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Income Tax Act 2007

Deductions - Specific rules for expenditure types

DB 62: Deduction for legal expenses

You could also call this:

“You can claim up to $10,000 in legal fees as a tax deduction”

If you spend $10,000 or less on legal expenses in a year, you can claim this money as a tax deduction. Legal expenses mean fees you pay to a lawyer who has a practising certificate from the New Zealand Law Society or an Australian equivalent. The lawyer must provide legal services as defined in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006.

You can claim this deduction even if the expenses are usually considered capital expenses. However, you still need to meet the general permission for tax deductions, and other general limitations still apply.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1952984.

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Part D Deductions
Specific rules for expenditure types

DB 62Deduction for legal expenses

  1. This section applies to a person when their total legal expenses for an income year is equal to or less than $10,000.

  2. The person is allowed a deduction for the legal expenses.

  3. For the purposes of this section, legal expenses means fees for legal services (as defined in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) provided by a person who holds a practising certificate issued by the New Zealand Law Society or an Australian equivalent.

  4. This section overrides the capital limitation. The general permission must still be satisfied and the other general limitations still apply.

Notes
  • Section DB 62: added, on , by section 4 of the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Act 2009 (2009 No 5).