Property Accountants

In 2024, GRA formed a not-for-profit property advocacy group, Subdivision Advocacy NZ (SANZ), with Kirsty Merriman (developer) and Simon Oconner (town planner). We formed this in reaction to some astonishingly concerning behaviours from Auckland Council, Vector, Veolia and Watercare. The most well-known include the surprise red-zoning of land due to no water capacity and the high proposed development contribution ... Continue reading 

With a cyclone potentially bearing down on the North Island of New Zealand, now is not the time to be wondering whether your insurance cover is enough. It's time to know.Most of us dutifully pay our insurance premiums each year, renew without a second glance, and assume we're covered. But here's the uncomfortable truth: thousands of New Zealand homeowners, ... Continue reading 

With the trust tax rate expected to increase from 33% to 39% on 1 April 2024, now is the time to consider declaring dividends for any companies owned by trusts. Declaring a dividend before 31 March 2024 means there will only be 5% “top-up” tax payable (i.e. the difference between the company tax rate of 28% and the current trust ... Continue reading 

AI is taking the world by storm, whether we like it or not. If you are a businessowner, it is arguably prudent to look at embracing it, rather than ignoring it or writing it off as something that doesn’t affect you. Businesses that work out how they can use AI to their advantage are likely to end up with a ... Continue reading 

You might remember the articles we shared in November 2023 and October 2024, discussing the GST changes for all Airbnb properties effective from 1 April 2024. As we’ve been working through clients’ 2025 financial statements, we’ve come across a few unexpected issues that are worth highlighting.When clients start offering their properties for short-term stays and inform platforms like Airbnb whether ... 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 

Filing tax returns for trusts is becoming more complicated, and trustees need to be aware of this. From the 2022 financial year onwards (i.e. year ending 31 March 2022), additional information must be included in a trust’s tax returns.  None of this is particularly difficult, but gathering the information the IRD requires is going to be more time consuming than ... Continue reading 

While most of the attention recently around mortgage rule changes has concentrated on the implementation of the debt-to-income (DTI) rules, it is worth noting that on the same day this change came in (1 July 2024), the Reserve Bank also slightly relaxed the loan-to-value restrictions on secondhand investment properties.  What are the loan-to-value (LVR) rules?Loan-to-value ratio (LVR) rules in ... Continue reading 

When we think about life insurance, our minds often go straight to a one-off lump sum payout designed to pay off the mortgage, ensuring that your family won’t be left without a roof over their heads if you or your partner were to pass away. However, life insurance can offer far more than just debt coverage.Extended Support for Your ... Continue reading