Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Plain Language Law homepage
CX 64: Income from financial instrument
or “Money from financial instruments that may be tax-free”

You could also call this:

“Special rules for certain employee shares received before 2016 or during a transition period”

You might receive shares through an employee share scheme at your work. If you got these shares before a certain date, different rules apply to them. These are called ‘grandparented shares’.

Your shares are grandparented if you got them before 12 May 2016. They’re also grandparented if you got them within 6 months after a new law was passed in 2018, as long as you didn’t get them to avoid the new rules. However, for this second case, the date when you have to pay tax on these shares must be before 1 April 2022.

If your shares are grandparented, the new rules for employee share schemes don’t apply to them. Instead, the old rules that were in place before the new law was passed will still apply to your shares.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.


Next up: CZ 2: Mining company’s 1970–71 tax year

or “Outdated tax rule for mining companies from 1970-1971 removed in 2014”

Part C Income
Terminating provisions

CZ 1Grandparented shares under employee share schemes

  1. This section applies when, for shares under an employee share scheme,—

  2. the shares were granted or acquired under the employee share scheme before the date that is 6 months after the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 receives the Royal assent, and—
    1. the shares were granted or acquired for purposes not including the purpose of avoiding the future application of the employee share scheme provisions in that Act (the new ESS provisions); and
      1. the share scheme taxing date for the shares is before 1 April 2022:
      2. the shares were granted or acquired under the employee share scheme before 12 May 2016.
        1. The new ESS provisions do not apply for the shares. Instead, the provisions of this Act that would apply ignoring the enactment of the new ESS provisions apply for the shares.

        Notes
        • Section CZ 1: replaced, on , by section 42 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).