Did you, or someone you know, get a tax bill they weren’t expecting?

An IR spokesperson has provided 5 likely reasons that more people seem to have been caught out this year:

1. Last year, tax bills below $200 were written off as part of the pandemic support measures. This year, it’s back to the usual write-off threshold of $50.
2. IR is now doing tax assessments for everyone, including some children with KiwiSaver funds or other investments.
3. Many incorrect tax codes were corrected last year, and for a few people (mainly aged over 65) the IR made errors which they are correcting.
4. Pension tax code changes were delayed.
5. Incorrect tax codes