Income distributions of individual customers 2001 to 2016

1. A customer with any registered activity within a specific period, or
2. a salary and wage earner whose only relationship with Inland Revenue is having PAYE deducted and paid on their behalf within a specific period.

Adjudication cases are classified (depending on the degree to which the position of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue was upheld) into the following five categories:

1. decided fully for the Commissioner
2. decided mostly for the Commissioner but not the full amount or grounds/reasons
3. decided fully for the taxpayer
4. decided mostly for the taxpayer but not the full amount
5. decision unable to be reached on the amount of assessment.

Any customers with overdue debt.

A classification of customers based on their legal structure and tax obligations. These include companies, diplomatic missions, government departments, individuals, Māori authorities, partnerships, society/clubs, superannuation funds, trusts, unit trusts.

We distinguish between three types of filing channels:

1. e-Filing (a system for registered tax agents to send and receive information electronically)
2. paper-based filing, and
3. web (online) filing.

1. Geographic areas are based on Inland Revenue district offices:
   1. Auckland: Manukau, Takapuna
   2. Rest of the North Island: Gisborne, Hamilton, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Tauranga, Wellington, Whangarei
   3. South Island: Christchurch, Dunedin, Greymouth, Invercargill, Nelson, Timaru
   4. "Corporates" offices for customers not allocated to a specific geographic area.
2. At an aggregate level district offices are combined into three major areas: Auckland, Rest of the North Island and South Island, as shown above.

GST turnover is calculated from GST returns as the sum of sales and income for the year ended 31 March.
For a two-monthly filer, this would mean the sum of gross sales on six successive GST returns, with the last return being for the period ending 31 March.
The GST tables only include GST collected or refunded by Inland Revenue. GST collected on imports by the New Zealand Custom Service is not included.

Customers not registered for GST or PAYE and not belonging to large enterprises (LE) or non-profit organisations (NPO).

Notes:

1. This includes individual customers receiving income from business (eg, rental property, shares) but not registered for GST or PAYE.
2. Where there are overlaps between LE, NPO, SME and individuals, entities are allocated to the group according to the following order of priority. The priorities are:
   1. large enterprises (LE)
   2. non-profit organisations (NPO)
   3. small and medium enterprises (SME)
   4. individuals.

1. A non-individual entity which by itself or as a part of a business group has an annual turnover exceeding $100 million (calculated based on GST101 returns), or
2. an entity belonging to specialist segments as follows:

• Crown
• financial
• high-wealth individuals
• manufacturing
• non-resident entertainers
• non-resident contractors
• resources
• services.

A parent of a qualifying child who is normally required to pay child support.

All entities exempted from income tax and not belonging to large enterprises with the following exemption types:

• society/club income < $1000
• amateur sports clubs
• charity
• dairy herd society
• district societies
• scientific and industrial research
• veterinary service clubs, or
• all entities except building societies and friendly societies with "other" exemption type.

The amount of an employer's or a liable parent's liability which is in arrears (due, but not paid), together with overdue receiving carer overpayments.

Notes:
 

1. Child support debt excludes debt  we collect on behalf of overseas agencies.
2. This amount includes any penalties applied to the debt. Note that only the overdue penalties component is recognised as a debt from the Crown perspective.

The length of time the debt has been overdue.

A debt case is created when a due date for payment has passed without full payment being made. Other overdue debt elements may be added as they become overdue. The case will close when all overdue debt has been fully resolved.

A specific tax type and period for which a debt is due. A customer can have one or more debt elements.

The amount of repayment obligation for a tax year that is overdue.

Notes:

1. The definition applies to both residents and overseas based borrowers.
2. This amount includes any penalties applied to the debt.

The amount of tax that remains unpaid after the due date for payment. Overdue tax debt includes any penalty and interest applied to the debt.

When recipients are paid more than their entitlement and they don't repay it by the due date a debt arises. The amount includes any penalty and interest applied to the debt.

A scheme which allows employees to donate money to an approved donee organisation (an organisation that has Inland Revenue-approved donee status) of their choice by having a deduction taken direct from their gross pay and receive immediate tax credits that reduce their PAYE payable.

Only employers who electronically file their employer monthly schedule and deduction form can choose to offer payroll giving to their employees.

The percentage of late payments to the total number of payments per tax year.

The percentage of late filings to the total number of filings per tax year.

A parent or carer of a qualifying child who is normally entitled to receive child support from a liable parent. They must have at least 35% care to receive child support.

Registered customers include all customers registered with Inland Revenue, either individuals or entities. Registered customers include some entities and people no longer active.

Revenue collected includes only taxes and duties collected by Inland Revenue. GST collected by the New Zealand Customs Service is excluded. Numbers are unconsolidated.

Note: The Treasury publishes monthly financial statements prepared on a consolidated basis, meaning they eliminate tax transactions between departments, state-owned enterprises and Crown entities.

Revenue collected from liable parents includes all revenue collected during each tax year by Inland Revenue including payments related to other time periods.

A penalty imposed as a percentage of a tax shortfall (a deficit or understatement of tax), resulting from certain actions on the part of a taxpayer. Shortfall penalties apply to most taxes and duties, including student loans, but not to child support repayments by liable parents.

The law divides these actions into five categories of fault or breach, with a specified penalty rate for each category. The severity of the penalty increases in proportion to the seriousness of the breach: Not taking reasonable care (20%), Unacceptable tax position 20%, Gross carelessness (40%), Abusive tax position (100%), Evasion (150%).

1. All entities with an active relationship for GST or PAYE that do not belong to large enterprises or non-profit organisations, and
2. all non-individual entities without active registration for GST or PAYE not belonging to non-profit organisations.

Source deductions include:

1. PAYE (pay as you earn), and
2. ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax), and
3. SSCWT (formerly known as the specified superannuation contributions withholding tax).

A tax agent prepares the annual returns of income for 10 or more customers in one of the following ways:

• a practitioner carrying on a professional public practice
• a person carrying on a business or occupation in which returns of income are prepared, or
• a Māori Trustee.

A tax agent must be a registered Inland Revenue customer.

Taxable income for individuals is income on which their personal income tax is assessed for the March year.
For people with IR3 tax returns or Personal tax summaries, this is income from all taxable sources less allowable deductions and losses. People with negative income because of losses are recorded as having nil taxable income in the tables. For people who are non-filers, taxable income is deemed to be their total PAYE gross earnings in the year ended 31 March. PAYE gross earnings can include income from employment, and also taxable welfare benefits, New Zealand Superannuation, earnings-related ACC, student allowances, and paid parental leave.

The average age of the case elements weighted by their dollar value.

The Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC) consists of the following credit types:

• FTC - family tax credit
• IWTC - in-work tax credit replaced child tax credit from April 2006. Customers who received child tax credit before 1 April 2006 and don't qualify for in-work tax credit may continue to receive child tax credit
• MFTC - minimum family tax credit
• PTC - parental tax credit.

Note 1: WfFTC was collectively known as "family assistance".

Note 2: CTC - child tax credit. There are a very small number of people who receive this tax credit but because their numbers are now so few; they are no longer reported on separately.