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Charitable and donee organisations - PDF
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Nickolas Ramsey
1 IR 255 August 2014 Charitable and donee organisations A tax guide for charities, donee organisations and other groups
2 3 Introduction Charitable organisations have a number of tax obligations. If you re involved in administering or setting up a charitable trust, estate, society, association or any other type of charitable organisation, this guide will help you. However, this is only a general guide for more specific issues, please refer to other Inland Revenue publications (listed on page 43) or call us see page 41. Charities Services registers and monitors charitable organisations and provides education and support to the charitable sector. For more information go to page 10 or go to their website or call In this guide Part 1 helps you work out what taxes your organisation will have to deal with. Part 2 explains the exemptions, so you can find out whether your organisation is exempt from income tax. It also tells you about the tax benefits available to people who donate money or property to your organisation. Part 3 sets out different types of income and explains whether each is liable for income tax or GST (goods and services tax). Part 4 sets out what happens when a charity is deregistered. Part 5 sets out the services Inland Revenue provides. The information in this guide is based on current tax laws at the time of printing.
3 4 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Go to our website for information, and to use our services and tools. myir secure online services log in to file your EMS, IR 3 or GST return or registration; manage your student loan; view your account balances and transactions; view or update your personal or family details and income, request or confirm your PTS and send us secure mail. Demonstrations view online demonstrations of some of the tasks you can complete using your myir secure online services ID and password. Get it done online complete and send us forms and returns, make payments, make an appointment to see us and give us feedback. Work it out use our calculators, worksheets and tools to help you manage your tax business like checking your tax code, or your filing and payment dates. Forms and guides download our guides and fill in forms online, or download them to fill in and post to us. Some of our services now pre-fill your information, making it easier and faster to deal with us. How to get our forms and guides You can view copies of all our forms and guides mentioned in this guide by going to and selecting Forms and guides. You can also request copies by calling
4 5 Contents Introduction 3 4 How to get our forms and guides 4 Terms we use 6 Charities Act 10 Part 1 Basic tax information 11 Income tax 11 GST (goods and services tax) 14 Employing staff 16 FBT (fringe benefit tax) 18 RWT (resident withholding tax) 20 NRWT (non-resident withholding tax) 21 General information 22 Part 2 Tax benefits 24 Charities 24 Income tax for charities 25 Gifts to charities 26 Donee organisations 27 Donation tax credit or deduction 28 Eligibility for exemption or donee organisation status 29 Part 3 Income 34 Table of income types 35 Part 4 Charity deregistrations 36 Voluntary deregistration 36 Deregistrated by the Charities Services 36 Tax treatment 37 Community housing entity 40 Part 5 Services you may need 41 Need to talk to us? self-service numbers 41 Customer service quality monitoring 42 Tax Information Bulletin (TIB) 42 Privacy 42 If you have a complaint about our service 42 Inland Revenue publications 43
5 6 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Terms we use Arm s-length transaction A deal made between non-related parties, who are not associated persons. Associated persons These are: people related by blood, adoption, marriage or de facto relationships companies with mainly the same shareholders a partner and a partnership trusts and their association with trustees, beneficiaries and settlors. The association rules are complex, therefore it is important that you seek professional advice if you think there is any possibility of an association applying to you. Business Any enterprise or activity intended to make a profit is classed as a business. If an organisation runs a business, it must pay tax on all profits after expenses (except those made on dealings with its members). However, if a charity runs a business, it may not be liable for income tax on any profits that it uses for charitable purposes within New Zealand see page 25. Charitable organisation or charity This is an organisation (incorporated or not) that carries on charitable activities or exists exclusively for charitable purposes. Some charities may be registered by the Charities Services. Charitable purposes These include: the relief of poverty the advancement of education the advancement of religion activities for the benefit of the community. An organisation s purposes must fall within one of these categories to be charitable. Its activities or aims must be for public purposes and the benefit
6 7 must be available to a large section of the community. In addition, it must not be carried on for the benefit or profit of any individual. If the beneficiaries are limited by blood ties the charitable purpose can still be met in some circumstances. Many organisations consider themselves charitable because of the work they do or because they re registered under the Charitable Trusts Act As a result, they may also think they re exempt from income tax. However, an organisation is only tax-exempt if it s a registered charity. This exemption doesn t apply to GST or PAYE. The organisation must still account for these. Charitable purpose of marae A marae has a charitable purpose if: the physical structure of the marae is on land that is a Mäori reservation, and the funds of the marae aren t used for a purpose other than the administration and maintenance of the land and of the physical structure of the marae or another charitable purpose. Charities Services (previously known as the Charities Commission) This entity was formed under the Charities Act 2005, and provides: a registration and monitoring system for charitable organisations, and support and education to the charitable sector on good governance, and management. Community housing entity A trust and its trustees, or a company whose activities are mainly the provision of housing, who meet specific criteria and are registered under the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act They may or may not qualify for charity status. Deregistration A charity that has been removed from the Charities Register by the Department of Internal Affairs Charities Services. Donee organisation This is a special type of organisation, considered by Inland Revenue to have met the requirements set out in the Income Tax Act Individuals, certain companies and Mäori authorities can get certain tax benefits by making gifts of money to a donee organisation see page 28. A charity can also be a donee organisation.
7 8 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Donor A person, company or other organisation that gives money or property to another. Incorporated organisations Organisations registered with the Companies Office of the Ministry of Economic Development (such as under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 or the Companies Act 1993) are classed as incorporated organisations. For more information about becoming incorporated, see Non-profit body A non-profit body is any society, association or organisation (incorporated or not): that is not carried on for the profit or gain of any member, and whose rules don t allow money, property or any other benefit to be distributed to any of its members. Organisation This is a general term, which covers all types of societies, institutions, companies, estates, trusts, funds, whether or not they have a charitable nature or are considered tax-exempt. Payroll giving Payroll giving is a voluntary scheme where employees can make donations from their pay to support approved donee organisations. People who donate through payroll giving receive immediate tax credits relating to the donations they make each payday. Registered charity A trust, society or institution that is registered as a charitable entity by Charities Services. Residual income tax Residual income tax is the amount payable for the year, after deducting any tax credits from income tax assessed, but before deducting any provisional tax paid. Taxable activity Any activity carried on continuously or regularly that supplies (or intends to supply) goods and services to others for some form of payment (but not necessarily
8 9 for a profit) is a taxable activity. Businesses, trades and professions are all taxable activities. Charitable organisations of any type can carry on taxable activities. Setting up a business is part of the taxable activity, as is the closing down and sale of a business. Taxable activities don t include: employment as a salary or wage-earner hobby activities the occasional sale of domestic or private assets making GST-exempt supplies. Turnover Turnover is the total gross value of all goods and services supplied, excluding GST. It includes: goods and services sold or provided in New Zealand exported goods grants, subsidies and barter arrangements. Turnover doesn t include: the sale of stock and assets because of the winding down or ceasing of business the sale of plant or replacement of assets GST-exempt goods and services unconditional gifts. Unconditional gift An unconditional gift is a donation or payment made voluntarily to any non-profit body, where there s no identifiable direct benefit to the donor or the donor s family. Some unconditional gifts can be: donations or koha money from door-to-door appeals and street collections bequests voluntary school fees (but not school activity fees). Subscriptions, payments from trading activities and payments made by the Crown or a public authority aren t unconditional gifts for GST purposes.
9 10 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Charities Act The Charities Act 2005 established a Charities Commission, now known as Charities Services, who provide: a registration and monitoring system for charitable organisations support and education for the charitable sector on good governance and management. Charities Services has published A guide to the Charities Act which you can download from or order a copy by calling Charities Services also set up a Charities Register. Registration is voluntary but, unregistered charities aren t eligible for tax exemptions on the grounds of charitable purposes. Charitable organisations can apply for registration online at or by posting a completed application form, with a copy of their rules, to Charities Services. Send an officer certification form for each officer of the organisation. You can get details about registration and copies of forms from Charities Services at or by calling
10 11 Part 1 Basic tax information Whatever type of charitable organisation you re setting up or running, you ll usually have some tax obligations. These may include: making a number of tax payments each year some of these may be for your organisation s own tax liability, others may be on behalf of its employees filing various return forms each year these may be for income tax, GST, PAYE and/or FBT calculating the profit from any business to work out how much tax is due this is explained in our Smart business (IR 320) guide and there is also some information in Part 3 of this guide keeping certain business records see page 22 for more information on this. This part of the guide explains all these obligations and gives you other general tax information you need to know. Income tax Charitable organisations are liable for income tax if they: operate with no written rules, constitution or trust deed operate under a set of rules, a constitution or a trust deed that does not meet the requirements for income tax exemption see pages 29 to 33 use business income for charitable purposes outside New Zealand see page 32. Any charity not registered by Charities Services will be liable for income tax. Benefits The Income Tax Act 2007 and the Estate and Gift Duties Act 1968 set out a number of income tax and duty exemptions. Some of these exemptions give benefits to charitable organisations and some give benefits to people, certain companies, or Mäori authorities who make donations to such organisations.
11 12 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS The Tax benefits section on page 24 of this guide gives more detail on these main conditions. It also lists all the benefits available and the specific conditions an organisation must meet to get any particular exemption. Only the income tax exemption will apply to charitable organisations. Your organisation may still be liable for other taxes, such as GST, PAYE and FBT. If your organisation isn t entitled to any tax exemptions, it will be liable for income tax on some types of income it earns. Part 3 of this guide will help you work out which types of income are taxable. Income tax rates If a charitable organisation is incorporated under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 or Companies Act 1993, then it s considered to be a company for income tax purposes. If it doesn t qualify for a tax exemption, its income is taxed at the company rate. Organisations that operate as trusts, including trusts incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 and aren t tax-exempt are liable for tax on trustee's income. Our guide Trusts and estates income tax rules (IR 288) gives you more information about this. Charitable organisations not incorporated under a specific Act are unincorporated charitable organisations. If such an organisation isn t entitled to a tax exemption, it will be liable for income tax at the same rate as an individual taxpayer. However, it won t qualify for any of the tax credits that individual taxpayers can claim. For more information on individual and PAYE rates go to (search keywords: income tax rates). If a non-exempt organisation s residual income tax for a financial year is more than $2,500, it may have to pay provisional tax for the following year. For more information on provisional tax, read our guide Provisional tax (IR 289).
12 13 Filing income tax returns Generally, if your organisation is a charity, it s exempt from income tax. You don t need to file an income tax return unless we request one or you have taxable income. From 1 July 2008 you need to be registered by Charities Services to be eligible for an income tax exemption. If your organisation runs a business it may be required to file a return. Our Operational Statement 06/02 Interaction of tax and charities rules, covering tax exemption and donee status gives guidelines for doing this when income is taxable. You must include a copy of the financial accounts with the tax return. Instead of accounts, you can use our Schedule of business income (IR 3B) or Rental income (IR 3R) form to work out the gross income and allowable deductions for these activities. We also provide an Accounts information (IR 10) form, which you can use instead of sending us a set of accounts. Using an IR 10 will speed up the processing of the organisation s tax return. If required, or asked to, a company must file an IR 4 tax return, an estate or trust must file an IR 6 tax return, and any other society or association must file an IR 9 tax return. If your organisation doesn t receive a taxpack, you can order one by calling our 0800 self-service numbers see page 41. If your organisation has a balance date between October and March, you must send your tax return to us by 7 July. For other approved balance dates (see page 23), send us the return by the seventh day of the fourth month after your balance date. If a tax agent completes the return, we may extend the due date. This is because most tax agents have extensions of time for filing their clients tax returns.
13 14 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS GST (goods and services tax) GST is a tax on most goods and services in New Zealand. It s charged and accounted for by GST-registered businesses. They then calculate the amount of GST they have charged and pay it to us. They can also claim back the GST they incur as part of their business. To check the current GST rate go to Registering for GST If your charitable organisation runs a taxable activity with an annual turnover (total income before expenses) of $60,000 or more, it must register for GST. Registration is voluntary for organisations with turnover under this figure see page 15. To work out turnover, only include income liable for GST, not income not liable for GST or exempt from GST see the table on page 35. For example, include income from trading activities (both with members and non-members), subscriptions, grants and subsidies, but exclude income from donations, koha, bequests, residential rent, interest and dividends. If, at the end of any month, your organisation s turnover for the past 12 months is more than $60,000, you ll need to register for GST. Also, you must register it for GST, if at any time you think your organisation s turnover for the next 12 months will be over $60,000. You can register for GST online by using our online GST registration form. You can find it at Get it done online. Alternatively, you can complete a GST registration (IR 360) form. Registration of branches and divisions Generally, if an organisation operates through separate branches or divisions, they may each register separately for GST. If the total turnover of all the branches or divisions is more than $60,000 your organisation must register for GST. Non-profit bodies (including charitable organisations) may apply to us in writing to treat each branch or division separately, and only register the individual branches with a turnover of more than $60,000. However, branches with a turnover of less than $60,000 may still register voluntarily.
14 15 To register separately, each branch or division must: have its own independent accounting system, and be separately identified by its location or by the different activities it undertakes. Voluntary registration The advantage of voluntary registration is that charitable organisations may get frequent refunds of GST. This happens when a charity runs a taxable activity and receives income liable for GST, but also receives donations or koha (unconditional gifts), which aren t liable for GST. The charity can claim a GST credit for most of its expenses, but it only pays GST on its taxable activity income. However, charitable organisations need to be aware of the possible disadvantages of voluntary registration. When you stop your registration you have to pay GST on the open (current) market value of any business assets you keep for private use. If you acquired the asset before 1 October 1986, the adjustment would be the lesser of cost price and the open market value. Accounting for GST becomes difficult if non-liable income is involved, or if some assets are used for exempt purposes and others for business purposes. If someone within the organisation completes the GST returns, there may be problems if that person s services become unavailable and their experience is lost. For more help You ll find more information on registering branches and divisions separately, or on voluntary registration, in our GST do you need to register? (IR 365) factsheet.
15 16 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Employing staff If your organisation employs staff, you must register with us as an employer. You can register online at Get it done online or complete an Employer registration (IR 334) form. Your tax obligations as an employer are as follows: Ask new employees to fill in a Tax code declaration (IR 330), which will tell you the tax code to use and the rate for deducting tax from their wages. If any employees don t fill in an IR 330, you must deduct tax from their wages at the no-notification rate of 45% (not including employees ACC earners levy). Deduct PAYE from your employees wages, and pay it to us either once or twice a month, depending on the total amount of wages paid. PAYE includes the ACC earners levy to cover the cost of employees non-work injuries. Complete an Employer deductions (IR 345) form and send it with your payment by the due date. You can file your Employer deductions IR 345/EDF form electronically using ir-file. To register or see a demonstration of ir-file go to Secure online services. Complete an Employer monthly schedule (IR 348) with details of the required deductions for each employee. You can also file your IR 348/EMS electronically using ir-file. Pay FBT on any fringe benefits (perks) you give your employees see page 18. Deduct child support payments and student loan repayments from employees wages if required. Automatically enrol new employees who are eligible to join KiwiSaver and deduct their KiwiSaver contributions from their pay. If you re making KiwiSaver employee deductions or employer contributions you need to send these to us with the PAYE. Pay ESCT on any employer cash contributions made to a superannuation scheme see the Employer s guide (IR 335) for more information. Employees and contractors If any members of your organisation carry out paid work, they re treated as employees. PAYE must be deducted from the payments they receive. If the organisation gives board and lodging rather than money to any employees for their work, you must work out the gross value of the benefit given to them, calculate PAYE based on this amount and pay it to us see the Allowances section in the Employer s guide (IR 335). Other benefits paid to replace wages may be liable for FBT see page 18.
16 17 PAYE deducted from your employees wages is money held in trust for the Crown. You don t need to keep it in a separate bank account, but it must not be used for anything other than payment to us. If a self-employed contractor does a job for the organisation, this generally doesn t make the organisation an employer. However, if the job is one of those listed on the back of the Tax code declaration (IR 330), you must deduct tax at the flat rate shown and pay this to us. You must also ask the contractor to complete the IR 330. If the contractor shows you a current Certificate of exemption (IR 331) or is a company (not in the agricultural industry), you don t need to deduct tax. If the type of work done isn t listed on the IR 330, you don t need to deduct tax. In these cases, the contractor is responsible for paying the tax. Some workers call themselves self-employed contractors or something similar, so their employers won t deduct PAYE. If the organisation (as the employer) has control over the work done, including what the person does and how, and where it s done, the worker is almost certainly an employee and is liable for PAYE. It s illegal to treat a true employee as self-employed to avoid deducting tax. If you re not sure whether a worker is a true employee, read Part 1 of the Employer s guide (IR 335) and our leaflet, Self-employed or an employee? (IR 336). Employer s superannuation cash contribution (employer contribution) An employer contribution is a monetary amount paid to a superannuation fund, by an employer, for the benefit of their employees. If your employees ask you to make deductions from their wages and pay them to a superannuation scheme, these are not employer contributions. Any employer contribution an employer makes to a superannuation fund for the benefit of an employee is liable for tax. There are several options for taxing these contributions see the Employer s guide (IR 335) for more information. A superannuation fund is a scheme that has been registered under the Superannuation Schemes Act For more detailed information about superannuation fund contributions, refer to the Employer s guide (IR 335).
17 18 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS FBT (fringe benefit tax) Charitable organisations are generally exempt from paying FBT on any benefits provided to employees while they re carrying out the organisation s charitable activities. For example, if an employee has the use of a car while carrying out charitable work for the organisation, any private benefit arising isn t subject to FBT. The exemption doesn t apply to any short-term charge facilities provided to employees of your charitable organisation above a certain threshold. This includes vouchers and store value cards, eg, petrol and supermarket voucher cards, prezzy cards. For more information see Part 4 of our Fringe benefit tax guide (IR 409). However, if your organisation operates a business which is outside its charitable, benevolent, cultural or philanthropic purposes and provides fringe benefits to any person employed in that business, FBT must be paid on those benefits. For example, if the charitable organisation provides a car as part of a salary package, for use with its business activities, FBT must be paid on any private benefit. Some benefits that are liable for FBT are: private use of an employer-supplied car low-interest loans subsidised transport goods or services supplied below market cost (there can be an exemption for this see the following section) employer contributions to sickness, accident and death benefit funds. When calculating your FBT to pay, you have a choice of FBT rates to use. You can choose to work out the FBT to pay using the alternate rate calculation process or you can apply the single rate. For current FBT rates go to (search keywords: FBT rates). For FBT purposes, charitable organisations include both charities and donee organisations see pages 6 and 7.
18 19 FBT exemptions for some benefits There s also an FBT exemption for other fringe benefits an organisation provides to its employees. For FBT purposes, other benefits are those that aren t motor vehicles, low-interest loans, subsidised transport, retirement allowances, contributions to superannuation, sickness, accident or death benefit funds, or insurance premiums. There s a $300 exemption threshold per employee per quarter for other fringe benefits, up to a maximum of $22,500 per annum. However, if the value of other fringe benefits to any one employee goes over $300 for a quarter, the full value of fringe benefits given to that employee is liable for FBT without first deducting the $300 exemption. Similarly, if the total of other fringe benefits paid to all employees goes over $22,500 in the current quarter and three preceding quarters, the organisation must pay FBT on all the fringe benefits it provides in that quarter again, without first deducting any exemption. See our Fringe benefit tax guide (IR 409) for further information. Filing FBT returns If your organisation is providing benefits to staff, it will have to file FBT returns. If your organisation doesn t (and doesn t intend to) provide fringe benefits, you can apply for nil status by completing the Fringe benefit tax election online at You can also apply for this by calling us on Once your organisation has been granted nil status it won t have to file FBT returns unless it starts providing benefits in the future. GST on fringe benefits If an organisation is registered for both GST and FBT, it must make an adjustment for GST in its FBT returns for fringe benefits provided (unless the benefits are GST-exempt or zero-rated). See Part 8 of our Fringe benefit tax guide (IR 409) for more information. FBT and entertainment expenses Only 50% of entertainment expenses that aren t subject to FBT are deductible for income tax purposes. For more information, read our Entertainment expenses (IR 268) guide.
19 20 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS RWT (resident withholding tax) If your charitable organisation has money deposited in a bank or other financial institution, RWT may be deducted from the interest before the organisation receives it. At the end of the year, the organisation can claim a credit in its tax return for the RWT deducted from interest. If your organisation considers it s exempt from income tax it may be eligible for a certificate of exemption from RWT on interest and dividends. You can apply for an exemption using our Application for exemption from resident withholding tax on interest and dividends (IR 451) form. Fill it in and send it back to us along with any information we ask for. We ll issue you with a certificate of exemption from RWT, which means your organisation can receive interest without having RWT deducted. When you receive your certificate show it to your interest payer and they ll stop deducting RWT. You need to be a charity registered with Charities Services to be eligible for this exemption. Charitable organisations can claim a refund if RWT has been deducted incorrectly, for example, if an interest payer deducted RWT before the organisation got its certificate. If the organisation doesn t have to file tax returns, it can get the refund by completing a Resident withholding tax refund request (IR 454) form. We can cancel a certificate if the holder is no longer entitled to it. If we do this the certificate must be returned to us. If anyone other than a bank or financial institution has money invested in your organisation and the organisation pays interest of more than $5,000 a year to these investors, it may need to register as an RWT payer. For more help Our RWT on interest payer s guide (IR 283) has the information you ll need if your organisation pays interest and deducts RWT.
20 21 NRWT (non-resident withholding tax) If your organisation pays interest, dividends or royalties to a non-resident, this is called non-resident passive income and your organisation must deduct NRWT. Contact our Non-resident Centre in Dunedin if you want to know more about the New Zealand tax residency rules for deducting and paying NRWT: Non-resident Centre Inland Revenue Private Bag 1932 Dunedin 9054 New Zealand Phone Fax For more help These guides will help if you have questions about residency or NRWT: New Zealand tax residence (IR 292) Non-resident withholding tax payer s guide (IR 291) Visitor s tax guide (IR 294).
21 22 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS General information Record keeping You have to keep sufficient records to calculate the income, expenses and GST liability of your charitable organisation, and to enable us to confirm your accounts if necessary. The records you must keep are: receipt and payment account books bank statements invoices (including GST tax invoices) receipts any other necessary documents to confirm entries in your accounts stocktake figures for the end of the financial year wage records for all employees, including KiwiSaver records interest and dividend payment records. Note For GST you don t need to hold a tax invoice for items costing less than $50 but you do need to maintain a record of such payments. For income tax, you should have invoices for all expenses, whatever the amount. You must hold all records for seven years, even if you cease operating (except for incorporated organisations that have been wound up and dissolved). We can also extend the period you must keep records for if we intend to audit or investigate your organisation. If this is the case, we ll write and tell you what records to keep. All your records must be in English, unless we give you written approval to use another language. Any charitable or donee organisation (see pages 6 and 7) must keep a record of: the sources of any donations made to it, and how its funds have been used, within New Zealand or overseas. If we request it to, the organisation should be able to fill in a tax return and identify the source and end use of all its funds.
22 23 Note If you file your tax returns electronically, you must keep a paper copy of the return (and supporting records) for seven years. It s important to keep all this information as we routinely audit these records. You can read more about audits on our website at (search keyword: audits). IRD numbers No matter what type of charitable organisation you re running, it will need an IRD number. You may also use that IRD number for GST, PAYE, FBT or RWT purposes. To get an IRD number, you ll need to send us a completed IRD number application non-individual (IR 596) form. If you re incorporating a new company online through the Companies Office website, you can apply for an IRD number at the same time. Or, you can complete the IR 596 form online, print, sign and send it to us. You ll need to provide a photocopy of one of the following: certificate of incorporation deed of trust certificate of registration. You must also supply the names, addresses and personal IRD numbers of each shareholder, director, trustee or executive office holder. Balance dates For most taxpayers, the accounting year ends on 31 March the balance date. If you want a balance date for your organisation other than 31 March, you must apply to us in writing, stating your reasons. We will usually only approve a change if there are sound business reasons for doing so, or if your business activity is in an industry where there is a recognised balance date other than 31 March. Due dates Some organisations will have to file returns and make payments to us, possibly for several tax types. To keep track of the due dates for payments and returns, use the calculator on or our Tax due date calendar (IR 328).
23 24 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Part 2 Tax benefits Tax legislation benefits charities by allowing them income tax exemptions. It also allows a tax credit or deduction for donations by individuals, companies or Mäori authorities to donee organisations. Note that a charity may also be a donee organisation. A donee organisation doesn t have to be a registered charity. This part of the guide explains how these benefits work and the conditions an organisation must meet to get a particular benefit. Charities To qualify for an exemption from income tax, trustees of a trust must derive income for charitable purposes, and societies or institutions must be established and maintained exclusively for charitable purposes. A charitable purpose is where the rules of an organisation clearly state that its purposes are for one or more of the following: the relief of poverty the advancement of education the advancement of religion any other matters that are beneficial to the community. The organisation s aims must also be for a public purpose except where they are for the relief of poverty. The benefit must be available to a large part of the community and the activities must not result in the private benefit or profit of any individual. You ll find further information about charitable purposes on the Charities Services website at
24 25 Income tax for charities Non-business (investment) income Charities are exempt from income tax on non-business income such as interest, dividends and rents. They may use the income for charitable purposes in and outside New Zealand and still keep the exemption. The charity must be registered with Charities Services for its income to be eligible for this income tax exemption see page 10. Business income The portion of a charity s business income which is used for charitable purposes in New Zealand is exempt from income tax. If an organisation uses its business income for charitable purposes outside New Zealand as well, only the New Zealand part is exempt. Business income won t be exempt if anyone connected with the charitable organisation: receives or can receive any benefit or income from the organisation, and can determine or influence the nature or amount of any benefit they receive. Page 32 has more details about the limitations to this exemption. These exemptions only apply to the charitable organisation s income. They don t apply to any other earned income passed on to a charitable organisation for charitable purposes. The people or organisation who earned the income must pay tax on it. However, this income may qualify for a donation tax credit or deduction see page 28. The charity must be registered with Charities Services for its income to be eligible for this income tax exemption see page 10. Charitable estates The executor or administrator of a deceased person s estate may derive income from any money or assets left to charitable organisations while the will is being finalised. If the organisation benefiting from the will is entitled to an income tax exemption, the income derived while the funds are held awaiting finalisation is also exempt.
25 26 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS This exemption only covers the income derived from the money or assets of the estate that have been left to the charity. The estate must still pay tax on any income it earns from other assets or money. The executors and administrators of a charitable estate formed after 1 July 2008 don t need to register with Charities Services until the end of the income year following the income year in which the deceased died, before its tax exemption is affected. Example Date of death 12 October 2012 Income year 31 March 2013 Register by 31 March 2014 If the trustees want to confirm their tax exemption they need to send us, during that intervening period, a copy of the deceased s will and the following details: the rights of the various beneficiaries under the will the net value (after debts and liabilities) of the estate available to be distributed to the beneficiaries the shares and the prospective shares of the beneficiaries in the income and assets of the estate. If the trustees don t register with Charities Services by the end of the intervening period, any income will be liable for income tax see page 10. Gifts to charities Gift duty was repealed for gifts made after 1 October If your organisation needs information on the tax implications for gifts made before this date, go to (search keywords: duties and levies).
26 27 Donee organisations When an organisation is considered a donee organisation for tax purposes, any gifts of money it receives from individuals and certain companies qualify for tax advantages. See page 28 for more information on these tax benefits. An organisation doesn t have to be a registered charity to be eligible for donee organisation status. A donee organisation must be a New Zealand society, institution, association, organisation, trust or fund. Its funds must be applied wholly or principally to charitable, benevolent, philanthropic or cultural purposes in New Zealand. This means that the organisation s aims or purposes should be carried out in New Zealand, even if this results in paying money outside New Zealand to achieve these purposes. Cultural purposes include dramatic, theatrical, operatic, ballet, choral or musical purposes. Benevolent and philanthropic purposes basically mean doing good for other people. This includes organisations that aren t charitable in the strict legal sense, but are popularly seen as charitable, for example, organisations whose proceeds or funds are used to benefit all or a large part of the public. Another condition is that the organisation must not be carried on for the private benefit of any member or an associate of any member. Charities that apply the principal part or all of their funds outside New Zealand must be approved for donee organisation status by Parliament. Approval is limited to organisations whose funds are mainly used for: the relief of poverty, hunger, sickness or the results of war or natural disaster the economy of developing countries (as recognised by the United Nations) raising the educational standards of a developing country. Inland Revenue considers these applications and makes a recommendation to government. Organisations that are approved are listed in the Income Tax Act. A donee organisation is still liable for income tax on any taxable income it earns from sources outside its own membership if it has no other income tax exemption. There are government guidelines for organisations seeking charitable donee status for their overseas activities. For information on the guidelines go to (search keywords: overseas donee status).
27 28 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Donation tax credit or deduction Gifts of money by individuals Individuals who give cash donations of $5 or more to donee organisations may claim a tax credit of one-third (33.33%) of the total of all donations, up to the amount of their taxable income. To qualify for this tax credit: the gift must be made in money gifts of goods or property don t qualify the gift can t be made under the will of a deceased person each gift must be $5 or more. However, gifts can still qualify for a tax credit if an arrangement is in place to make a gift of under $5 through regular instalments throughout the year, and the total at the end of the year is $5 or more (eg, if you give $1 each week to your church, making the total contribution for the year $52). Where an employer offers payroll giving, they must make sure all donations are passed to the requested donee organisations. This must be done by the PAYE payment due date closest to the end of the two months from the last day of the pay period when the donation was deducted from their employee s wage. When receipts are issued by the donee organisation they should be in the employer s name and state the donation was made under the payroll giving scheme. The employee doesn t receive a receipt from the donee as they receive a tax credit reducing their PAYE at the time the donation was deducted from their wages. Gifts of money by certain companies A company (including an unlisted close company), can claim a donation deduction for cash donations it makes to donee organisations. A close company is one that has five or fewer shareholders. The maximum donation deduction that can be claimed is limited to the company s net income (ie, income, less expenses, but before the donation deduction is deducted). For more on tax credits on gifts and donations go to (search keywords: tax credits).
28 29 Gift of money by Mäori authorities A Mäori authority may claim a deduction against its net income for cash donations it makes to a Mäori association or a donee organisation. The maximum deduction allowed is limited by the Mäori authority s net income (ie, income less expenses, but before the donation deduction is deducted). Receipts You must provide the donor with a receipt that: shows the donor s full name is officially stamped with the name or branch of your organisation clearly shows that it s a donation and the amount shows the date the donation was received is signed by a person authorised by your organisation to accept donations It s a good idea to include your organisation s IRD number and/or Charities Services registration number. Eligibility for exemption or donee organisation status Charities registered with Charities Services You don t need to apply to Inland Revenue to confirm your income tax-exempt status. When you register as a charity with Charities Services, you ll be sent a copy of our Tax information for charities registered under the Charities Act 2005 (IR 256) guide. This explains the exemptions available. Based on the information in this guide, you ll decide if your organisation is exempt or not. In most cases, charities with non-business income only, which are registered with Charities Services, will be eligible for the exemptions. Registered charities carrying out a business will need to consider some limitations and exceptions to the exemption, (summarised on page 30 33), and self-determine their tax position. For more detailed information see our Operational Statement 06/02 Interaction of tax and charities rules, covering tax exemption and donee status. Charities Services will pass on details of registered charities to us so you won t need to contact us separately.
29 30 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS These details will also show if you re applying for donee organisation status. We ll decide about your status based on this information, and advise you in writing. This is a valuable document for your organisation so keep a copy in a safe place. Not registered with Charities Services If you re not registered with Charities Services and want us to consider you as a donee organisation, please send us: an up-to-date, signed copy of your rules, constitution, trust deed or other founding document a copy of your certificate of incorporation (if incorporated) a letter requesting donee status details of how the organisation has been (or will be) operating. We ll consider your application and advise you in writing. The criteria that we look at for donee status is summarised on the following pages. Inland Revenue s criteria There are some specific requirements for your organisation to have donee organisation status and for charities claiming the income tax exemption on business income. Our Operational Statement 06/02 Interaction of tax and charities rules, covering tax exemption and donee status (Dec 2006), gives further guidance. In addition to Inland Revenue s rules, your governing document needs to contain certain rules and clauses to register as a charity. For information about the registration criteria go to Charities Services website or call
30 31 Personal benefits A donee organisation s funds can t be used to provide personal benefit to its members, trustees or associates. Sometimes the aims or powers may allow benefits to members, but they may only benefit to a limited extent from their membership. Some acceptable benefits are newsletters, voting rights to appoint officers of the organisation and any benefit also available to the general public. If any member can receive more than these benefits, the organisation can t be considered as a donee organisation. Also, if a member can in any way influence the amount of any benefit they receive, the organisation won t qualify as a donee organisation. The organisation may pay members for their services, as long as the payments are reasonable, not more than normal commercial rates and for services actually provided. A member may also be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred on the organisation s behalf and earn interest on money lent to the organisation (provided the loan is at a normal commercial rate). If an organisation s rules allow unrestricted benefits to members, a clause preventing this must be added before we ll grant donee organisation status. An example of such a clause is: (1) Any income, benefit or advantage shall be applied to the purposes of the organisation. (2) No individual member or associated person shall receive any form of private income, benefit or advantage from the operations. (3) No member of the organisation or any person associated with a member shall participate in or materially influence any decision made by the organisation in respect of the payment to or on behalf of that member or associated person of any income, benefit or advantage whatsoever. (4) Any such income paid shall be reasonable and relative to that which would be paid in an arm s-length transaction (being the open market value). (5) The provisions and effect of this clause shall not be removed from this document and shall be included and implied in any document replacing this document.
31 32 CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS AND DONEE ORGANISATIONS Altering the rules An organisation may change its rules, constitution or trust deed through a rule alteration clause. To qualify as a donee organisation, this must be worded so any clauses dealing with purposes, benefit to members and winding up can t be changed so that they would affect the requirements for donee organisation status. If the rule alteration clause isn t restricted, we won t grant donee organisation status. The following is a suitable restriction (proviso) for a rule alteration clause: No addition to or alteration or removal of the rules shall be approved if it detracts from or alters the nature of the organisation. If the organisation is a registered charity or intending to register it won t need a proviso (as above) because all alterations must be sent to Charities Services to comply with the Charities Act. Purposes limited to New Zealand An organisation seeking donee organisation status must be an institution, association, trust or fund that applies its funds wholly or principally in New Zealand to promote charitable, benevolent, philanthropic and cultural purposes. If your organisation applies funds for purposes both within and outside New Zealand we advise you to record these separately in your accounts. Any funds applied overseas won t qualify for a tax credit or deduction unless your organisation has been approved as a donee organisation. Some organisations (such as overseas charities) apply all or most of their general funds outside New Zealand. If the organisation sets up a separate fund for use in New Zealand that fund could qualify as a donee organisation. Winding up If an organisation s rules or constitution allows it to be wound up, the winding-up clause must prevent the funds or assets from passing to a private purpose. This means the rules for a donee organisation must have a clause stating that, on winding up, the income and assets will be held for charitable, benevolent, philanthropic or cultural purposes in New Zealand. When a donee organisation is wound up, any remaining income and assets must be distributed to an organisation that carries on activities wholly or principally in New Zealand. The organisation receiving the distribution may be either a donee organisation or a charity.
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