Before you start

An IRD number
A completed IR330 tax code declaration for each employer
A New Zealand bank account for refunds

Step-by-step

1
Apply for an IRD number in your first week
Without an IRD number and an IR330, your employer must apply the no-notification rate of 45%. Apply as a new arrival through Inland Revenue; it is free.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Give your employer an IR330
This sets your tax code. With more than one job you use a secondary tax code on the second — getting this wrong is the most common source of an unexpected bill or refund.
Via employerWho: You
3
Check whether you're a transitional resident
If you have not been a New Zealand tax resident in the last 10 years and have never claimed the exemption before, you qualify automatically. It runs to the last day of the month four years after the month you became resident.
OnlineWho: You
4
Decide on KiwiSaver
The default employee and employer contribution rate rose to 3.5% from the first pay date on or after 1 April 2026. Members can choose 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%.
Via employerWho: You
5
Check your end-of-year assessment
Inland Revenue issues automatic income tax assessments for most employees. Review it rather than ignoring it — it can be wrong if your tax codes were.
OnlineWho: YouAnnually after 31 March

Documents you’ll need

Passport and visa
IRD number
IR330 tax code declaration
New Zealand bank account details

Things most newcomers don’t know

The four-year transitional resident exemption is the most valuable thing most arrivals never claim.

For roughly four years, most foreign-source income — overseas interest, dividends, rent and foreign investment fund income — is exempt from New Zealand tax, even though you are tax resident. You qualify if you have not been a New Zealand tax resident in the last 10 years and have never been a transitional resident before. It is once per lifetime, so a short earlier stint can burn it.

Source: Inland Revenue — temporary tax exemption for transitional residents

The exemption does not cover foreign employment income.

Overseas salary and personal services income are explicitly excluded. So a remote worker employed by an overseas company is taxed on that income from day one of residency — precisely the group most likely to assume the exemption protects them. It shelters passive income, not your job.

Source: Inland Revenue — what foreign income is exempt

No IRD number means a 45% tax rate, not a delay.

The no-notification rate applies until you provide an IRD number and IR330. You recover it later, but it lands on your first pay cycles in the same month you are paying a rental bond and a moving bill. Apply before you start work, not after.

Source: Inland Revenue — tax codes and IR330

There is no tax-free threshold, which changes how salaries compare.

Tax starts at the first dollar. Comparing a New Zealand offer against a UK, Australian or Irish one on headline rate alone overstates New Zealand's position, because those countries all shelter an initial band. Model the net figure, not the bracket.

Source: Inland Revenue — tax rates for individuals

Common mistakes to avoid

Starting work without an IRD number and being taxed at 45%.
Never checking whether you are a transitional resident, and paying tax on exempt foreign income for four years.
Assuming the exemption covers foreign salary — it does not.
Using the wrong secondary tax code with two jobs.
Comparing salaries as if New Zealand had a tax-free threshold.
Ignoring the automatic income tax assessment when your tax codes were wrong.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.