Ngā tāngata kei tāwāhi e utu ana i te RLWT Offshore people who pay RLWT

There are different types of offshore people who pay RLWT. Check if you're in the category for paying residential land withholding tax.  

Offshore RLWT person - individual

You are an individual who is an offshore RLWT person when any of the following apply.

• You're a New Zealand citizen and you've been overseas for the last three or more years continuously (and you are not currently in New Zealand).
• You have a permanent resident visa or a resident visa granted by Immigration New Zealand and have been overseas for the last 12 or more months continuously (and you are not currently in New Zealand).
• You are not a New Zealand citizen and you do not have a New Zealand residence class visa granted by Immigration New Zealand (you can be in or out of New Zealand).

Offshore RLWT person - non-individual

You are non-individual who is an offshore RLWT person if you are:

• incorporated or registered outside New Zealand
• constituted under foreign law.

Refer to the next sections to see how the rules apply to non-individuals that are incorporated or registered in New Zealand.

Company and incorporated societies

Your company or incorporated society is an offshore RLWT person if either of the following apply:

• more than 25% of its directors are offshore RLWT person(s)
• more than 25% of the shareholder decision making rights are held or controlled by offshore RLWT person(s).

Look-through companies (LTCs)

For your look-through company to be an offshore RLWT person, more than 25% of the effective interest(s) in it must be held or controlled by offshore RLWT person(s).

Trusts and estates

Your trust or estate can be an offshore RLWT person when any of the following apply.

• More than 25% of the trustees are offshore RLWT person(s).
• More than 25% of people (generally the settlors or trustees) who have the power to appoint or remove trustees or amend the trust deed, are offshore RLWT person(s).
• All individual beneficiaries, including individual discretionary beneficiaries, are offshore RLWT person(s).
• All beneficiaries, including discretionary beneficiaries are offshore RLWT person(s).
• Any individual beneficiary, including an individual discretionary beneficiary who is an offshore RLWT person, has received a distribution from the trust in any of the 4 years immediately before the current disposal of residential land, and the total distributions to that beneficiary in one of the four years totalled more than $5,000.
• Any non-individual beneficiary, including a non-individual discretionary beneficiary (eg, a company) who is an offshore RLWT person has received a distribution from the trust in any of the four years before the current disposal of residential land.
• Any beneficiary, including a discretionary beneficiary, is an offshore RLWT person and the trust has disposed of residential land within the four years before the current disposal of residential land.

Trustees that are not offshore RLWT people

These trustees are not offshore RLWT people:

• Trustees Executors Limited
• AMP Perpetual Trustee Company NZ Limited
• PGG Trust Limited
• New Zealand Permanent Trustees Limited
• The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited.

Limited partnerships

Your limited partnership is an offshore RLWT person if either of the following apply:

• more than 25% of the general partner(s) are offshore RLWT person(s)
• more than 25% of the partnership shares are held or controlled by offshore RLWT person(s).

Partnership

For RLWT purposes we do not look at the partnership as an entity (unlike the definition of an offshore person for IRD number application purposes).

Instead, each partner in the partnership determines if they're an individual offshore RLWT person. If they are, they will be liable for RLWT on their share of the property sale income.

Any partner who determines they are not an individual offshore RLWT person will not be liable for RLWT on their share of the property sale income.

Unincorporated clubs and societies

Members of an unincorporated club or society are treated the same as the partners in a partnership. This means they'll need to determine if they are an individual offshore RLWT person.

If they are, they will be liable for RLWT on their share of the property sale income.

Any member who determines they are not an individual offshore RLWT person will not be liable for RLWT on their share of the property sale income.