Hello and welcome to our first newsletter for 2019.

After a fabulous summer, there is definitely a slight chill in the air in the mornings.  That heralds the end of another tax year here for us so we will be emailing our annual questionnaire to you shortly.  Please keep an eye on your inbox for this.

Please note that this newsletter contains information regarding major tax changes which may affect you so please read it to ensure that you are informed of these changes.

Important Upcoming Tax Dates

By now, those of you who have an extension of time should have received your 2018 terminal tax notices. This tax is due on the 7th of April .  Don't forget that if you are sending a cheque, it must be received by the 7th so get it in the post in plenty of time!

We'll also be emailing out the tax notices for the 2019 final provisional tax instalment shortly (payment due on the 7th of May ).   Please look out for these in your inbox.

If paying either of these taxes by the due date is not possible, please don't stress!  Get in touch with us as soon as you can so we can either set up a payment arrangement with Inland Revenue or buy your tax from one of our tax pool suppliers.

For those of you who are GST registered and your returns are aligned with a 31 ^st of March balance date, your due date for filing and payment of your March GST return will be the 7th of May .  Note that this is our busiest time of the year so please get your information to us as soon as you can to ensure we can meet the deadline.

Additional requirements for 31st March

·         Record your debtors (people who owe you money) as at 31 March 2019.

·         Record your creditors (people you owe money to) as at 31 March 2019.

·         Carry out a stock take, if you carry and sell stock.

·         Keep a copy of your RWT certificates, income protection insurance certificates and evidence of your company or trust's bank balance at 31 March. Scan them directly to us if there is a chance you may lose them!

School donations

It's that time of the year again when school fees and donations are being paid.  Don't forget you can claim a 33% rebate on these donations (as well as donations to most charities), so please remember to include these in your receipts if paid by the 31 ^st March 2019.  Note that activity fees and some levies imposed by schools are not claimable so we must have your receipt to ensure we are only claiming the donation part of the payment.

Payday Filing

All of you who are registered as employers should be well aware by now (thanks to IRD's ruthless campaign of harassment) that Payday Filing becomes compulsory on 1 April.

The software developers are all putting their final touches on their systems so that those of  you using Xero, MYOB or Ace Payroll should be able to file, with a push of the button, from the start date. 

Those of you on manual systems  need to set up your business MyIR account with the new PAYE system.  We've started to use this and are finding it very user friendly.

Please note that you must file returns every time you pay an employee or contractor for whom you deduct withholding tax.  It should be done within 2 days of payment.  We recommend that you simply make it part of the payment process, so it doesn't get forgotten.  If you currently pay contractors on an ad hoc basis, we suggest that you could simplify matters by paying people together and regularly – on the same day each week or each month. 

You could also consider outsourcing your payroll to a payroll intermediary company such as Smart Payroll, iPayroll or Thankyou Payroll, who, for a small weekly fee, calculate the pays, pay the staff and file and pay Inland Revenue. All you need to do is submit the timesheets and pay the intermediary – they do everything else.

If you have any queries please contact us!

Inland Revenue Closedown

Please note that IRD are closing down from 3pm on the 18 ^th until 8am on the 26 ^th of April to move Income Tax onto their new system.  In that time there will be no access to their phones or website.  Whilst we are very pleased that this is finally happening (all tax types will now be accessed together) their timing could have been better from our perspective!  What this shut down will mean, however, is that we have been granted an extension for filing and paying March PAYE. The return and payment will be due on the 26 ^th of April instead of the 20 ^th .  So don't panic if you can't file your return by the normal due date because of the closure.

Important Tax Changes for Property Investors

Rental losses to be ring-fenced

From 1 April 2019 losses made on rental properties will be ring-fenced so they can only be offset against future rental income.  So those of you who currently receive tax refunds due to the offset of rental losses against other income, this will be the final year you will receive these. If you are relying on these refunds, we therefore recommend:

1.      You complete any required repairs and maintenance before 31 March 2019

2.      Consider your options in regards to continuing to own your rental property

We are happy to advise if you wish to discuss.

Proposed Capital Gains Tax

We are receiving lots of queries in regards to this.  Please note that it is very early in the process and no-one at this stage knows what regime we are likely to end up with.  Our advice at this stage is to not panic.  If capital gains tax is introduced, we expect it will only be imposed on gains made from the date the legislation comes in and you will have plenty of opportunity to have your house, shares or business valued at that date so you won't be taxed on historical gains.  We will keep you informed as things become clearer!

ACC Levy Refunds

ACC have been issuing vague letters that tell you that you may be receiving an ACC refund.  These letters are, in fact, genuine although no guarantee of a refund.  In short, they have discovered an error, whereby, sole traders who were levied provisionally and then ceased to operate as a sole trader, may not have been reimbursed the provisional tax levy.  The refunds are generally fairly small so our advice to you if you receive a letter is to wait and seen if something actually comes of it. If it does, please be aware that this will be taxable as you would have claimed it as a tax deduction at the time payment was made.

Time to consider your software options

The start of a new tax year is the perfect time to switch accounting systems if this is on your agenda.  For those of you considering moving onto Xero or MYOB Live please get in touch with us as soon as you can to get this in place before 1 April.

Anti-Money Laundering Legislation

Thank you to all of you who have come in with your  proof of identity and address, or sent in certified copies.  For those of you who have not yet done this, don't forget to bring these in next time you are in our vicinity.

Staff Update

We are pleased to advise that Bryony returned from maternity leave in February and is now well and truly settled back in.  She's working Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so for those of you for whom she is your accountant, feel free to contact her if you need assistance. 

The team at Tyler Price would like to wish you all a very happy and relaxing Easter.  As always, we look forward to assisting you with any queries you may have coming up to the end of the financial year, and we are only too happy to be able to help.

From the team at Tyler Price – Isobel, Abbey, Bryony, Caroline, Karen, Lichelle, Tina, Virginia and Tilly.