New Zealand Working Holidays: Income tax return tutorial. PTS request.
The year passed like flowing water and on 31.3.2016 another tax year has been closed. We are impatiently waiting for this attractive opportunity to apply for a tax refund. I suppose there is nobody here who intentionally wouldn't file the income tax return. Let's take a look at how to get back some of the hard-earned dollars you paid out on taxes. Follow this simple tutorial.
How to do it?
1. Sign in to your online IRD account:
In the myIR main menu, under Account Information, click Money Back?
A simple four-step form will wait for you on the next screen, after which completion you will be able to see if you're entitled to a tax refund.
In the "What tax year is this for" box, select the tax period you want. If you are requesting a refund for the past year, choose the period from 1.4.2015 to 31.3.2016. Continue by clicking the Calculate button.
Answers to the questions in steps 2, 3 and 4 may vary individually. However, I'm giving an example applicable to the vast majority of travelers arriving in New Zealand for travel and seasonal work purposes. If you hesitate to answer, most questions are provided with a help link for more information and additional explanations.
The first question in Step 1 "Were you a New Zealand tax resident for the full year?" Answer YES, even if you were living outside the New Zealand (Europe, Asia, Oceania) for, e.g. half a year of the survey period. A tax resident has a slightly different definition than a resident. You are not a tax resident if you stay for more than 325 days outside the NZ for any period of 12 months and have no permanent links to NZ.
For the rest of the questions, answer NO.
In step 2, follow the questions about all your earnings. In the first part, the system will automatically fill in the details of all the New Zealand employers you worked for, the gross salary and the amount of tax paid. If your employer honestly paid your taxes and your work was legal, all the information will appear here (and in myIR account).
For other questions about other earnings, foreign earnings, income from dividends and deposits, and others, please respond as per your situation. For most backpackers, the answer NO is in all cases.
Also here, enter twice NO in step 3.
The system will inform you about the amount of tax refunded after clicking Go to results button.
2. Request PTS (Personal Tax Calculation)
The next step of claiming the refund successfully is requesting PTS. Click Request PTS and fill out the form. Here, the IRD informs you that in case the total tax calculation points to any tax arrears, it will be your responsibility to pay it.
Choose the tax period and confirm that you have been a tax resident for the whole time (here the tax resident's definition differs from the previous form - stay in the NZ for more than half a year).
On the next page, check the selected tax period, check the declaration box and send it to the IRD office by clicking Send to Inland Revenue.
At the end of the process, you will receive a PTS Request Confirmation and your unique Confirmation Code. Here, they also inform you that any information about PTS for the tax year ending 31.3.2016 will appear in your myIR after 1.7.2016.
3. Confirmation of PTS and payment
In 3 months, sometimes after July 1, 2016, a link to PTS will appear in myIR for the tax year ending 31.3.2016. Also here, you will find a final calculation of tax overpayment or tax arrears (the result should be the same as in the estimate shown at the beginning of my article). You confirm the correctness of the PTS in the system to indicate to the IRD that the payment can be made. Within a week, your tax refund will be credited to your New Zealand bank account.
How to confirm the PTS you will find in the following detailed tutorial: New Zealand Tax Return and PTS Confirmation.
IR3 is required to fill out only in cases listed on IRD:
http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/end-year/ir3/iit-what-is-ir3.html