Gift Duty
Any person who gives gifts of more than $27,000 in a year is liable to pay gift duty. However, any person making gifts with a combined total value of over $12,000 in any 12-month period must complete a Gift statement and forward it to Inland Revenue.
For gift duty purposes, a gift is something given:
- when nothing is received in return, or
- when something is received in return, but its value is less than the value of the property given (if something of lesser value is given in return for a gift, the value of the gift, for gift duty purposes, is the difference between the two values.
Gifts may comprise:
- payments of any kind
- transfers of any type e.g. property
- a forgiveness or reduction of debt
- the creation of a trust
| Value of Gift | Duty Payable |
|---|---|
| 0 to $27,000 | 0% |
| $27,001 to $36,000 | 5% of residual over $27,000 |
| $36,001 to $54,000 | $450 plus 10% of residual over $36,000 |
| $54,001 to $72,000 | $2,250 plus 20% of residual over $54,000 |
| Over &72,000 | $5,850 plus 25% of residual over $72,000 |
Gifts made to create a charitable trust, or establishing any society or institution exclusively for charitable purposes, or any gift in aid of such trust, society, or institution are exempt from gift duty.
From 1 July 2008 that charitable trust or that society or institution established exclusively for charitable purposes will need to be registered by the Charities Commission for the gift to be exempt from gift duty.
For more information on Gift Duty, please visit the IRD website.
