NZ Election 2026: Every Party's Tax Policy Compared

Last verified 2 August 2026. Policies may change during the campaign — this comparison reflects what each party had publicly announced as of that date, and will be reviewed as the 7 November 2026 election approaches. Parties are listed in a consistent order throughout (Labour, National, ACT, New Zealand First, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori) and described in the same register — this article does not endorse or recommend any party or policy.

One important asymmetry to keep in mind while reading: Labour and the Greens have both published detailed, costed tax-policy documents; National, ACT and New Zealand First have not released comparable comprehensive 2026 tax policies. Where a party’s row below is short, that reflects the absence of a published policy document, not an editorial choice to omit detail.

Labour

Labour’s headline 2026 tax policy is a 28% flat capital gains tax on residential investment and commercial property (not the family home), announced 28 October 2025, forward-looking from a 1 July 2027 valuation date. Labour forecasts it would raise an average of $700 million a year, ring-fenced for health spending, starting with three free doctor’s visits a year. Full detail: Labour’s capital gains tax explained.

National

National has not published a standalone 2026 tax-policy document with specific bracket or rate changes. Its public position is opposition to new taxes: Finance Minister Nicola Willis’s Budget 2026 speech stated “now is not the time for promises of reckless spending and big new taxes,” and the party’s Fiscal Plan frames its offer as “Kiwis deserve tax relief and National will deliver it,” projecting a $2.9 billion surplus for 2026/27 and $3.4 billion lower debt than Labour’s plan by 2027/28. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has separately said a capital gains tax “would’ve just put a wrecking ball through our economy.”

ACT

ACT’s standing, longer-term goal is a flatter income-tax system — a two-rate structure with a top rate of 28%, aligning personal, trust and company tax rates. ACT has long opposed both the bright-line test and any CGT or wealth tax; its own materials note it has already delivered restored interest deductibility for residential property while in government. ACT has not released a fresh standalone 2026 tax-policy document beyond this general framing; some historical ACT statements about repealing the bright-line test date from 2021–2023 and their currency for the 2026 campaign specifically is not confirmed.

New Zealand First

New Zealand First had not released a comprehensive income-tax, CGT or wealth-tax policy document as of 2 August 2026. Its 2026 campaign has focused on other areas — an energy/oil-and-gas survey, breaking up the supermarket duopoly, KiwiSaver changes, and a “Kiwi Kids Grant” (a tax-free $5,000-a-year payment for young children, announced 2 August 2026, paid via IRD). At its September 2025 party conference, leader Winston Peters spoke generally about “lowering taxes” alongside higher compulsory KiwiSaver contributions, but no specific bracket or CGT policy followed for 2026.

The Greens

The Greens announced “A Tax System for All of Us” on 21 June 2026 — a broader package than Labour’s, combining new income-tax brackets (reported to run from 0% under $10,000 up to 45% above $160,000, with the party claiming 96% of New Zealanders would pay less income tax) with a 2.5% annual wealth tax on net assets above $10 million (individual) or $20 million (couple), a 33% inheritance/gift tax on amounts over $1 million, a higher 33% company tax rate for firms turning over more than $30 million, a small bank levy, and a levy on offshore big-tech profits.

On property specifically, the Greens’ lever is different from Labour’s: extending the bright-line test (reported as to 10 years) and reversing restored interest deductibility for landlords, rather than a Labour-style flat CGT. Two revenue figures circulate for this package and are not directly comparable: a headline “$32 billion over four years” is the gross cumulative new-tax revenue, while the party’s own document reports net revenue (after the income-tax cuts) of $5.35 billion in 2027/28, rising to $5.94 billion by 2030/31. The party corrected its own costings by $800 million the day after release, after an administration-cost error.

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori announced tax policy on 27 July 2026: zero tax on income below $30,000, a new 48% rate on income above $300,000, and restoring the company tax rate to 33% (reversing a 2008 cut to 28%). Reported take-home-pay impacts include a person on $60,000 keeping an extra $6,520 a year, and one on $90,000 keeping an extra $6,220 — though sources differ on the exact share of people better off (97% vs 98%). The party has also described “a wealth tax on millionaires,” projected by its co-leaders to raise $11.8 billion annually — but the specific bracket rates sometimes attributed to this (2% over $2m, 4% over $5m, 8% over $10m) come from a source of uncertain vintage and are not confirmed as current 2026 policy. The party’s own policy page confirms the general stance (“make sure the wealthiest pay their fair share”) without listing rates.

Where Labour’s CGT sits in this field

Labour is the only party proposing a CGT in the classic sense — a flat rate on realised property gains. The Greens’ property lever works through the existing bright-line and interest-deductibility settings instead. National, ACT and New Zealand First have all indicated general opposition to new capital or wealth taxes without a costed alternative. For the mechanics of Labour’s specific proposal, see Labour’s capital gains tax explained and, for what stays untaxed under it, what’s exempt from Labour’s CGT.

Election timeline

The election is on Saturday 7 November 2026, with polling from 9am to 7pm and preliminary results released progressively from after 7pm. Advance voting begins 26 October 2026; the regulated election-advertising period runs 7 August 2026 to 6 November 2026. Official results are declared 27 November 2026.

Estimate Labour’s proposal for yourself

If you want to see what Labour’s specific CGT proposal — the only flat-rate CGT among the policies above — could mean for a property you own, use the Labour capital gains tax calculator.