Depreciation is an allowance to take account of the fact that assets used in a business eventually wear out or become out of date, even though they are maintained and repaired. For tax purposes, the reduced value of an asset is recognised by allowing a deduction against income for the depreciation of that asset from the time it is used in a business until it is sold, disposed of or discarded. Broadly speaking, depreciation is an annual deduction calculated by applying the rates of depreciation as published by the Commissioner to the cost. Those rates are set out in IRD website in this link Depreciation Rate Finder. 

An early disposal of the asset for more than its adjusted tax value will creates a depreciation recovery income. On the other hand, the depreciation loss is likely to occur when the asset cannot be employed on a profit basis. A deduction is allowed to the extent that the depreciation loss is incurred in the course of carrying on a business for the purpose of deriving assessable income in the income year in which it is calculated. 

The common depreciation methods for calculating a depreciation expense are: 

• the diminishing value method – not available to be applied for fixed life intangible property 
• the straight-line method – available for any item of depreciable property, but mandatory for fixed life intangible property 

The same formula applies to the above two methods: 

annual rate × value or cost × months ÷ 12 

Generally, the method chosen is not applied in the income year in which the depreciable property is disposed of. 

For more information, please contact us or refer IR260 Depreciation Guide. 

Ref: sDA1, sDA4, sEE1, sEE11-16, sEE18-19, sEE67 Income Tax Act 2007

Entertainment expenses are claimable for building up business contacts or promoting your goods or services if it helps to earn income. 

You need to keep a record of people you entertain, the date and the reason. 

Entertainment can mean food and drink, social events, excursions, accommodation, privileges, musical, sporting or theatrical events.  

Specific rules apply to different categories of entertainment. Some can be fully deductible, while others can only be 50% deductible. 

Private entertainment expenses can never be deducted, even if you pay from the business bank accounts.  

Certain entertainment expenses are 50% tax deductible, which applies to: 

• Entertainment provided in Corporate boxes or similar exclusive areas at cultural, sporting or away from business premises including tickets and any food or drink 
• Recreational boats 
• Food and drink at work at a social event such as a celebration party at workplace or in an area restricted to senior employees 
• Gifts of food and drink 
• Food and drink provided away from business premises such as meals at restaurant 

Certain entertainment expenses are fully deductible, for example: 

• Light refreshments, such as chocolate biscuits for morning tea 
• Food and drink provided at a conference, or education course 
• Promoting business, products or services to the general public 
• Entertainment provide to someone who is going to review it for publication 
• Entertainment supplied for charity 

An entertainment expense where the benefits are enjoyed or received by employees may be subject to FBT. If you are not sure, or seek more information, please contact us or visit IRD website.

Fringe benefits are non-cash benefits that an employee receives from an employer that have a value or viewed as ‘money’s worth’, such as gift vouchers, fuel cards and gym memberships and etc. 

Main Types of Fringe Benefit 

1. Employer contributions to employee funds 

• Sickness, accident or death benefit fund 
• life, pension, personal accident or sickness insurance policy 
• friendly society insurance fund superannuation scheme where employer 
• superannuation contribution tax (ESCT) does not apply 
• funeral trust. 

2.  Employer provided goods and services 

• buy goods or services and provide these to employees for less than the GST inclusive price you paid 
• sell goods the company manufactured to employees at less than the lowest GST inclusive price the company sells identical goods to the public, either wholesale or retail 
• provide any goods or services to employees at less than the normal GST inclusive price the company sells to the public. 

3.  Employer provided low-interest loans 

• give an employee a loan at less than the prescribed or market rate of interest 
• this loan is not available to the public. 

4. Employer provided motor vehicles for private use 

• make a vehicle available for employees, or the employees’ associated persons and shareholder employees to use privately – even if they do not actually use it. 

Exclusions from FBT 

1. Benefits provided on the employer’s premises:

• car parks provided for employees on the employer’s premises (not car parks paid for by the employer on other premises) 
• childcare provided on the employer’s premises 
• small amounts of food and beverage such as tea and coffee facilities at work 
• lunchrooms and social club facilities on site 
• health and safety benefits, such as free protective clothing or employee health check-ups and vaccinations
• accommodation provided to employees on the employer’s premises is treated as employment income and subject to PAYE 

2. Business travel expenses:

• travel, accommodation and food for employees engaged on business are presumed to have no private benefit. 

3. Certain type of entertainment provided to employees 

• entertainment which is already subject to the 50% apportionment of entertainment expenses.  
• this is on the basis that the employee has no ability to choose what the entertainment is or when to receive it. (Note: entertainment received outside NZ is not subject to FBT.) 

4. Business tools 

• used primarily for the employer’s business and the ‘tool’ does not cost more than $5,000 (incl. GST). 

5. Assistance with the preparation of tax returns 

6. Work uniforms. 

Payment of FBT 

It is normally paid by employers on a quarterly basis, payable on 20th of the month after the end of the quarter: i.e., on 20 July, 20 October, 20 January and 20 May. It must be paid on all benefits provided to employees during that quarter: 

Some small employers calculate and pay FBT on an annual basis if they meet the criteria for the preceding tax year –PAYE and ESCT withheld were $1,000,000 or less. Or the employer did not employ and employees.
It is deductible to the employer as an expense for income tax.  

FBT rates: 

Single rate: 49.25%. This is the highest FBT rate. 

Short form alternate rate: 

• 49.25% (same as the single rate) for all attributed benefits, and non-attributed benefits provided to major shareholder-employees 
• 42.86% for non-attributed benefits. 

Full alternate FBT rates are: 

• between 11.73% and 49.25%. The rate will be higher if the employee earns more or if the fringe benefits they received are worth more. 
• This reate only applied to attributed benefits.  

For more information, please contact us or refer the IR409 FBT Guide. 

A gift is:

• Something given voluntarily without return ; or
• The value of property returned is less than the value of property given where there is a return.

In the case where there is a return of lesser value, the value of the gift will be calculated by the difference between the values of the given and the return. If something of lesser value is given in return for a gift, the value of the gift is the difference between the two values.

In the circumstances of trusts, items listed below can all be gifts:

• Transferals of items (e.g. company land or shares).
• Payments of any type.
• Establishment of a trust.
• A forgiveness or reduction of debt.
• Allowing a debt to remain outstanding so that it can’t be collected by normal legal action.

Gifts made on or after 1 October 2011 are no longer liable for gift duty. This means that:

• You don’t need to file any documents to IRD.
• Gift statement will not need to be filed.
• However, the donor or agent remains responsible for keeping maintaining records of the amount of debt that has been forgiven

If you made a gift before 1 October 2011 of more than $27,000 in any 12-month period, you will have to pay gift duty. In some cases, gifts must be recorded with IRD even if they are not liable for duty.

For more information, please contact us or refer IRD website.

Supply goods and services in New Zealand is imposed under the Goods and Services Act 1985 (GST Act). The tax rate is 15% after 1 Oct 2010 while it used to be 12.5% before 1 Oct 2010. Most activities are taxable activities, while some activities are zero-rated and a smidgeon of specified supplies are exempt from goods and services tax.Taxable supplies are excluded:

1. Wages or salary, including the shareholder remuneration

2. Donated goods and services that sold by non-profit bodies

3. Supplies of financial services, such as exchange of currency, bank fee, mortgage, etc

4. Renting a residential property

5. Penalty interest

6. Supply of fine metals

The persons who meet the criteria for registration (if turnover in a 12-month period is expected to excess or excessed $60,000) must register GST under GST Act, where they account for the GST collected to Inland Revenue and claim a credit on the GST they have paid.

*please note: you cannot claim 100% GST on the goods or services you paid if there is a proportion of private use or non-taxable use.

You can chose to file GST by monthly, two-monthly and six-monthly. If your annual turnover,

1. is exceeded or likely to exceed $24million, the person should file by monthly

2. is less than or likely to be less than $500,000, the person could chose to file by six-monthly

GST filing frequency is able to be changed by informing Inland Revenue on myIR Secure Online Services

The accounting basis is considered while claiming and returning GST to IR. Three methods are listed:

1. Payment basis, returning and claiming GST once received payment or made payment, but it could only be used if your annual turnover is less than $2 million

2. Invoice basis, returning and claiming GST once issued/received invoice or received/made payment – whichever comes first

3. Hybrid basis, returning GST is same as invoice basis, while claiming is same as payment basis

If you are considered to sale or purchase goods and services over internet, please refer to E-commerce and GST.

For more information of GST, please feel free to give us a call or visit Goods and Services on IRD website.

All New Zealand residents up to the age of 65 who entitled to stay in New Zealand indefinitely are eligible for KiwiSaver. All new eligible employees must be automatically enrolled in KiwiSaver. If you are already in work, you can choose to join the Kiwisaver at any time by notifying your employer.Employees who are exempt from automatic enrolment:

• Under 18
• Casual agricultural workers or Election Day workers
• Private domestic workers
• Casual and temporary employees employed under a contract of service that is 28 days or less

Employees can opt out of kiwisaver by filling KS 10 if they are automatically enrolled.

• You can opt out on or after day 14 and on or before day 56 of starting new employment
• You can’t opt out in the first 13 days
• Every time you start new employment, you’ll need to opt out again.

Employee Contribution Rate

The employee can choose the contribution rate of 3%, 4% or 8% at which they want their contributions to be deducted from the before-tax payment. If a rate does not been chose, the default rate of 3% applies.

Compulsory Employer Contributions

From 1 April 2008, employers are compulsory to contribute to their eligible employees’ KiwiSaver scheme at 3% of employee’s payment before tax.

Employers who don’t have to make compulsory employer contributions if:

• The employee is under 18
• Already paying sufficient contributions into another approved superannuation scheme for the employee
• The employee is over 65 and have been contributing for at least five years
• Not required to have deductions made from the employee’s payment (e.g. the employee is on a contribution holiday or on leave without pay)

All employer contributions paid to a superannuation fund for the benefit of an employee are liable for ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax)

Government Assistance

To help you save, the government also:

• Make an annual member tax credit (for those 18 and over) of up to $521.43 (from 1 July 2011 onwards)
• Funds first home deposit grants through Housing NZ if the relevant conditions are met

New members who join on or before 2 pm, 21 May 2015, the government made a $1,000 ‘kick-start’ contribution.

Note: There is no Crown guarantee of KiwiSaver schemes or investment products of KiwiSaver schemes.

Employers must:

• Provide Employee information pack (KS3) to new employees and other existing staff who are interested
• Submit employees’ details to Inland Revenue
• Deduct contributions from employees’ gross payment and pay these to IRD through the PAYE system

For more information, please visit www.kiwisaver.govt.nz

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the tax you pay on your employees’ salary or wage. As an employer, you’re responsible for calculating and deducting income tax and ACC earners’ levy from your employees’ salary or wages each pay period and sending these deductions to IRD on their behalf. If you have employees, you need to: 

• register as an employer with IRD 
• get your employees’ tax code and Kiwisaver information 

Each of your employee must fill in the form of Tax code Declaration (IR330) as soon as they start their jobs for you. 

1. If they are Kiwisaver members, they will also need to give you their Kiwisaver deduction form KS2 or a contribution holiday letter; 
2. If they do not want to be a Kiwisaver member please let them fill in the form of Kiwisaver opt-out KS10 and send to the IRD via post or my IR
3. For an introduction of Kiwisaver please refer to Your introduction to Kiwisaver – employee information KS3 
4. Payday filing of PAYE information

From 1 April 2019, employers have to file employment information every payday in line with their normal payroll cycle. 

For more information, please contact us or refer IRD website-payday filing

Provisional Tax is not a separate tax but a way to helped you to manage your income tax and avoid having a big amount to pay at the end of the year. There are several instalments of provisional tax during the year to “spread the load”. The amount of provisional tax you pay is then deducted from your tax bill at the end of the year. If your residual income tax is $2,500 or more from your last income tax return, you will have to pay provisional tax for the following year. 

There are four ways to work out your provisional tax. 

1. Standard option
2. Estimation option
3. Ratio option (for GST registered customers only)

4. AIM 

Standard option 

This option will be automatically used by IRD to charge provisional tax unless you choose the estimation or ratio options.
The option is suitable for someone’s income in steady or increases over the next year. The calculation is: 

• our previous year’s residual income tax + 5%, or 

• your residual income from two years ago + 10% (only if the last year’s return hasn’t been filed yet) 

Estimation option 

This option is useful if your income will decrease over the next year: 

• The calculation is:
  1. Add up all your estimated taxable income for next year
  2. Work out the tax
  3. Deduct any tax credits (e.g. PAYE) 

Due dates 

The due date and amount of installments you need to pay for the provisional tax each year depends on your balance date, which of the above options you use and how often you pay GST (if registered). 

If you have a 31 March balance date and use the standard or estimation option, provisional tax payments are due on: 

First installment 28 August
Second installment 15 January
Third installment 7 May 

Another Option – the GST Ratio Option 

If you are also registered for GST you are able to pay your provisional tax at the same time as your GST payments. You will be able to use the ratio option if: 

• You’ve been in business and GST-registered for all of the previous tax year, and the tax year prior to that 
• Your residual income tax for the previous year is greater than $2,500 and up to $150,000 
• You file your GST returns every month or every two months 
• You are not a partnership 
• Your ratio percentage that IRD calculates for you is between 0% and 100% 

This option is useful if your income tends to vary or you have seasonal income. You need to inform IRD if you want to use this option before the beginning of the income tax year. 

The calculation 

1. We calculate your ratio percentage by dividing your residual income tax for the last tax year by your total GST taxable supplies for the same year.
   If last year’s figures aren’t available, we base the ratio on the residual income tax and total GST taxable figures from the previous year.
2. You then multiply this ratio percentage by your GST taxable supplies for the previous two months.

Accounting Income Method (AIM)  

The method is based on your tax profits for the period. You will be able to use the AIM option if: 

• Your turnover under $5m. If your turnover goes over $5m during the year you can request to continue to use AIM and you do not change your balance date. 
• You have AIM-capable accounting software 

Due Date 

Payments align with your GST due dates. 

Payment Method 

Cheques no longer accepted from 01 March2020, you can pay online via bank or  

pay at Westpac bank 

For further information on provisional tax give us a call or refer to the IRD Website. 

If you are paying more than $5,000 a year in resident passive income to any investors, including, 

1. Interest 
2. Dividend 
3. A taxable Māori authority distribution (other than a retirement scheme contribution) 
4. A replacement payment paid to a person under a share lending arrangement. 

You must check whether the investors have certificates of exemption from RWT, if not, you must register RWT as a payer, use the online registration section. 

The rate of RWT from 1 April 2011 for individuals, trusts and Māori authorities shows below: 

And, for the companies: 

If you are receiving interest or dividend with RWT deducted, from your bank account or the investment organization, who deducted RWT when they credit interest or dividend to you. 

You should account for a correct rate and make sure you have included into your annual income tax return. 

Dividends and unit trust distributions are all taxed at a resident withholding tax rate of 33% 

Normally, for companies, the default rate on interest received is 28%, while, 

For individuals, interest payments from a savings account or term deposit to an individual are taxed at a resident withholding tax rate that the recipient chooses, depending on their income they could choose. The rate according to the annual taxable income, 

*please note: if you chose a lower rate than your actual annual taxable income, you would have a tax bill to pay at the end of the income year. 

For more information, please feel free to give us a call or refer to the RWT section on IRD website. 

Schedular payment is income paid to parties are not in employer and employee relationship, and is subject to withholding tax.

The types of payments to such non-employees (referred to here as contractors) that might be subject to withholding tax include the following:

• commission paid to insurance agents or salespersons
• company directors’ fees
• payments for most forms of agricultural, horticultural and forestry work
• payments for mail delivery, transport of school children, milk delivery, refuse removal, caretaking, security duties, and street or road cleaning
• payments for non-residential cleaning, gardening, vermin or weed destruction
• payments to persons supervising examinations
• payments for the supply of labour to building projects
• payments to labour-only fishing boat operators
• certain payments made in the media production industry including media contribution fees
• payments to photographers, journalists, writers and artists
• fees for persons exhibiting or demonstrating goods
• payments for modelling
• payments to entertainers including non-musical entertainers
• payments to apprentice jockeys
• honoraria payments
• election officer remuneration
• payments made to people selling greenstone, eels, whitebait, and sphagnum moss
• contract payments to non-resident contractors, and
• ACC personal service rehabilitation payments.

A contractor who falls into one of these categories needs to complete an IR330C tax code declaration form and give it to the person paying him or her. Recipients of schedular payments use the tax code “WT” on this form. The payer withholds tax from payments at the applicable flat rate.

 Note: Changes from 1 April 2017

With effect from 1 April 2017, a number of changes to modernise the schedular payment withholding rules apply as follows:

Allowing contractors to elect own withholding rate
From 1 April 2017, non-employees receiving schedular payments (contractors) can elect their own withholding rate to better match their tax payments to their income, subject to a 10% minimum rate applying for residents and a 15% minimum rate for non-residents and contractors with temporary entry visas. If a contractor has not elected a rate, the standard rate — as listed in sch 4 — applies. When a contractor has not provided their name and IR number to the payer, the withholding rate will be 45%. A contractor will now need to complete form IR 330C Tax rate notification for contractors with their elected rate and give it to the person paying him or her. New rule applies for labour hiring business.

The flowchart on the next page summaries the new rule.

For more information, please call us or refer IR330C or IRD website.

If you made donations to charities or similar organisations, you can claim a tax credit.  Tax credit can be claimed at the lessor of: 

• 33.33% of the total donation, or 
• 33.33% of taxable income  

You can claim a tax credit if you:  

• are claiming as an individual and not on behalf of a trust, partnership or company 
• were a New Zealand tax resident at any time during the tax year (1 April to 31 March). 

You can claim tax credits for donation of $5 or more when the donation: 

• was to an approved donee organisations 
• did not provide any direct benefit to you or your family 
• was to most schools and parent-teacher associations 

You can check the approved donee organisations from IRD website 
You cannot claim for: 

• tuition fees, 
• private school fees 
• exam fees 
• tertiary education fees 
• parent-teacher association membership fees 
• costs for a student doing a voluntary activity which is not part of the school curriculum 

You need a receipt for every donation you want to claim for. You can submit a receipt for a donation at any time within 4 tax years of the date of the donation. Any credit you are due will apply to the tax year the donation was made. 

Your receipt(s) must contain: 

• the name of the donor(s) 
• the amount and date of the donation 
• a clear statement that it is a donation 
• be signed by an authorised person 
• be on the organisation’s letterhead or show its name and official stamp 
• show the organisation’s IRD number and/or charities services number 

The most common types of tax penalties are:

1. Late filing penalties
2. Late payment penalties
3. Shortfall penalties
4. Criminal penalties

1. Late filing penalties:
   
   1. Income Tax:
      
   2. Employment information: $250
   3. Residential Land Withholding Tax (RLWT): $250
   4. GST Return:
      
2. Late payment penalties:
   
   Payment penalties for employee information:
   – Non-payment penalty – 10% of overdue amount
   – Late payment penalty – 10% each month the tax remains unpaid
3. Shortfall Penalties:
   
4. Criminal penalties:
   

Interest:

Interest is set by the government based on market rate, and it is calculated on daily basis.

• Debit interest: under payment of tax
• Credit interest: over payment of tax

The start date for calculating interest is different between different tax types. Please contact us or refer IR240 for more information.

Minimum wage change: 

The Minimum wage will change to $18.90 per hour from 1 April 2020 

Minimum Wage Update 

Payday filing change: 

From 1 April 2019, all New Zealand employers must commence payday filing.

New Payday Filing 

Overseas Investment: 

Overseas people must get consent through the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) before they can invest in New Zealand’s sensitive land, significant business assets and fishing quota. 

Investors who need consent: 

• Generally aren’t New Zealand citizens or are people who don’t ordinarily live here 
• are bodies, such as companies, trusts and joint ventures, with more than 25 per cent overseas ownership or control 
• can include associates (including New Zealanders) of overseas investors. 

Read more 

Bright-line test: 

If purchased the residential land on or after 29 March 2018, the bright-line test rule may apply if you sell it within 5 years of buying 

New Bright-line test rules 

Ring-fencing Rules: 

From the 2019-20 income year onward, new rules apply to deductions claimed for residential properties. Residential property deductions will now be ring-fenced, meaning that they can only be used to offset income from residential property. 

The residential property deductions you claim for the year cannot exceed the amount of income you earn from the property for the year. Any excess deductions must be carried forward from year to year until they can be used. You cannot use excess deductions from your residential property to reduce your other income, such as salary and wages or business income, which would result in a reduced tax liability. 

If you have more than one property, you can choose to apply these rules on a portfolio basis or on a property-by-property basis. 

Find out more 

Tax relief – COVID-19 Coronavirus 

Tax relief and income assistance is available to people affected by the downturn in business due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus. IRD has a range of ways to help depending on your circumstances.  

Check online 

Legal Fee on Rental Property 

Ordinarily, you can’t claim a deduction for legal expenses incurred in buying or selling a rental property, as these are capital expenses. However, where your total legal fees for the year are $10,000 or less, you can claim a deduction for legal expenses involved in buying a rental property. If you’re in the business of providing residential rental accommodation, you can also claim legal fees incurred in selling a rental property.   

Find Out More 

Ref: sCB 6A, CB 13, CB 14, CB 15B, CB 16A, CB 23B, DB 18A, DB 18AB, DB 29, FB 3A, FC 3, FC 4, FC 9, FO 10, FO 17, GB 52, GB 53, and YA 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007; sections 3 and 43B of the Tax Administration Act 1994; Tax Information Bulletin ¶318-103 Vol 31, No 8 

From 1 December 2019 overseas businesses that sell low value goods to consumers in New Zealand may need to register for, collect and return GST.   

The rules apply to overseas businesses selling low-value goods directly to New Zealand consumers, as well as online marketplaces and re-deliverers. 

The NZ$1000 threshold is based on the customs value of the goods. This means transport and insurance costs are excluded when determining if GST needs to be charged. 

All consignments valued NZ$1000 or less can be cleared on an Inward Cargo Report (ICR), a Simplified Import Declaration (SID) or a standard Import Declaration. 

Consignments or goods valued over NZ$1000 must be cleared on a standard Import Declaration, and the Import Entry Transaction Fee (IETF) and MPI’s BSEL will be charged. 

There is no change to the current processing of consignments over NZ$1000 – the standard GST and duty calculation will be applied. If GST on the value of the goods has already been collected at the point of sale by the supplier GST will still be payable on any duty at the border. 

ICRs and SIDs will be written off as GST paid (collected by the supplier) or not required (supplier not registered for GST) unless the goods: 

• are alcohol or tobacco products (duty and/or GST is payable) ;
• have a customs value more than NZ$1000;
• are consignments on the same craft/in the same mail dispatch for the same importer with a combined value exceeding NZ$1000

In these cases an Import Declaration will be required.

Payday Filing New

Bright-line test:

The Government announced on 15 February 2018 that the timeframe of bright-line test for residential property will be changed from “2 years” to “5 years”. All the existing exemptions and the operations of the bright-line test will remain. The proposed change has come via a Supplementary Order Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017-18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Bill (“the Bill”).

The Bill is expected to be enacted and in force by 31 March 2018.

http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2018-02-15-sop-extends-bright-line-test

Overseas Investment:

On 14 December 2017 the Government declared a Bill to amend the Overseas Investment Act. The Bill implements the Government’s policy to include residential land in the definition of “sensitive land”. For the purpose of residential land purchase, the definition of ‘ordinary resident in New Zealand’ will be also amended – requiring a permanent resident’s visa, at least one year’s residence in New Zealand, and presence in New Zealand for at least 183 days in the past year.

Under the Act, overseas persons must demonstrate a benefit to the Country unless meeting one of the following circumstances:

• the overseas person acquires property to build additional houses for sale, they on-sell the land within a set time and do not occupy the land for residential purposes (referred to by the Treasury as the “new builds” test); or
• the overseas person passes the “commitment to reside in New Zealand” test.

http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/overseasinvestment/residential-land

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/changes-coming-overseas-investment-regime

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/ban-overseas-speculators-step-closer

The Working for Family Tax Credits scheme comprises the following types of credits: 

• Family Tax Credit: this is a credit of tax paid for each dependent child 
• In-work Tax Credit: this credit for families with dependent children is available to sole parents who work at least 20 hours a week and couples that work at least 30 hours a week 
• Best Start: this tax credit is started from 1 July 2018, for children up to 3 years 
• Minimum Family Tax Credit: this credit ensures a minimum annual family income for those families falling below the threshold where a sole parent works at least 20 hours a week and couples work at least 30 hours a week 

The entitlement of amount of Working for Families Tax Credits is depends on the person and his/her families’ gross income. For more information, please contact us or refer IR271 or  https://www.ird.govt.nz/topics/working-for-families