has seen for many a year.   The decision will affect countless trusts in different ... Continue reading 

It’s been an interesting start to 2017 with a much tighter credit market than what we have seen for most of the last decade. While the majority of the media have been concentrating on the fact that the market seems to have slowed since the 40% deposit rule introduction, I put it more down to banks themselves pulling back ... Continue reading 

At Property Ventures we are increasing our focus on new builds as investments because we see tremendous advantages from a financing perspective. Not only do investors get pristine new and low maintenance properties in better areas, they get the benefit of 80% LVRs and tax advantages from higher chattel depreciation.   These smart tax and finance benefits make investing ... Continue reading