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CX 50: Tax credits for KiwiSaver and complying superannuation funds
or “KiwiSaver and superannuation fund tax credits are not taxable income”
You could also call this:

“Rules for tax on money saved for retirement”

You should know about contributions to retirement savings schemes. These are special types of payments made to help you save for when you stop working.

If someone makes a contribution to a retirement savings scheme for you, it’s usually not counted as income you have to pay tax on. This applies when the contribution is money or certain types of credits used to pay the tax on the contribution.

However, there are some cases where the contribution might be counted as your income:

  1. If you don’t live in New Zealand and the contribution is considered passive income from outside the country.

  2. If you tell the person making the contribution or the retirement scheme to use a tax rate that’s lower than what the law says should be used.

  3. If you choose to include the contribution as part of your income when you file your tax return for that year.

The retirement savings scheme itself also doesn’t have to count these contributions as income.

Remember, these rules are part of the Income Tax Act 2007, which is a law that explains how income tax works in New Zealand.

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Next up: CX 51: Income equalisation schemes

or “Rules for getting money back from income smoothing schemes for farmers and fishers”
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Part C Income
Excluded income: Definitions

CX 50BContributions to retirement savings schemes

  1. A retirement scheme contribution is excluded income of a person if they are—

  2. the person for whose benefit the contribution is made to the extent to which the contribution is an amount of—
    1. money:
      1. an imputation credit or a Maori authority credit that is used to meet the liability of the retirement scheme contributor for RSCT on the contribution:
      2. the retirement savings scheme.

        1. Subsection (1)(a) does not apply if the person for whose benefit the contribution is made—

        2. is non-resident, and the contribution is non-resident passive income:
          1. supplies to the retirement scheme contributor or the retirement savings scheme, a tax rate applying to the amount of tax withheld that is less than the retirement scheme prescribed rate for the person:
            1. includes the amount of the contribution in a return of income for the income year in which the contribution is made.

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              Notes
              • Section CX 50B: inserted, on , by section 334 of the Taxation (Business Taxation and Remedial Matters) Act 2007 (2007 No 109).