Payments made by post are now treated as made on the day Inland Revenue receives them; the date of posting is irrelevant. It's therefore up to you to make sure you post your cheques in good time to reach IRD on time. There's no guarantee that a payment posted on the 18th will reach Inland Revenue by the 20th.
If you're sending a post-dated cheque, Inland Revenue will not bank it until the date specified. So even though it's physically received before the due date, it will still be treated as received late if the specified date is after the due date. You can also make payments in person, either at an Inland Revenue office or at a Westpac branch (note Westpac no longer accept cheques for tax payments) as long as you do so before close of business on the due date. Now might be a good time to think about making your payments online, if you don't already.
Timely Reminders
7 Jan | Terminal Tax | Taxpayers (where we prepare tax returns) on a December balance date |
FBT | Close companies paying FBT on an income year basis (where we prepare tax returns) with a December balance date | |
15 Jan | Provisional tax | Standard provisional taxpayers on March, November and July balance dates GST ratio method taxpayers on January, March, May, July, September, and November balance dates 6 monthly GST taxpayers on May and November balance dates |
GST return and payment for period ended 30 November | Taxpayers filing GST on a monthly basis AND taxpayers (with March, May, July, September, November and January balance dates) filing on a 2 monthly basis | |
20 Jan | FBT | Third quarter return (for the three month period ended December) |
28 Jan | Provisional tax | GST ratio method taxpayers on February, April, June, August, October, and December balance dates 6 monthly GST taxpayers on June and December balance dates |
GST return and payment for period ended 31 December | Taxpayers filing GST on a monthly basis AND taxpayers (with February, April, June, August, October and December balance dates) filing on a two monthly basis | |
9 Feb | Terminal Tax | Taxpayers (where we prepare tax returns) with a January balance date |
FBT | Close companies paying FBT on an income year basis (where we prepare tax returns) with a January balance date. | |
Terminal Student Loan Repayment | For those (where we prepare tax returns) with a January balance date |