Managing Offshore Investments for Returning New Zealanders and Migrants

Updated 19 June 2021

Despite the appeal of living in other countries, Kiwis who have spent long periods of time overseas will often return to New Zealand. Covid-19 has only hastened this return for many Kiwis. Returning New Zealanders will usually have built up their wealth while overseas, so they must decide on how to deal with these now-foreign investments once they are back home. New migrants to New Zealand face a similar situation, with the question of whether to move assets to New Zealand or keep them offshore. Tax liability is a major consideration for both returning Kiwis and new migrants, but there are also other factors to consider before moving any offshore assets.

We recommend consulting a financial adviser and/or tax professional to determine the best path for you. Every person’s financial landscape and circumstances is different, so the subsequent rules and tax treatment that apply will vary from individual to individual.

In this guide, we cover important tips for returning Kiwis and new migrants. We outline:

• Know this first: Are you a New Zealand tax resident? What does this mean?
  
• Transitional residency – a four-year exemption from paying tax on certain forms of overseas income
• How does tax apply to your overseas investments? We take a deep dive into three common forms of overseas investments: foreign currency (including foreign bank accounts), foreign investment funds and portfolio investment entities
• 7 must knows before shifting your overseas investments
• Concluding comments and next steps

Please note: Offshore trusts are excluded from this guide. Our view is that New Zealand-resident trusts are already complex enough without adding international borders to the mix.

If you are a New Zealand tax resident, you will pay tax on “worldwide income” even if some of this income has already been taxed in another country. New Zealand has no formal capital gains tax, though there are rules geared at taxing certain types of gain (e.g. buying and selling residential property in New Zealand within a certain timeframe).

Tax residency is different to immigration status. For example, you can be a New Zealand citizen but not be a New Zealand tax resident if you spend most of the year living in another country.

You are considered a New Zealand tax resident if you:

• Have been in New Zealand for more than 183 days in the last 365 days, OR
  
• You have a permanent place of abode (a place where you call “home”) in New Zealand
  

If you are not sure whether you are a New Zealand tax resident under either of these two tests, check out the Inland Revenue Department’s (IRD) guide on determining your tax residency here.

The New Zealand tax system offers a temporary special tax status for recently returned Kiwis and new migrants called transitional residency. The transitional residency schemed is designed to allow new migrants and returning Kiwis time to sort out their financial affairs before becoming a New Zealand tax resident and being subject to New Zealand tax rules. Transitional residents can use this time to determine whether they want to transfer foreign investments to New Zealand and when the best time for doing this would be.

If you are a new New Zealand tax resident or if you have not been a New Zealand tax resident at any time in the past 10 years, you may qualify as a transitional tax resident. As a transitional resident, you will not be taxed on most forms of overseas income for the first four years you are in New Zealand.
For the first four years, transitional residents do not have to pay tax on many types of overseas income, including:

• Income earned from working overseas before you moved to New Zealand
• Income from shares in overseas companies, unit trusts or foreign life insurance providers
• Overseas interest, royalties and dividends
• Rental income from overseas
• Withdrawals from overseas superannuation schemes
• Beneficiary income from overseas trusts
• Income from exercising overseas employee share options
  

While you do not need to pay tax on these sources of overseas income, you still need to file an IR3 individual income tax return. Inland Revenue lists the full set of exempt and non-exempt income for transitional residents here.

Do I have to apply for transitional residency?
No, you will automatically be granted transitional residency if you qualify. However, you may choose to opt out of being a transitional resident. A person can only be granted transitional residency ONCE in their lifetime so you may choose to save your four-year tax exemption for later if you plan to leave New Zealand for another 10+ year period and then return.

When does my transitional residency period run from?
The start date depends on which test you qualify as a New Zealand tax resident under. If you are a New Zealand tax resident due to the 183 day rule, day 1 of the 183 days you’ve spent in New Zealand is the first day of your transitional residence. Your transitional residence ends 4 years after the end of the month in which you have been in New Zealand for. For example: you spent one day in New Zealand on 15 October 2016, and then 182 days in New Zealand between 1 December 2016 and 10 September 2017. Your transitional residence period runs from 15 October 2016 to 31 September 2020.

If you are a New Zealand tax resident due to the permanent place of abode rule, the first day of your transitional residence is the day on which your permanent place of abode was “established”. Your transitional residence ends 4 years after the month in which you established the permanent place of abode. For example, you returned to New Zealand, bought a house and moved in on 15 October 2016. Your transitional residence period runs from 15 October 2016 to 31 October 2020.

If I work for a company that is not based in New Zealand but I am a transitional resident, do I have to pay tax on this overseas income?
Yes, you do. Transitional residents must pay tax on any income received as payment for services, even if the payer is based overseas. Any money you receive from doing “work” (whether in the form of wages, salaries, invoices paid, commission etc.) is subject to income tax.

Can companies be granted transitional residency status?

• No, only individuals can. Trusts and companies that become resident in New Zealand will pay tax on foreign income from day one.

I am planning to apply for Working for Families Tax Credits. Does this affect my tax residency?
Yes, it will. You and your partner should assess your financial landscape before applying for Working for Families Tax Credits as this application could disqualify you from being deemed a transitional resident.

Once you become a New Zealand tax resident, you will be taxed on previously exempt overseas income so you should use the four-year transitional residence period to decide what to do with overseas assets and investments.

In this section, we take a closer look at three of the most common investments returning Kiwis and new migrants will have to deal with: 1. foreign currencies, 2. income from “foreign investment funds” and 3. “portfolio investments entities”.

Must-know facts:

• You will have to pay tax on most forms of foreign investment fund (FIF) income. Foreign investment funds include investments such as: shares in overseas companies, shares in an overseas unit trust, interests in a foreign superannuation scheme, or an interest in a life insurance policy with an overseas provider. You will need to declare any FIF interests to IRD.
  
• Your income from certain Australian investments may not fall under the FIF rules. The following are exempt from FIF rules:
  1. Shares in a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) that is resident in Australia and maintains a franking account (similar to a New Zealand imputation account)
  2. Units in most Australian unit trusts
  3. An interest in an Australian-regulated superannuation scheme

Only dividends from these Australian-based interests are taxable.

• Your interest in a foreign superannuation scheme may also be exempt from FIF rules.
  • If you were entitled to foreign superannuation before you became resident in New Zealand, you will only pay tax when you receive a lump sum payment, you receive pension, or you transfer this foreign superannuation to a New Zealand or Australian superannuation scheme.
  • If the total value of your interest in all FIFs is under NZD $50,000, you may have a “low-value FIF superannuation interest”. In this case, you will also only be liable for tax when you receive a lump sum or pension, or you transfer your superannuation to New Zealand or Australia.
• How much tax will I owe on my FIF? If your FIF income doesn’t fall under any exemptions, you will have to pay tax. There are several methods for calculating how much tax you owe in any given year. Here, we touch on two:
  1. The most common (and also default) method is the Fair Dividend Rate (FDR) method, where you are generally taxed at 5% of the value of your investment at April 1. This rate applies regardless of your actual income or capital gains. Under the FDR method, dividends and capital gains are not taxed separately. So if you owned NZD $10,000 of shares in a Swiss company, you must pay tax of $500 (5% of $10,000) even if you received no dividend for the year and the value of your shares did not appreciate during the year.
  2. Another method is the Comparative Value method. This calculates your tax liability by adding together any actual dividends you receive, as well as any capital gains. So if you owned NZD $10,000 shares in a Swiss company that paid you a $100 dividend for the year, you would pay tax on the $100. If the value of your shares didn’t change over the year, you would not need to pay any capital gains tax.

Naturally, if you would be paying tax at a higher rate in the country where your overseas investment is based (compared to New Zealand), it may be a no-brainer to transfer your investments to New Zealand. However, the tax savings should not be the only factor influencing your decision.
We list seven other factors you should be aware of when deciding whether to shift your overseas investments to New Zealand:

1. You may be exposed to fees and penalties for withdrawing from certain investments. Find out whether this is the case, as a hefty administration fee could take a big chunk out of any tax savings you would stand to gain.
2. Shifting your overseas investments to New Zealand if you plan to live here long-term could reduce the complexity of your tax reporting every year. If you only have New Zealand-based investments, you will not need to worry about filing tax returns in different countries and navigate multiple sets of tax law.
3. Overseas investments may put a strain on your cashflow. If you have FIF investments, you may have to pay tax even if you have not realised any gains. You may have to sell other assets you own to cover your yearly tax bill. With only New Zealand-based equities, you will not experience this cashflow issue as New Zealand generally does not tax capital gains on these types of investments.
4. Timing can make a difference in several ways. Perhaps the current exchange rate is favourable so you can take advantage of this and transfer funds to New Zealand. Perhaps your investments do not mature for another year or two, and you will lose out if you withdraw before the maturity date. Or perhaps you are currently in a lower tax bracket and foresee yourself being in a higher tax bracket for the next tax year – in this case you may wish to take advantage of a lower marginal tax rate and shift some of your overseas investments to New Zealand.
5. You should also consider the range of investments available overseas and in New Zealand. Perhaps you will not be able to find a scheme in New Zealand that matches your investment philosophy as well as overseas, or with as good a track record. In this case, you may be willing to make the trade-off of more complex tax arrangements for better investment performance.
6. With a foreign superannuation scheme, you have three options: leave the scheme overseas, transfer your interest to New Zealand, or wind it up.
   • Some pension schemes can be transferred to New Zealand (e.g. from the United Kingdom or Australia). You should check if it is possible to transfer a pension from a certain country to New Zealand. We have written a guide for readers who are considering transferring a UK pension to New Zealand here.
     
   • If your foreign superannuation is exempt from the FIF rules as explained above, you should keep the scheme overseas if there is a possibility you will return to that country later and receive payments there. This may save you the hassle of working out how much tax you owe once in New Zealand, and then again when you leave New Zealand. Additionally, as New Zealand KiwiSaver is taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate, it would probably be more tax efficient to keep tax-free superannuation overseas.
7. Tax treaties may reduce how much tax you owe. Tax treaties between nations outline which country will tax what income. Tax treaties are constantly being updated so you should check what agreements are in place at a given time. The IRD lists the tax treaties New Zealand has entered here.
   
   • Some tax treaties will allow tax credits, which means if you pay a certain amount of tax in one country, you get a credit for this amount in the other country.
     
   • For example: You received a $100 dividend from a Canadian company as a New Zealand resident. You have paid tax at 20.5% based on Canadian tax rules. In New Zealand, you would need to pay tax at 33%. Instead of being taxed twice ($20.50 + $33), a tax credit may mean you will only have to pay an additional $12.50 in tax in New Zealand so the total tax you pay is $33.