Approval – foreign residential rental property amounts – currency conversion
If you own a foreign residential rental property, you must convert foreign currency amounts to New Zealand dollars to work out your New Zealand income tax liability.
The default method requires you to convert each transaction on the day it occurred at the exchange rate on that date. However, the Commissioner can approve other methods and rates to use to minimise compliance costs.
This Approval lets you convert your foreign residential rental property income and expenses using either a monthly or an annual method instead of having to use a daily method. This means you can add up your income and expenditure for each month and convert it to New Zealand dollars using a monthly average rate. Alternatively, you could add up all your income and expenditure for the year and convert it to New Zealand dollars using an average annual rate. The Approval also explains what exchange rates to use if you use either the monthly or annual methods.
You do not have to use this Approval. You can use the default method of converting transactions to New Zealand dollars on the date they occur. The methods in this Approval are intended to make things less complicated for you and to reduce your cost of returning your income from your foreign residential rental property.
Income Tax Act 2007: ss YA 1, YF 1