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 new tax rules for residential rental properties and stricter regulations for the banks, the market is a different beast for property investors to deal with compared to what it was 6-12 months ago. Here are my observations:Credit is tight. The banks have new rules that they must comply with, and they are required to verify the information borrowers give ... 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 

As part of the increase in the top individual tax rate to 39%, the government has brought in the requirement to provide Inland Revenue more information in your trust tax returns. This applies from the 2022 tax year onwards. They have done this to ensure that Inland Revenue will have plenty of information in order to decide whether or ... Continue reading 

We have noticed that more and more employers are incentivising their employees by offering shares and share options as part of their employment packages. Shares can also be offered to past and future employees. Offering shares provides an opportunity to motivate and retain key employees of the business by offering them “skin in the game”, and can thus be beneficial ... 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 

Main Home Exemption and Residential Exclusion - understanding IRD's stance on frequent disposals of family homesSelling your home is often one of the most significant financial transactions an individual undertakes. Fortunately, New Zealand tax law provides valuable exemptions which can shield profits from tax – primarily the main home exclusion to the bright-line test and the ‘residential exclusion’ to other ... Continue reading 

Property contracts, including sale and purchase agreements and building contracts, sometimes include clauses that can be harmful to the unwary. And by unwary, I simply mean people who are not used to dealing with such legal documentation.  One of the advantages of using a professional trustee for your trust is that the professional trustee must review and approve contracts ... Continue reading 

In big news for property investors, on 30 April 2020 the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) confirmed that they were removing the loan-to-value restrictions that had been in place in one form or another since October 2013. Back then, the RBNZ decided to introduce different tools rather than just using interest rates (through the official cash rate) to have some control over ... Continue reading 

Many people who have bought an investment property over the past 12 months have been forced to buy a new build due to the government’s current rules:• Healthy Home requirements• Lower LVR for new builds (20% deposit rather than the 40% required for second-hand properties) • The ability to claim interest for 20 years from issue of the code compliance certificate (you can no ... Continue reading