RL 1Residential land withholding tax

1. This subpart imposes an obligation to pay a tax called residential land withholding tax (RLWT).

2. This subpart applies for a residential land purchase amount in relation to a disposal of residential land located in New Zealand by a person (the vendor) to another person (the purchaser) if—

3. the relevant residential land purchase amount would be income of the vendor under section CB 6A (Disposal within 2 years: bright-line test for residential land) ignoring sections CB 6A(5)(a) and CB 16A (Main home exclusion for disposal within 2 years); and
4. the vendor is an offshore RLWT person.

5. For the purposes of this subpart, vendors who are co-owners are treated as disposing of separate residential land on the basis of an appropriate split of the underlying residential land and the consideration for its disposal.

6. This subpart does not apply if the vendor holds an RLWT certificate of exemption that applies for the disposal of the relevant residential land. Section 54E of the Tax Administration Act 1994 provides for the issue of RLWT certificates of exemption to vendors.

7. This subpart does not apply if section FB 3A(2) (Residential land) applies for the disposal of the relevant residential land.

8. In this subpart,—

9. section RL 2 provides rules for vendors and conveyancers in relation to who must pay RLWT and satisfy RLWT liability:
10. section RL 3 provides rules for purchasers in relation to who must withhold RLWT from relevant residential land purchase amounts. It also provides rules for segregating the RLWT withheld:
11. section RL 4 provides rules for calculating how much tax must be paid or withheld and paid for residential land purchase amounts:
12. section RL 5 provides rules for paying RLWT:
13. section RL 6 provides rules for the Commissioner repaying RLWT.

14. Sections 54B, 54C, and 54D of the Tax Administration Act 1994 provide for the giving of returns and information in relation to RLWT obligations.