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Tax Administration Act 1994

Information, record-keeping, and returns - Investment income information - RWT rates, certificates, and records

26C: RWT withholding certificates

You could also call this:

"Certificate for tax withheld from New Zealand residents' income"

Illustration for Tax Administration Act 1994

You need to prepare a certificate if you withhold Resident Withholding Tax (RWT) for someone. The certificate must have certain information, like the type of income and the amount of RWT withheld. You usually give the certificate to the recipient by 20 May after the end of the tax year.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM350728.

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Money and consumer rights > Taxes
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Part 3Information, record-keeping, and returns
Investment income information: RWT rates, certificates, and records

26CRWT withholding certificates

  1. Subsection (1B) applies for a tax year when a payer withholds RWT for resident passive income for the following amounts paid to or derived by a payee who has not provided the payer with their tax file number:

  2. interest:
    1. a dividend treated as interest:
      1. a dividend to which section RE 9(2) of the Income Tax Act 2007 applies.

        1. The person must prepare an RWT withholding certificate that contains the information set out in subsection (6).

        2. Every person (in this section referred to as the payer) who is required to prepare an RWT withholding certificate in respect of any amount of resident passive income paid to or derived (as applicable) by any other person (in this section referred to as the recipient) shall, at the discretion of the payer, either—

        3. prepare the RWT withholding certificate with respect to all such amounts of resident passive income of that type (being either interest or dividends) paid to or derived (as applicable) by the recipient during the relevant tax year; or
          1. prepare the RWT withholding certificate with respect to each such amount of resident passive income of that type paid to or derived (as applicable) by the recipient,—
              1. and in either case shall provide the RWT withholding certificate to the recipient not later than the 20 May that follows the end of the relevant year.

            1. Notwithstanding subsection (2), the recipient may at any time during the relevant year notify the payer that they are required to prepare and provide an RWT withholding certificate in relation to RWT withheld during that year for resident passive income that relates to a financial arrangement, if the financial arrangement has matured, been remitted, or been disposed of by the recipient, and in such event the payer shall prepare the withholding certificate and provide it to the recipient not later than 20 working days after the receipt by the payer of the notice.

            2. Notwithstanding subsection (2), where any person (not being a person with RWT-exempt status notwithstanding the cessation in carrying on a taxable activity) in any month—

            3. ceases to carry on any taxable activity in respect of which that person has been required to withhold RWT; or
              1. ceases to carry on any such taxable activity in New Zealand,—
                  1. that person shall prepare and provide to the recipients an RWT withholding certificate required to be prepared by that person with respect to that taxable activity not later than the 20th of the following month.

                1. Notwithstanding subsection (2), where any person in any month ceases to be a person with RWT-exempt status (not being a person who continues to be required to withhold RWT by virtue of making payments in the course of or furtherance of a taxable activity despite the ending of the person’s RWT-exempt status) that person shall prepare and provide to the recipients an RWT withholding certificate required to be prepared by that person not later than the 20th of the following month.

                2. An RWT withholding certificate must include the following:

                3. a statement as to whether the resident passive income is interest, a dividend treated as interest, or a dividend to which section RE 9(2) of the Income Tax Act 2007 applies; and
                  1. the date on which the RWT was withheld, or if there is more than 1 instance, the year in which the amounts were withheld; and
                    1. the amount of resident passive income and the amount of RWT withheld; and
                      1. the rate for the resident passive income—
                        1. found by dividing the total amount of RWT withheld by the amount of resident passive income:
                          1. at which RWT would have been withheld if the resident passive income had been paid or derived at the end of the relevant tax year:
                            1. at which RWT was withheld during the relevant tax year, together with, if more than 1 RWT rate applied for the resident passive income, the amount to which each rate applied and the amount withheld at each rate; and
                            2. if, for an inflation-indexed instrument, the recipient derives an interest payment for which RWT is capped by the application of section RE 18B(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 2007,—
                              1. a statement to that effect; and
                                1. a statement that the recipient may be required to file a return of income.

                                2. Repealed

                                3. The Commissioner may prescribe a formula for determining the average basic tax rate that is to be applied to resident passive income.

                                4. No person shall be required to prepare and provide an RWT withholding certificate relating to any interest from which the person has in a tax year withheld RWT where—

                                5. all resident passive income is interest paid by the person under a financial arrangement, and the interest is not more than $50 in that tax year; or
                                  1. the RWT withheld was from resident passive income that is interest, and the amount was required to be withheld by the person under section RE 7 or RE 8 of the Income Tax Act 2007, and the total amount of the resident passive income, being interest, paid by the person in that tax year to the recipient of the interest is no more than $50,—
                                      1. unless the person is notified by the recipient of the interest that they require such a certificate, in which case the certificate shall be prepared and provided to the recipient not later than 20 working days after receipt of that notice.

                                    1. An RWT withholding certificate must be retained by the person to whom it is provided for a period of 3 years after the end of the year to which it relates, unless the Commissioner otherwise permits.

                                    2. Where any resident passive income is paid to or derived (as applicable) by 2 or more persons jointly, any payer shall be entitled to treat those persons as 1 person and accordingly issue only 1 RWT withholding certificate in the name of any 1 or more of those persons who may be nominated by those persons for this purpose or, in the absence of any such nomination, in the name of those persons jointly.

                                    3. For the purposes of this section, an RWT withholding certificate is treated as provided to a recipient if it is delivered in a way described in section 14F(4) to—

                                    4. the recipient; or
                                      1. a person authorised to act on behalf of the recipient.

                                        1. In this section, a dividend that is resident passive income paid by an RWT proxy as described in section RE 3(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act 2007 is treated as being interest.

                                        Compare
                                        • 1976 No 65 s 327H
                                        Notes
                                        • Section 26C (former section 25): renumbered, on , by section 286(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C heading: replaced, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(1): replaced, on , by section 286(3) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C(1B): inserted, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(2): amended (with effect on 1 April 2008), on , by section 286(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C(2): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(2)(a): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(2)(a): amended, on (effective for 2005–06 tax year and later tax years, except when the context requires otherwise), by section YA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (2004 No 35).
                                        • Section 26C(2)(b): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(3): amended, on , by section 93(1) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
                                        • Section 26C(3): amended, on , by section 93(2) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
                                        • Section 26C(3): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(4): amended, on , by section 286(4) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C(4)(a): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(4)(b): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(5): amended, on , by section 286(5)(a) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C(5): amended, on , by section 286(5)(b) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Act 2018 (2018 No 5).
                                        • Section 26C(5): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(6): replaced, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(a): amended (with effect on 1 April 2008), on , by section 130(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Trans-Tasman Savings Portability, KiwiSaver, and Remedial Matters) Act 2010 (2010 No 109).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(b): amended (with effect on 1 April 2008), on , by section 130(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Trans-Tasman Savings Portability, KiwiSaver, and Remedial Matters) Act 2010 (2010 No 109).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(c): amended (with effect on 1 April 2008), on , by section 130(3) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Trans-Tasman Savings Portability, KiwiSaver, and Remedial Matters) Act 2010 (2010 No 109).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(d): replaced (with effect on 1 April 2010), on (applying for 2010–11 and later tax years), by section 130(4) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Trans-Tasman Savings Portability, KiwiSaver, and Remedial Matters) Act 2010 (2010 No 109).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(d)(iii): amended, on , by section 153 of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).
                                        • Section 26C(6)(e): inserted, on , by section 153 of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).
                                        • Section 26C(6A): repealed, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(6B): inserted, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(7): amended, on , by section 93(3) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
                                        • Section 26C(7): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(7): amended, on (effective for 2005–06 tax year and later tax years, except when the context requires otherwise), by section YA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (2004 No 35).
                                        • Section 26C(7)(a): replaced, on (applying on and after 20 May 1999), by section 64(1) of the Taxation (Accrual Rules and Other Remedial Matters) Act 1999 (1999 No 59).
                                        • Section 26C(7)(a): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(7)(a): amended, on (effective for 2005–06 tax year and later tax years, except when the context requires otherwise), by section YA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (2004 No 35).
                                        • Section 26C(7)(a): amended, on (applying to 2002–03 and subsequent income years), by section 74(3) of the Taxation (Relief, Refunds and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 (2002 No 32).
                                        • Section 26C(7)(b): replaced, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(8): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(9): amended, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).
                                        • Section 26C(10): replaced, on , by section 93(4) of the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Act 2016 (2016 No 27).
                                        • Section 26C(11): replaced, on (effective for 2008–09 income year and later income years, unless the context requires otherwise), by section ZA 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (2007 No 97).