Ngā moni whakahoki Income equalisation scheme refunds

You can request a refund for part or all of a deposit in an income equalisation scheme. Generally a refund cannot be made if the deposit has been in the scheme for less than 12 months. 

Tax credits

Your taxable income is reduced by the amount deposited in the tax year a deposit is made. This reduces the amount of tax payable.

In the tax year you apply for a refund, the amount is included as income and increases your tax payable.

You can claim a tax credit in the tax year an application for a refund was made, if the amount of tax calculated to pay is higher than you would have been liable for on the original amount deposited.

To do this, send us a message in myIR when filing your return. You'll need to advise us of the tax credit and how you calculated this. We'll then review and update your return to include the tax credit.

Restrictions on refunds

• We now only pay income equalisation scheme refunds by direct credit, so you'll need to provide us with a bank account.
• The minimum environmental restoration account withdrawal is $1,000 (or the amount in the fund).

Getting an early refund

You can request an income equalisation (EQU) refund sooner than 12 months due to:

• planned development work or the purchase of additional livestock
• hardship
• any other reason we consider acceptable, including adverse events. 

Refunds and myIR

You can now manage all your refunds in myIR.

Any withdrawals from your income equalisation (EQU) or environmental restoration (ERA) accounts will be:

• reflected in your income profile
• pre-populated into the 'other income' field of your income tax return.