Work out any number in your financial life

Fixing for one year or two: how to think about it

A shorter fix costs less today and asks you to roll the dice sooner. Here is the arithmetic behind that trade, and the question worth asking before you pick.

How banks decide what to lend you

Three separate tests sit between you and a mortgage, and the one people talk about is not always the one that limits the borrowing.

What the ACC earners' levy pays for

It is on every payslip, it is not income tax, and it stops being charged above a set income. Here is what it is and why it is separate.

Every KiwiSaver contribution rate, compared

The standard employee rate is now 3.5%. Higher employee rates and a temporary reduction have different rules for employer contributions.

Setting your PIR, and what getting it wrong costs

Your prescribed investor rate is the rate your KiwiSaver and managed funds are taxed at. Nobody sets it for you, and both directions of error cost something.

What happens to your student loan when you leave

The repayment rules change completely the moment you become overseas-based, and the change is not in your favour.

What GST registration actually costs you

Registering is compulsory above a turnover threshold and optional below it. The optional case is where people get it wrong in both directions.

Fortnightly repayments: frequency and extra payments

Changing frequency recalculates the payment. Paying half the monthly amount each fortnight adds extra payments. The calculator example separates the two.

Provisional tax, and what the $5,000 line actually triggers

One number in last year's return decides whether you spend next year paying tax three times instead of once. Here is what crosses the line, what the instalments are, and what Inland Revenue charges when they are short.

The $50,000 foreign share threshold

The foreign investment fund rules have a cost-based exemption for eligible investors. The exemption and Australian-share exceptions have separate conditions.

The rate your bank deducts from your interest

You picked a number in a form once, possibly never. It decides whether your term deposit interest is settled by the time it lands or waiting for you in an end-of-year bill.

What NZ Super pays, and who now qualifies

The payment is not income tested and not asset tested, which makes it simpler than people expect. The residence rule is no longer a single flat number of years, and that change is easy to miss.

What a fund update says about returns, and what it does not

Every managed fund lodges a standardised return figure. The standard is real, and the basis it is calculated on is not yours.

Using your KiwiSaver to buy your first home

Three years of membership opens the door. What you can withdraw, what must stay, and whose letter you need if you have owned before.

NZ income tax rates and what they mean in practice

Five bands, one progressive rate, and the secondary codes that decide whether a second job costs more at year end.

How student loan repayments work while you are in New Zealand

A threshold, a rate, and a tax code are the three things that decide what leaves your pay. Here is how they fit together.

The bright-line test for residential property

Sell within two years of buying and the profit may be taxable. Here is how the dates work, and what the main-home exclusion does.

Working for Families: what the four payments are

Best Start, Family Tax Credit, In-Work Tax Credit and Minimum Family Tax Credit each have different eligibility and abatement rules.

Debt-to-income restrictions: what the bank limits cover

The Reserve Bank limits banks' high-DTI lending, using total debt and gross income, with different thresholds for owner-occupiers and investors.

Offset mortgages: how linked cash reduces interest

An offset mortgage keeps linked cash available while reducing the loan balance on which interest is charged; account rules and variable rates still matter.

Depositor Compensation Scheme: what the cover means

The scheme protects eligible deposits if a deposit taker fails, with a limit shared across protected accounts held by the same depositor at that institution.

KiwiSaver government contribution after the 2025 changes

Eligible members receive a government contribution based on their own contributions, with an annual cap, an income limit and part-year eligibility rules.

Loan-to-value restrictions: the current bank speed limits

The Reserve Bank limits the share of high-LVR mortgage lending banks can make, with separate settings for owner-occupiers and investors.

The Official Cash Rate: the decision behind the headline

The OCR is the Reserve Bank’s main monetary policy tool; banks set their own mortgage and deposit rates in response to wider conditions.

Rental property interest: deductions after the phase-back

Interest deductions have been fully restored, while private-use exclusions, general deductibility and residential excess-deduction rules still matter.

KiwiSaver early access: hardship and serious illness

Significant financial hardship and serious illness are separate early-withdrawal grounds, with evidence requirements and different contribution treatment.

First Home Grant and First Home Partner: current status

First Home Grant stopped accepting new applications in 2024; First Home Partner is fully subscribed and now supports its existing customers.

New Zealand paid parental leave: payments and duration

Paid parental leave replaces qualifying income up to a published weekly cap, with a payment period separate from workplace leave rights.

New Zealand independent earner tax credit: who qualifies

The independent earner tax credit reduces tax for eligible earners, with an income band, exclusions and a whole-month eligibility rule.

New Zealand minimum wage: rates and categories

The minimum wage has separate adult, starting-out and training categories, with current rates stated before tax and lawful deductions.

New Zealand Best Start: birth dates and income abatement

Best Start supports qualifying families during a child's early years, with first-year income testing determined by the child's birth date.

New Zealand annual holidays and sick leave

Annual holidays and sick leave have different qualifying periods and units, with separate rules for taking leave and carrying balances forward.

New Zealand rates rebates: income and eligibility

Rates rebates reduce qualifying homeowners' rates bills, with annual council assessment and different income limits for SuperGold households.

New Zealand Winter Energy Payment: dates and rates

Winter Energy Payment adds seasonal heating support to specified benefits and pensions, with automatic payments during the winter period.

New Zealand Accommodation Supplement: limits and areas

Accommodation Supplement helps with qualifying rent, board or home ownership costs, with income, asset and area limits affecting entitlement.

New Zealand donation tax credits: claims and limits

Donation tax credits apply to qualifying money gifts to approved organisations, subject to taxable income, receipt and claim-year requirements.

New Zealand Student Allowance: income and eligibility

Student Allowance helps eligible students with living costs, with personal income and, in some circumstances, parental or partner income tests.

New Zealand KiwiSaver employer contributions and ESCT

Employer KiwiSaver contributions have a gross contribution rate and a separate tax deduction, with ESCT bands based on employment income.

New Zealand Jobseeker Support: weekly rates and tax

Jobseeker Support weekly rates depend on age and family circumstances, with income tests and obligations affecting an individual's payment.

New Zealand child support: formula and annual amounts

Child support formula assessments combine parental income, allowances, care arrangements and child costs, with amounts updated each year.

New Zealand FamilyBoost: childcare rates and limits

FamilyBoost refunds part of eligible early childhood education fees, with quarterly household income and claim records affecting the amount.

New Zealand PIE income: tax returns and annual square-up

Annual PIE calculations compare tax already paid with tax at the correct prescribed investor rate, and may produce a credit or debt in the tax assessment.

New Zealand Supported Living Payment: weekly rates

Supported Living Payment rates depend on age and family circumstances, with separate eligibility for health conditions and full-time caring.

New Zealand Sole Parent Support: rates and child age

Sole Parent Support combines a published weekly rate with income and family criteria, and eligibility ends when the youngest child turns 14.

New Zealand Disability Allowance: amount and income limits

Disability Allowance helps with ongoing disability-related costs, subject to a weekly maximum, income limits and evidence of eligible expenses.

New Zealand KiwiSaver: taking a savings suspension

A KiwiSaver savings suspension pauses future deductions, while significant financial hardship withdrawals concern savings already held.

New Zealand dividend imputation credits: tax and ratio

Imputation credits pass company income tax through to shareholders, reducing their personal tax on dividends within a published maximum ratio.

Community Services Card: income limits in New Zealand

The Community Services Card reduces health and transport costs for eligible people, with income limits based on household size.

New Zealand Childcare Subsidy: hours and income thresholds

Childcare Subsidy helps with pre-school childcare costs, with weekly hour limits and income-based reductions that differ for working and non-working families.

New Zealand Orphan's and Unsupported Child's Benefit rates

Both benefits support carers of children whose parents have died or cannot care for them, with weekly rates that depend on the child's age.

New Zealand Temporary Additional Support: what it covers

Temporary Additional Support helps with essential living costs that cannot be met from income, with a 13-week maximum payment period.