Property Accountants

•Exorbitant development contributions proposed•Disconnect between Council and developers in Auckland•Red zones emerging for sewer and fresh water making sites non-developable•Abuse of monopolies by local government and utility providers•Concern this will spread across New Zealand to other councilsI have noticed many of our property developer clients complaining of what they called "abusive costs" proposed by Auckland Council, Watercare/Veolia and Vector, ... Continue reading 

It would be fair to say that everyone wants to pay as little tax as they are legally required to, and everyone wants to protect the assets they have worked so hard to attain (e.g. family home, savings). So how do you do this? Should you set up a company? A trust? Both? Neither? The answer is asset planning, ... Continue reading 

Over the last few years, landlords have faced a number of challenges that impact their ability to properly maintain their rental properties and meet their financial obligations. Like any other business owner, as a property investor it’s important that you adapt to market changes and keep a close eye on your outgoings versus your income.  In this blog, I ... Continue reading 

Imagine this: A few years ago, after careful saving and financial planning, you managed to buy an investment property. Your goal from the outset is to hold the property long term. You do some work to add value, and intend keeping it for many years to come to fund your retirement. To your surprise, one day you get a notification ... Continue reading 

Anyone who provides lodging or ride-sharing services through an online marketplace in New Zealand, such as Airbnb or Uber, will be affected by new Goods and Services Tax (GST) changes, which came into force on April 1, 2024. What is the new legislation?Prior to 1 April 2024, service providers were exempt from GST if their turnover was below the $60,000 ... Continue reading 

As you are probably already aware, trusts now have more reporting requirements with the IRD. However, in some circumstances, trusts, especially family trusts, may have been made non-active with the IRD, which means there is no income to report (and no tax to pay). Although a trust may not generate any income, and therefore may not be required to file ... 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 

So you have set up a trust and you are a trustee, and you wonder, “what are my obligations as a trustee?” To answer that question we turn to the Trusts Act. Under this Act there are two classes of trustee duties, being mandatory and default. The mandatory duties are what they sound like. They are irrefutable obligations that trustees ... Continue reading 

If you keep an eye on the media, you will have noticed over the Christmas break and into January a plethora of articles referring to the CCCFA. The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act was initially brought in back in 2005, but all the recent noise has been to do with amendments to the Act that came in on ... Continue reading 

I recently held a webinar which explains how to integrate life insurance with your financial goals – something that should be of interest to property investors, businessowners, salaried people, and the self-employed. You may now be thinking: How can life insurance assist with financial goals? In this presentation I demonstrate how the two can work together in a way ... Continue reading