NZ Bright-line Property Tax Calculator

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 completed on or after 1 July 2024, that period is a uniform 2 years, regardless of when you purchased. For sales completed before 1 July 2024, the period instead varies from 2 to 10 years depending on your purchase date.

Yes. Your main home (the property you primarily live in) is generally exempt from the bright-line test. However, specific conditions apply — you must have used it predominantly as your main home throughout ownership.

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 completed before 1 July 2024 use the older purchase-date-based periods.

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.