Your income tax refund - or bill - will soon be automatic whether you file a return or not

August 3, 2018
IRD New Zealand currency composite image.

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealand workers are set to get a cash boost in the form of a tax refund from Inland Revenue (IRD).

In a statement IRD says they expect about 750,000 wage and salary earners will receive tax refunds that are automatically generated.

Naomi Ferguson, IRD's Commissioner said this would be the biggest change to individual tax in nearly 20 years.

Ms Ferguson said it hasn’t been mandatory for wage and salary earners to fill out an IR personal tax summary (PTS) but if they had and it had indicated a refund, they could have filed a return and received that refund.

"In the new system all wage and salary earners’ tax will be calculated and refunds sent automatically," she said.

"About 110,000 more, who also haven’t been filing, will have an amount to pay – they'll be notified automatically."

"Getting a refund, if you’re entitled to one, will be a whole lot simpler because it will be done for you," she said.

"The only reason for contacting IR now will be to tell us about any additional income information that we need to know."

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