Quick overview
| Standard Rate | Reduced Rate | Other Rates |
| 15% | 9% |
The local name for VAT in New Zealand is Goods and services tax (GST).
There are basically 2 VAT rates in New Zealand:
- Standard VAT rate is 15%
- Reduced VAT rate is 9%
Recent developments
For more information about (recent) rate change developments in New Zealand, please click HERE.
Standard rate: 15%
This rate applies for all transactions that take place in New Zealand, unless an exception applies (such as a reduced rate, the zero rate or an exemption, or a reason to treat the transaction as outside scope of VAT).
Reduced rate: 9%
- Supplies of accommodation and other domestic goods and services in a rest home where nursing care and other services are provided
- Supplies of long-term accommodation in a hotel or motel
Zero rate (0%)
- Sale of a business as a going concern
- Exported goods
- Exported services (excluding exported services that are acquired to enable or assist a change in the physical or legal status of land located in New Zealand)
- Services performed outside New Zealand
- First sales of refined precious metals for investment purposes
- Supplies of financial services to businesses that make taxable supplies in excess of 75% of total supplies where the supplier has elected to do so
- Certain transactions involving emissions units
- Exported secondhand goods if the recipient gives the supplier an undertaking in writing that the goods will not be reimported into New Zealand
- Certain supplies of which land is a component by GST-registered vendors to registered persons
- Supplies of remote services made by nonresident suppliers to GST-registered New Zealand customers, where the supplier chooses to zero-rate
Examples of exempt supplies of goods and services
The term “exempt supplies” refers to supplies of goods and services that are not liable to GST and that do not qualify for input tax deduction.
- Financial services (although some qualify for the zero rate)
- Sales of donated goods by nonprofit organizations
- Certain real estate transactions
- Supply of precious metals
A global VAT/GST rate overview can be found here (note this is a work in progress).
This post was last updated on August 13, 2021.
