The statistics are based on personal tax return information filed by individuals and other information Inland Revenue holds when the individual has not filed a tax return.
There has been a structural break in the coverage of this data from the 2019 tax year because of the introduction of automatically calculated tax returns for individuals that do not complete an IR3 return. The effect of this change increases the number of individuals included in the tables and graphs through the inclusion of individuals who earn only passive income, as outlined in the table below.
The table below outlines how the coverage of individuals included in the tables and graphs changes because of the structural break that occurred in 2019. From 2019 onwards, the replacement of the Personal Tax Summary (PTS) with automatically calculated income tax returns increased the number of individuals included in the tables and graphs through now including individuals that only earned income from dividends, interest and Portfolio Investment Entities taxed at the wrong rate.
| Individuals | 2001-2018 | 2019 onwards |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone who filed an Individual income tax return - IR3 for that income year. Including if they filed a nil return or had a loss. | Included | Included |
| Anyone who received a Personal Tax Summary (PTS) for that income year. PTSs were only automatically issued for certain people who did not file an IR3. Others could request to have one. | Included | N/A |
Anyone whose employer paid their PAYE, including recipients of:
|
Included | Included |
Anyone who received an automatic income tax assessment for the income year. From 2019, these are issued for anybody with any source of income for the year which Inland Revenue holds information of. This includes:
|
N/A | Included |
| Individuals with part-year income. |
Included if:
|
Included if:
|
| Individuals whose only income was from interest or dividends, all fully taxed at source. Before 2019 they did not need to file a tax return. | Excluded | Included. Over time joint bank accounts have increasingly provided both IRD numbers. |
| Individuals with no taxable income and who did not file a tax return. | Excluded | Excluded |
| Individuals who filed a Non-resident individual income tax return – IR3NR. | Excluded unless picked up in PAYE | Excluded |
| Individuals whose only income was from PIE(s), all fully and correctly taxed at source. | Excluded | Excluded |
| Children | Included if they filed a tax return or had PAYE income such as a wage or salary | Included if they filed or had automatic assessment income |