We define customer opportunity as customer ease and satisfaction when interacting with us to meet their obligations or access their entitlements.
Customer satisfaction and perceptions of effort
We use 2 questions in our Customer Experience and Perceptions Survey to measure our customers’ perceptions of effort and satisfaction. Results reflect scores of 5 or more, where 1 means 'strongly disagree' and 7 means 'strongly agree'.
| Customers’ perceptions of effort and satisfaction | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customers who found it easy to deal with Te Tari Taake Inland Revenue | 63% | 67% | 65% | 65% |
| Customers satisfied with their last interaction with Te Tari Taake Inland Revenue overall | 67% | 73% | 70% | 69% |
This year’s survey results showed no change in how easy customers found us to deal with, and a small decrease in their satisfaction when interacting with us. These results reflect the challenges of supporting customers affected by the weather events and economic conditions, in line with increased contacts at times during the year from key annual events. We acknowledge we could not always provide the level of service we wanted to.
Note: In previous annual reports, results reported included neutral responses, ratings 4 of 7 on a 7-point scale. Results in this report for 2020 to 2022 have been adjusted to exclude neutral responses to provide consistent criteria to 2023 results.
Returns filed digitally
Most customers use digital channels, particularly when filing their tax returns. This year, 99.9% of returns were filed digitally (tax, GST and employment information returns).
| Year | Percentage of returns filed digitally |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 83% |
| 2019 | 88.8% |
| 2020 | 96.0% |
| 2021 | 98.2% |
| 2022 | 98.7% |
| 2023 | 99.0% |
Most returns are now filed digitally.
Customer interactions across assisted and unassisted channels
Digital services enable customers to do as much for themselves as possible in a way and at a time that suits them. Millions of straightforward transactions happen with no intervention by us, providing customers with certainty sooner.
| Contact channel | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answered calls | 3 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Correspondence - digital | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Correspondence - paper | 0.5 | 0.5 |
0.3- | 0.5- | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Front of house | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Gateway services | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| IR website | 20 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 32 | 41 | 29 |
| IR website - mobile | 8 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 25 | 35 | 24 |
| myIR - mobile | 0.2 | 0.6 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 25 |
| myIR - website | 17 | 10 | 17 | 33 | 33 | 36 | 45 |
| Self-service phone calls | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Over the last 6 years, significantly more customers have used our digital channels:
- myIR sessions have increased from 17 million in 2017 to 70 million in 2023. Satisfaction for customers interacting via myIR was 73% in 2023, reflecting a positive experience.
- Website sessions have increased from 29 million in 2017 to 53 million in 2023.
- Use of gateway services by businesses to file returns from their own systems increased from 2.6 million returns filed in 2017 to 7.6 million in 2023.
Donation tax credit claim submissions sent digitally
Customers can submit their donation receipts in myIR at any time during the year or they can send us paper records. At the end of the tax year, we automatically pay out refunds. This year, 80.9% of donation tax credit claims were submitted digitally, which is 1.2 percentage points higher than 2021–22.
| Year | Donation tax credit claims submitted digitally |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 71.9% |
| 2021 | 82.1% |
| 2022 | 79.7% |
| 2023 | 80.9% |
Instalment arrangements set up through self-service
We provide options for customers who get into debt, including paying off what they owe in instalments while they get back on track. Customers can also set up arrangements ahead of the due date. Customers can set up an instalment arrangement themselves in myIR.
In 2022–23, 35.6% of instalment arrangements totalling over $1 billion were set up through myIR by customers themselves, a small decrease from 38.3% in 2021–22. We know customers who set up their own arrangements are more likely to stick to them. More detail on this is here.
| Year | Instalment arrangements set up in myIR |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 14.7% |
| 2019 | 15.3% |
| 2020 | 32.6% |
| 2021 | 41.4% |
| 2022 | 38.3% |
| 2023 | 35.6% |
Returns processed without the need for intervention (straight through)
The level of employment information returns that are processed without the need for system or staff intervention means reduced effort for customers and us.
Around 87% of employer information returns are processed straight through. High levels of automation and rules built into our systems mean straight forward transactions are processed with few errors or the need for human intervention.
| Year | Employment information returns filed digitally |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 85.8% |
| 2022 | 87.4% |
| 2023 | 86.9% |
Insights into customers’ digital interactions and experiences with Te Tari Taake Inland Revenue
Student loans are interest-free for borrowers based in New Zealand. However, borrowers who are based overseas pay interest on their student loans. If they miss a payment, late payment interest is added to their loan. Overseas student loan debt is growing and we want to encourage more overseas-based borrowers to make their repayments on time to avoid the extra interest. We did this using our digital tools.
In May 2023, we contacted overseas-based borrowers who had missed their 31 March payment to remind them to get back on track. We advised them to register for myIR so they could check their balance easily and that they can pay using the method that works best for them, including direct debit. We contacted people by email, text and letter and reached out on social media and online advertising. In total, we contacted nearly 75,000 overseas-based borrowers.
The difference with this campaign was that we tailored our message based on compliance level. We sent a standard reminder to borrowers who had missed their March payment, but used a stronger tone for those who had also missed previous payments.
Our objectives were to achieve an email open rate of 50% and a myIR login rate of 10%. For these borrowers, 84% opened our email and over 25% logged in to myIR. Over 3,000 instalment arrangements were set up, an increase of 87% from May 2022.
The overseas-based borrowers we contacted using a stronger tone made an average repayment that was 101% higher ($2,329) than the standard reminder we sent to other borrowers ($1,156).
Our campaign produced great results. Overall, nearly twice as many overseas-based borrowers logged in to myIR, and more borrowers made a repayment. In addition, their average student loan repayment amount was 57% higher at $1,384 (compared to $879 for the control group). In total, overseas-based borrowers repaid $2.27 million as a result of the campaign, which is 29% higher than in May 2022.
Our priority is ensuring that customer information is secure, so people need to confirm their identity. We’ve now improved our authentication with a new solution, START IAMS, providing many benefits for us and for our customers. These include leading cyber security protection and improved performance.
Part of this upgrade is a 2-step verification, which gives customers an added layer of security for their online myIR accounts. Customers do not have to choose to go through 2-step verification, but the process will keep their information extra safe. This feature has been well received by gateway providers.
Some digital service providers needed to make updates to their software to interact with our new upgraded requirements. Customers who do not have compatible systems have until October 2023 to make the necessary changes.