NZ Bright-line Property Tax Calculator
Check if your property sale is subject to the bright-line test and calculate the estimated tax on any gain.
About the Bright-line Test
The bright-line test taxes gains from selling residential property within a certain period. If you sell on or after 1 July 2024, IRD applies a uniform 2-year period regardless of when you purchased — even if you bought under the old 5-year or 10-year rules. Only sales agreed before 1 July 2024 use the purchase-date cohort below:
- Before 1 Oct 2015: Not applicable
- 1 Oct 2015 – 28 Mar 2018: 2-year bright-line period
- 29 Mar 2018 – 26 Mar 2021: 5-year period
- 27 Mar 2021 – 30 Jun 2024: 10-year period (5 years for a new build bought no later than 12 months after it became new build land, or for a purchase made under an offer given on or before 23 March 2021 that could not be revoked before 27 March 2021)
- Sold on or after 1 Jul 2024 (any purchase date): 2-year period, uniformly
If you sell within the applicable period, any profit is taxed as income at your marginal tax rate. Your main home is exempt from the bright-line test.
Frequently asked questions
What is the bright-line test?
The bright-line test is a rule that taxes profits from selling residential property if sold within a set period after purchase. For any sale where you sign the sale agreement on or after 1 July 2024, that period is a uniform 2 years, regardless of when you purchased. For sales agreed before 1 July 2024, the period instead varies from 2 to 10 years depending on your purchase date.
Is my main home exempt?
Yes. Your main home is generally exempt from the bright-line test, but both of these must be true: more than 50% of the property's area was used as your main home, and you lived there as your main home for more than 50% of the bright-line period. It does not apply if you have a regular pattern of buying and selling, or have already used the exclusion twice in the 2 years before the sale.
What changed on 1 July 2024?
The bright-line period was cut to a uniform 2 years for property SOLD on or after 1 July 2024 — regardless of when it was purchased. This is a bigger change than it sounds: a property bought under the old 10-year rule (e.g. in 2022) but sold in 2025 is now tested against 2 years, not 10 — so if it's been held over 2 years, it's no longer subject to bright-line at all, even though the 10-year period hasn't elapsed. Only sales agreed before 1 July 2024 use the older purchase-date-based periods.
How is the gain calculated?
Taxable gain = sale price minus purchase price minus allowable costs (legal fees, agent commission, inspection costs). The gain is added to your other income and taxed at your marginal rate.
Sources
Bright-line test rules from IRD — Bright-line Property Rule.
Related Calculators
Rates sourced from IRD.