Brightline Test Calculator

The brightline test is an NZ tax rule that makes profit from selling residential property taxable if you sell within the brightline period. If you sell on or after 1 July 2024, the period is a uniform 2 years regardless of when you purchased. If you sell before 1 July 2024, the period instead depends on your purchase-date cohort (2, 5, or 10 years).

IRD confirms that for property sold on or after 1 July 2024, the brightline period is a uniform 2 years from your purchase date — this applies to EVERY sale from that date, regardless of when the property was bought, even if it was bought under the old 5-year or 10-year rules. Only sales completed before 1 July 2024 use the older purchase-date cohorts: bought 27 March 2021 – 30 June 2024 (10 years, or 5 years for new builds), or bought 29 March 2018 – 26 March 2021 (5 years).

The main exemptions are: the main home exemption (you lived there for more than 50% of ownership), inherited property, relationship property settlements, and transfers to or from a trust where you are a beneficiary.

If the brightline test applies, your gain (sale price minus purchase price minus eligible costs) is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal income tax rate. NZ income tax rates range from 10.5% to 39%.

Yes, for properties purchased between 27 March 2021 and 30 June 2024, new builds had a reduced brightline period of 5 years compared to 10 years for standard residential property. From 1 July 2024, both new builds and standard properties have a 2-year period.