Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Income Tax Act 2007

Income - Income from business or trade-like activities

CB 15B: When land acquired

You could also call this:

“This explains when you're considered to have acquired land for tax purposes”

When you get land, an interest in land, or an option to buy land, you’re considered to have acquired it from the day you start having that right, even if you share it with someone else.

If you make a deal for a company that hasn’t been formed yet to have land, the law treats the company as if it existed from the time you made that deal.

If you have an option to buy land and you use that option, you’re treated as if you got the land when you used the option.

These rules can be changed for some situations by other parts of the law that deal with transferring property.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6187205.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Taxes
Housing and property > Buying and selling homes
Previous

CB 15: Transactions between associated persons, or

“Rules for selling or gifting land to people you're connected with”

Next

CB 15C: Council-controlled organisations and other companies, or

“Tax exemptions for local authorities and their controlled organisations”

Part C Income
Income from business or trade-like activities

CB 15BWhen land acquired

  1. For the purposes of this subpart, a person acquires an estate, interest, or option that is land (the land) on the date that begins a period in which the person has an estate or interest in, or an option to acquire, the land, alone or jointly or in common with another person.

  2. If a person, on behalf of a company to be formed, enters an agreement under which the company will have land, the company is treated, for the purposes of this subpart in relation to the land, as existing from when the person enters the agreement.

  3. A person that exercises an option to acquire land and acquires the land, is treated as acquiring the land at the time when they exercise the option.

  4. Subsections (1) to (3) are overridden, for a transaction, by a provision in subpart FB or FC (which relate to transfers of property) providing for the timing of the transaction.

Notes
  • Section CB 15B: inserted (with effect on 22 November 2013 and applying for disposals of land occurring on or after that date), on , by section 7(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).
  • Section CB 15B(1): amended, on , by section 127 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Act 2024 (2024 No 11).
  • Section CB 15B(1): amended (with effect on 1 October 2015 and applying to a person’s disposal of residential land if the date that the person first acquires an estate or interest in the residential land is on or after that date), on , by section 7(1) of the Taxation (Bright-line Test for Residential Land) Act 2015 (2015 No 111).
  • Section CB 15B(3) heading: replaced (with effect on 22 November 2013), on , by section 63 of the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017 (2017 No 3).
  • Section CB 15B(3): replaced (with effect on 22 November 2013), on , by section 63 of the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017 (2017 No 3).
  • Section CB 15B(3) heading: replaced (with effect on 14 May 2016), on , by section 64 of the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017 (2017 No 3).
  • Section CB 15B(3): replaced (with effect on 14 May 2016), on , by section 64 of the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017 (2017 No 3).