NZ Tax Workspace

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Overview

The NZ Tax Workspace helps New Zealand organisations review investment income, tax credits, and Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) calculations for a selected tax year. It is designed as a review and working paper, not a final tax return. Always compare the summary with source documents and speak with your tax adviser before filing. The workspace uses a compact layout so the main figures, review items, and actions stay visible without turning the page into a long presentation. The workspace has three views:

• Pre-flight: use this first to see what needs review before you rely on the figures.
• Advisor workspace: use this for detailed checking, method choices, and line-by-line review.
• Report options: use this to choose the right output for your organisation. The annotated report is always available.

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Before you start

Check these items before relying on the summary:

• The organisation country is set to New Zealand.
• The taxpayer type is correct in Settings > Organisation > Tax settings.
• The tax year is the one you want to review.
• Each investment has the right domicile country. New listed investments are usually filled from the ticker or exchange, but private and unlisted holdings should be checked when they are added.
• Offshore investments have opening and closing values for the tax year.
• Buy, sell, dividend, interest, and tax credit entries have been reviewed against source records.
• Foreign currency entries have the right FX rate for the transaction date.

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What the summary shows

The top cards show:

• Assessable income: income included for the selected tax year.
• Estimated tax: an estimate based on the organisation’s taxpayer type and the selected tax year.
• Tax credits: recorded credits such as imputation credits, resident withholding tax, and foreign withholding tax where allowed.
• Net tax payable: estimated tax after credits.

The income section lists dividends and interest separately. If an offshore dividend is covered by FIF, it is shown as excluded from ordinary dividend income so it is not counted twice.

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Pre-flight

Pre-flight is a checklist for the tax year. It highlights items that need review, such as missing taxpayer settings, FIF method warnings, foreign tax credits, and investment domicile issues. Use Confirm once you have checked an item against your source records. This helps you work through the review, but it does not replace adviser review or filing checks. The action buttons help you move through the review: jump to the related section, copy return figures, email a summary to your adviser, or export the income schedule as a CSV file.

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Advisor workspace

The Advisor workspace is a more detailed working view. It keeps the main tax position visible while you review income, FIF holdings, tax credits, and the return worksheet. Use it when you need to:

• Compare FDR and CV choices for FIF holdings.
• Mark lines as reviewed while checking source documents.
• Review warnings beside the affected holding.
• Copy return figures into working papers.
• Search or filter the working table while reviewing a client file.

The workspace follows the organisation type in settings. For example, individuals see IR3-style figures, companies see IR4-style figures, and trusts see IR6-style figures.

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Report options

Report options show the reports that suit the organisation and the data available for the year. The Annotated report is always available. It explains the figures in plain English and is useful when sharing the position with a client, trustee, director, or adviser. You can download the annotated report text, email the summary, or switch to the return worksheet and copy the exact fields into your workpapers. Other options appear when relevant, such as:

• IR3, IR4, or IR6 worksheet based on the organisation type.
• FDR v CV choices when FIF applies.
• Income schedule when income is present.
• Credits schedule when credits are present.

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FIF review

The FIF section shows each foreign holding, its opening value, FDR income, CV income, selected method, and assessable amount. Use the domicile setting carefully:

• New Zealand holdings are treated as income only.
• Most foreign holdings are reviewed under FIF.
• Australian holdings may qualify for a specific ASX-listed company exemption, but this still needs source-record review.
• If the domicile is missing or looks wrong, update it before relying on the tax summary.

If a holding shows Review, check whether values are missing or whether the source data needs attention before relying on the figure.

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Audit trail

Open Audit Trail to see how each figure was built. The audit trail includes the calculation step, amount, and source reference where available. Use it to trace a figure back to transactions, tax entries, investment records, or valuation data. This is useful when preparing workpapers or answering adviser questions.

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Good practice