The Income Tax (Kilometre Rates for the Business Use of Vehicles for the 2025-26 income year) Instrument 2026 sets the kilometre rates, for the purposes of section DE 12 of the Income Tax Act 2007, for the 2025-26 income year for business motor vehicle expenditure.

The Tax Information Bulletin is a monthly publication which contains information about changes to tax-related legislation, proposed legislation, judgments, rulings and other specialist tax topics including many of the publication-types.

This item summarises a private ruling that considered the proposed amendment to a living trust deed and the later distribution of the trust’s assets to one of the specified beneficiaries when the last of the trustors dies.

This determination establishes the national average market value (NAMV) of specified livestock for 2026.

This question we’ve been asked considers whether income derived from developing land, dividing it into lots and/or erecting buildings on the land for the purpose of sale is eligible income for a portfolio investment entity under s HM 12 of the Income Tax Act 2007. It concludes that this income is eligible income under s HM 12.

This interpretation statement considers whether court-awarded costs and disbursements and out-of-court settlement payments for costs and disbursements are subject to GST.

This statement does not consider the GST treatment of court awards and out-of-court settlement payments more generally (eg, payments of damages). For more information on awards and payments made other than for costs and disbursements, see IS 23/07: GST – Court awards and out-of-court settlements.

 

This Commissioner’s statement sets out the Commissioner’s position and operational approach on the treatment of goods and services valued at $10,000 or less (excluding GST) that were acquired before GST registration and are used to make taxable supplies, on or following GST registration.

This item summarises a private ruling that considered an off-market share cancellation.

The arrangement is a product Kiwibank offers to its customers. The product is marketed as the Kiwibank Offset Mortgage (the Product). The Product allows a customer to elect that interest payable by the customer on a loan made by Kiwibank should be calculated by offsetting the balance of the loan against the aggregate credit balances of certain eligible nominated bank accounts (hereafter referred to as credit accounts) held by either that customer or certain other eligible persons. Interest is payable on the net notional balance of these combined accounts.

This ruling does not consider the tax consequences of any arrangement under which a credit account holder agrees to offset his or her credit account balance against another person’s home loan account balance in return for valuable consideration.

This question we’ve been asked (QWBA) explains how the FBT exclusion for benefits relating to health or safety applies.  This QWBA is relevant to employers who provide their employees with benefits as part of their duty to manage risks to health or safety in the workplace.  For the exclusion to apply, there must be a connection between the benefit and the employer’s duty to manage risks to health and safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.  This QWBA complements the General Article on the health and safety FBT exclusion (2018) by providing more detailed guidance.