New Zealand
Tax
This is general information and not personal tax advice. Last reviewed 8 Oct 2026.
Indicative, not tax advice.
Xero CSV (for your accountant)
A Xero bank-statement import file of NZD cash movements. Columns: Date, Amount, Payee, Description, Reference. In Xero, use Import a statement on the bank account.
Sign in to exportCryptoassets
Inland Revenue treats cryptoassets as property. The tax result follows how the asset is used, including when it was acquired in order to sell or exchange it. A disposal can produce income or a loss. The linked pages set out the return and the New Zealand dollar figures.
Share dividends and foreign tax credits
Dividends, including dividends from foreign companies, can be taxable income. A New Zealand company often withholds tax before the cash is paid. A foreign dividend may have had tax withheld overseas. United States portfolio dividends are often reduced by 15 percent before the cash arrives. Inland Revenue's foreign tax credit is capped at the New Zealand tax on that same foreign income, so the credit cannot be larger than the New Zealand tax on it.
The share-investment and foreign-tax-credit pages linked below are the Inland Revenue descriptions of those rules, including the overseas income summary IR1261.
Foreign investment funds
Some overseas shares held by a New Zealand tax resident can fall under the foreign investment fund rules. Inland Revenue explains when those rules can apply and how the income is calculated. The working paper on this site includes Australian-listed shares in the NZ$50,000 cost total. A holding that meets the Australian exemption can be left out by the member.
What each page does
Dividend ledger
The dividend ledger is the page where a signed-in member records a cash dividend against a holding already on the paper book. The form takes the payment date, the gross amount in the currency of the dividend, any New Zealand imputation credits, any tax withheld, and any amount that was reinvested instead of paid as cash. A foreign dividend needs the New Zealand dollar exchange rate for that payment date. The page looks that rate up and does not guess one. Each saved row shows the gross, the credits, the withholding, the reinvested amount, the rate, and the net cash in New Zealand dollars. A combined total sits under the table. The figures are the member's own entries. They are not a dividend statement from a broker and they are not a tax return.
Income summary
The income summary adds the dividend rows and the realised result of sells for one New Zealand tax year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March. It is labelled indicative. It shows one set of totals for that year and links to the dividend ledger and the realised page so the member can see the rows behind the total. It does not calculate tax, a tax credit, or an amount to pay. Inland Revenue decides what is income. The summary is a reading of the paper book only.
FIF working paper
The foreign investment fund working paper lists the cost of overseas shares on the book and compares that cost with NZ$50,000. Cost is the quantity times the price times the exchange rate stored on the buy. Lots are summed at full precision and the position total is rounded once, half-up to the cent. New Zealand listings, crypto and metals are left out. Australian listings are included in the cost total. A member who holds an Australian company that meets the exemption Inland Revenue describes can leave that cost out. This book cannot check that exemption. Where the member has typed an opening and a closing market value, the page also shows a fair dividend rate line at five percent of the opening value and a comparative value line. A live price is not used as those values. The page does not choose a method and it does not decide whether the rules apply.
Realised profit and loss
The realised page walks the buys and sells on the book and shows the New Zealand dollar result of each sell in the selected tax year. It separates the part that came from the price and the part that came from the exchange rate, and it subtracts the fee stored on the sell. Cost method: FIFO (first in, first out). The income summary, the tax page and the ledger use that same figure. None of these pages file a return.
Example. This fixture is not a customer's book. Suppose a paper book bought 10 shares at NZ$10.00 on 1 June and sold those 10 shares at NZ$12.00 on 1 December of the same tax year, with no fee and an exchange rate of 1 because the price was already in New Zealand dollars. The dividend ledger would show a separate row only if a dividend had been entered. In this fixture no dividend was entered, so the dividend total is NZ$0.00. The realised page would show a gain of NZ$20.00, which is 10 times NZ$2.00. The income summary would show that same NZ$20.00 as the realised line and NZ$0.00 as dividends. The FIF working paper would leave the holding out if the ticker ended in .NZ, because a New Zealand listing is not in the NZ$50,000 cost test. Nothing in this example is a filing figure.
Inland Revenue pages used
Important — this is not financial advice. General information only, not financial advice. FORGE INTELLIGENCE LIMITED is not a licensed financial advice provider. AetherForge AI (FORGE INTELLIGENCE LIMITED) is not a licensed financial advice provider under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (New Zealand) and does not hold a financial advice provider licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
AetherForge AI provides general market information and AI-generated analysis for informational and educational purposes only. We do not trade for you, place orders, or take custody of your assets. You buy and sell on your own broker or exchange. Nothing here takes into account your personal financial situation, goals or needs, and nothing here is a recommendation, opinion or offer to buy, sell or hold any share, digital asset or other financial product.
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