Goods and Services Tax Act 1985

Returns and payment of tax - Calculation of tax payable: deductions, apportionment, other adjustments

21F: Treatment on disposal

You could also call this:

"What happens with GST when you get rid of business goods or services"

Illustration for Goods and Services Tax Act 1985

When you get rid of goods or services you bought for your business, you need to make a final adjustment. You use a formula to work out how much you need to adjust. The formula is: tax fraction x consideration x (1 - previous use).

If you got the goods or services without paying GST, the tax fraction is 15%. You can find out what tax fraction means in section 2(1). Consideration is the amount you got for the goods or services. Previous use is the percentage of the goods or services you used for your business before you got rid of them.

There are rules about how much you can adjust. If you got the goods or services without paying GST, you can't adjust more than the GST you would have paid if you had paid GST. For other goods or services, you can't adjust more than the amount that would give you a full deduction. You can find out more about full deductions in section 21D(2). There are also special rules if you are getting rid of land or doing something that section 5(16B) applies to.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM83944.


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"Using land for different things at the same time and working out GST"


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21FB: Treatment when percentage of taxable use permanently changes, or

"What to do when you change how much you use something for business"

Part 3Returns and payment of tax
Calculation of tax payable: deductions, apportionment, other adjustments

21FTreatment on disposal

  1. This section applies when a registered person—

  2. acquires goods or services in relation to which they do not have a full deduction, taking into account any adjustments made to input tax in adjustment periods after acquisition; and
    1. subsequently disposes, or is treated as disposing, of the goods or services in the course or furtherance of a taxable activity.
      1. Repealed
      2. Repealed
      3. Subject to subsection (6), the person must make a final adjustment of an amount calculated using the formula—

        tax fraction × consideration × (1 − previous use).

        Where:

        • For the purposes of the formula in subsection (4),—

        • tax fraction has the meaning given in section 2(1), unless subsection (7) applies to the disposal:
          1. consideration is the amount of consideration received, or treated as received, for the supply:
            1. previous use is the percentage intended use or the previous actual use in the period before the period in which the disposal occurs.
              1. If either of the requirements in subsection (6B) are met, the final adjustment given by subsection (4) must not exceed—

              2. for a disposal that the person acquired as a zero-rated supply under section 11(1)(m) or (mb), the amount of output tax that is accounted for by the person under section 20(3J)(a)(iii), taking into account any later adjustments made under the apportionment rules in sections 21 to 21H; or
                1. for a disposal to which paragraph (a) does not apply, the amount that, when added to any deduction already claimed, produces a total amount equal to the amount of the full input tax deduction on acquisition referred to in section 21D(2).
                  1. For the purposes of subsection (6), the requirements are either—

                  2. the disposal is of land that the person uses in the course or furtherance of a taxable activity that is—
                    1. the main activity of the person out of all activities undertaken by the person that involve the supply of goods and services to another person for consideration, including activities that are not taxable activities (for example, making exempt supplies); and
                      1. developing land, dividing land into lots, dealing in land, or erecting buildings; or
                      2. section 5(16B) applies.
                        1. In the formula in subsection (4), on the disposal of the goods or services, if the supply is charged at the rate of 0%, the item tax fraction is treated as 15%.

                        Notes
                        • Section 21F: substituted, on (applying to supplies made on or after 1 April 2011), by section 15(1) of the Taxation (GST and Remedial Matters) Act 2010 (2010 No 130).
                        • Section 21F(2): repealed (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 25(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021–22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act 2022 (2022 No 10).
                        • Section 21F(3): repealed (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 25(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021–22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act 2022 (2022 No 10).
                        • Section 21F(4): added (with effect on 1 April 2011), on (applying to supplies made on or after 1 April 2011), by section 240(2) of the Taxation (Tax Administration and Remedial Matters) Act 2011 (2011 No 63).
                        • Section 21F(4): amended (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 25(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021–22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act 2022 (2022 No 10).
                        • Section 21F(5): added (with effect on 1 April 2011), on (applying to supplies made on or after 1 April 2011), by section 240(2) of the Taxation (Tax Administration and Remedial Matters) Act 2011 (2011 No 63).
                        • Section 21F(6): replaced (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 225(1) (and see section 225(3) for application) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024–25, Emergency Response, and Remedial Measures) Act 2025 (2025 No 9).
                        • Section 21F(6)(a): amended, on , by section 142(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022–23, Platform Economy, and Remedial Matters) Act 2023 (2023 No 5).
                        • Section 21F(6B): inserted (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 225(2) (and see section 225(3) for application) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024–25, Emergency Response, and Remedial Measures) Act 2025 (2025 No 9).
                        • Section 21F(7): added (with effect on 1 April 2011), on (applying to supplies made on or after 1 April 2011), by section 240(2) of the Taxation (Tax Administration and Remedial Matters) Act 2011 (2011 No 63).
                        • Section 21F(7): amended (with effect on 24 February 2020), on , by section 25(4) of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021–22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act 2022 (2022 No 10).