Hello and welcome to our September newsletter. We've had a busy winter with major changes happening in regards to the new AML/CFT legislation that we must comply with along with a significant upgrade to our software.  We will discuss both of these later in the newsletter. In the meantime:

Important Tax Dates

For all of you GST registered clients, we will have reached the end of another GST period on the 30 ^th of September and returns are due for filing and payment on the 29th of October.  Please get your information into us as soon as possible to ensure we can get your return completed on time.

For those of you who are registered for GST on a 6 monthly basis and pay provisional tax, your first 2019 provisional tax installment is also due on the 29th of October.  Tax reminder notices will be going out in the first week of October, so please keep an eye on your inbox.

As always, please let us know well before the 29th if you will not be able to make your payments on time.  The 29th is too late to avoid tax penalties if you want to set up a payment arrangement.

Overseas Based Student Loan Borrowers

If you are an overseas based student loan borrower, your first installment for 2019 is due on the 30 ^th of September.  If you haven't received a reminder from us, please contact us urgently so we can advise how much you need to pay.

Change of email address

If you change your email address, please let us know! It is very important that we have your correct contact details on our database, as important tax reminder notices are emailed to the address that we have on file for you.  If you do not notify us of any updates regarding your email address, important notifications and information may not reach you on time. 

Audit Insurance  

Yes, it's that time of the year again!  At the end of October, audit insurance policies will be up for renewal.  Letters will be going out to all clients shortly, whether or not you participated in the scheme last year so please watch out for these in your inbox.  It is a requirement of our cover to offer it to all clients annually. In order to opt into the scheme, all you need to do is pay the premium and you are automatically covered from that payment date.

For those of you not familiar with the scheme, the insurance covers all of your accounting costs in relation to a review or audit of your tax affairs by Inland Revenue.  The insurance starts from the moment we receive a letter from Inland Revenue stating their intention to review or audit you.

Please contact us if you are unsure whether audit insurance is appropriate for you.  Inland Revenue have recently launched their "Sleep Easy" campaign of targeting hospitality businesses so those of you in this sector should seriously consider taking up this cover.

Anti-Money Laundering & Countering Financing of Terrorism Legislation

Since the last newsletter we've spent significant time on establishing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure that we are now "AML/CFT" ready.  From 1 October, we will be joining banks, financial institutions and lawyers in the AML/CFT regime.  By law we will be required to follow specific procedures to identify and verify new clients or existing clients who alter their circumstances (such as forming a new company or trust) and to question unusual cash or wire transactions (including income) from overseas that we encounter in our work.  So please be prepared to provide us with the required information if requested.  Failure by us to comply with this new legislation could result in very large fines, so we have no option but to do this.  Failure by you to provide us with the required information will result in us having to make a report to the Department of Internal Affairs.  It is our hope and expectation that, for the vast majority of you, there will be no impact on our working relationship, but please be prepared to help us comply if need be.

New Financial Reports

Something else that has been keeping us very busy of late is the installation of our new general ledger software.  Those of you receiving Financial Statements from us over the next few months will notice a subtle change in the look of our reports.  The change in look is subtle but the software behind it is a huge step up in technology from the old general ledger system that we have been using.  The new software will enable us to download your data directly from your Xero or MYOB systems instead of the need to manually journal the information in.  It will also enable us to send reports directly to you without the need to print and scan so will move us closer to the paperless office that we would all like to see.  It's still a work in progress and will be phased in over time. 

As part of this upgrade, MYOB are offering very competitive prices to clients who move their accounting onto MYOB Essentials so please let us know if this is of interest to you. 

MYOB prices (which are subject to change by MYOB) are:

$10 per month for Cashbook,

$27 per month for Cashbook plus Payroll, 

$32 per month for the Standard Package and

$47 per month for the Standard Package Plus Payroll.

  Xero Price Increase

For those of you on the Xero Standard or Premium packages, please note that Xero have increased their prices from 1 October.  Our new discounted prices will be:

$52 per month for the Standard Package (up from $48),

$59 per month for Standard Plus Payroll (up from $56) and

$66 per month for the Premium Package (up from $62).

Xero cashbooks is unaffected by this price increase.

Payday Filing

Those of you employing staff will have been bombarded by Inland Revenue regarding the requirement to start filing your PAYE returns each time you pay staff.  Please note that this is only compulsory from 1 April 2019 and that, to our knowledge, none of the payroll providers (such as Ace, MYOB and Xero) have yet developed their software to enable this to be done.  The providers and Inland Revenue are working closely together to ensure that your software will comply by 1 April, so don't panic yet.  We will keep you informed as this this develops.

Changes to Legislation on Taxation of Rental Property Income

Many of you have voiced concerns to us regarding proposed changes to tax on rental properties.  As yet, nothing has been confirmed, but our expectation is that rental losses will be ringfenced in future (probably from the 2020 tax year onwards).  What this means is that, if your rental property runs at a loss, you won't be able to offset those losses against other income (and for many of you, receive a tax refund).  You WILL still be able to claim a tax deduction for the expenses incurred in the derivation of your rental income, but in a year where those expenses exceed the income, the excess expense will be pushed forward to future years to be utilised when income DOES exceed expenses.  So if you are currently considering significant repairs and maintenance to your rental property, you may wish to consider doing this before the ring-fencing legislation is passed.

Providing your Bank with your IRD Number

One exciting development in the wind is that banks will soon be providing your interest information directly to Inland Revenue each year, so we won't have to ask you for this when we prepare your tax return.  However, in order for this to work correctly, it is essential that you provide your bank with the correct IRD number.  For joint accounts, this means providing both IRD numbers. So please check with your bank to ensure that they have the right information as this will save us time (and you money) when tax return time comes around.

Staff Changes for Tyler Price

There is definitely something in the water here at Tyler Price!  For the third year in a row we are about to bid a temporary farewell to another mother to be.  Lichelle will be leaving us on the 4 ^th of October to have her second baby. We all wish her well!

Bryony, who is still on maternity leave, is planning to be back in the office in February and she will take over the reigns of those clients who have been looked after by Lichelle.  In the meantime, the remaining staff will fill the gap. You have all been allocated to a manager who will take good care of you, so please don't be concerned about this change.  If you are needing any help, please call and you will be directed to the person who will be looking after you.

And lastly, thank you so much to all of you who have recommended us to your friends and colleagues.  Much appreciated!

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.  If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to pop in to our office or give us a call.  We always look forward to hearing from you.

Regards, the team at Tyler Price:

Isobel, Abbey, Anne, Bryony, Caroline, Karen, Lichelle, Tina, Virginia and Tilly