28/05/2026
BUDGET 2026 TAX ANNOUNCEMENTS
The team has scoured the budget looking for those sneaky little tax changes and the reality is yes there was some but not as significant as budgets in the past. The main changes are detailed below and if anything needs clarification the team are on standby to talk to you.
Company loans to shareholders - A new proposal would treat any outstanding loans from a company to a shareholder as taxable income of the shareholder six months after the lending company is removed from the register of companies under the Companies Act 1993.
Working for families changes - The calculation of family scheme income would be simplified so that families would no longer need to consider certain income types that are unlikely to apply to them.
Foreign investment fund changes - Allow all New Zealand residents to use the revenue account method (RAM) for their unlisted foreign shares, so that they pay tax only on realised gains and actual dividends received. This was previously limited to recent migrants.
Foreign investment fund changes - Increase the FIF de minimis threshold to $100,000 of overseas investments (from $50,000), reducing the compliance costs of smaller investors because they would not have to apply the FIF rules to their portfolios.
Donation tax changes - The proposed change would introduce a maximum entitlement of donations eligible for a donation tax credit to the lower of $100,000 or the donor’s taxable income.
Not for profit memberships & levies - This change would ensure that membership subscriptions and levies received by taxable not-for-profits remain non-taxable.
