IRD Key Dates 2025-26 & 2026-27 — All NZ Tax Deadlines & Return Due Dates
Every IRD deadline for NZ 2025-26 and 2026-27 tax years: return due 7 July (no EOT) or 31 March (with EOT), terminal tax 7 February / 7 April, provisional tax instalments 28 Aug / 15 Jan / 7 May, and late-payment penalties.
Published 22 March 2026 · Reviewed by NZ Tax Tools Editorial Desk
NZ IRD Deadlines Calendar →
Quick-reference calendar for every IR3, provisional, GST and employer date in 2025-26.
Missing an IRD deadline in New Zealand can mean late filing penalties, use-of-money interest, or both. The 2025-26 tax year runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, but many associated obligations fall after that date — sometimes well into 2027. This article sets out every key date you need to track, from provisional tax instalments during the year to terminal tax and the final return deadline.
The NZ Tax Year at a Glance
The New Zealand income tax year is not the calendar year. It runs 1 April to 31 March. For 2025-26 that means:
- Start: 1 April 2025
- End: 31 March 2026
- Returns due: July 2026 (standard) or later with a tax agent
This offset matters because payments and returns relating to the 2025-26 year can extend deep into calendar year 2026 and early 2027.
Individual Tax Returns (IR3)
Who needs to file an IR3?
Not every individual needs to file an IR3 return. You are generally required to file if you:
- Are self-employed or receive schedular payments
- Have rental income
- Earned income not taxed at source (interest, dividends over the withholding threshold)
- Have overseas income
- Were in business as a partner or shareholder earning salary, wages, or director’s fees
- Have a student loan and earned income from multiple sources
Most employees with only PAYE income will have their tax automatically calculated by IRD through the end-of-year process (the automatic assessment), and many will not need to file anything.
IR3 due dates for 2025-26
| Situation | Due date |
|---|---|
| Standard (self-filing) | 7 July 2026 |
| Filed through a tax agent | 31 March 2027 (agent filing date varies; many use 31 March) |
| Clients new to a tax agent | 31 January 2027 (first year with agent) |
If you are unsure whether you need to file, log in to myIR and check whether IRD has issued an automatic assessment for your account. If an assessment has been issued and you agree with it, you can simply accept it. If it is wrong — for example because it does not include rental income — you should file an IR3 to correct the position.
Automatic Assessments
From April 2019, IRD has automatically assessed most wage and salary earners at the end of each tax year. For 2025-26, automatic assessments for the year ended 31 March 2026 are typically issued from May 2026 onward. You have until 7 July 2026 to dispute an automatic assessment if you believe it is incorrect.
Provisional Tax
Provisional tax applies to people whose residual income tax (RIT) — the income tax remaining after PAYE and other withholdings — exceeds $5,000. This most commonly affects self-employed people, landlords, and investors.
Standard Instalment Dates for 2025-26
Provisional tax for the 2025-26 income year is typically paid in three equal instalments. If your balance date is 31 March (the standard NZ balance date), the instalment dates are:
| Instalment | Due date |
|---|---|
| 1st instalment (August) | 28 August 2025 |
| 2nd instalment (January) | 15 January 2026 |
| 3rd instalment (May) | 7 May 2026 |
These dates apply under the standard uplift method and ratio method. If you use AIM (Accounting Income Method) software, you pay when you file each period’s accounting data — typically monthly or two-monthly.
Calculating Your Provisional Tax
Under the standard uplift method, each instalment is one-third of 105% of your prior year’s residual income tax (or 110% if you are two years ago’s RIT is used). Under the estimation method, you estimate what your current year’s RIT will be and pay one-third of that at each instalment.
Getting instalments significantly wrong can trigger use-of-money interest (UOMI) on underpaid amounts. IRD charges interest at 10.96% per annum on underpayments (as of the 2025-26 year). Credit interest is paid to taxpayers at 2.31% per annum on overpayments.
Terminal Tax
Terminal tax is the final top-up payment for the 2025-26 year — the difference between what you have already paid in provisional tax and what you actually owe.
| Situation | Terminal tax due date |
|---|---|
| Standard (no agent) | 7 February 2027 |
| Filed through a tax agent | 7 April 2027 |
If your actual tax liability for 2025-26 is less than your provisional tax payments, IRD will refund the overpayment — usually by direct credit to your bank account.
GST Filing Dates
GST filing frequency depends on your turnover:
| Filing frequency | Eligibility | Return and payment due |
|---|---|---|
| Two-monthly (bimonthly) | Most businesses | Last day of the month following the period end |
| Six-monthly | Taxable supplies under $500k/year | 28 November and 28 May |
| Monthly | Taxable supplies over $24m or voluntary | Last day of the following month |
Key GST periods ending during the 2025-26 tax year (two-monthly filers):
| Period end | Return and payment due |
|---|---|
| 30 April 2025 | 28 June 2025 |
| 30 June 2025 | 28 August 2025 |
| 31 August 2025 | 28 October 2025 |
| 31 October 2025 | 29 December 2025 |
| 31 December 2025 | 28 February 2026 |
| 28 February 2026 | 30 April 2026 |
PAYE Employer Obligations
Employers filing PAYE are on their own schedule, but key dates affecting the 2025-26 year include:
- Payday filing: Employers must file employment information with IRD within two working days (for electronic filers) of each payday throughout the year
- Employer monthly schedule: Small employers using paper filing submit by the 20th of the following month
KiwiSaver and Employee Contributions
- KiwiSaver and PAYE contributions are remitted to IRD on the same payday schedule as PAYE filing
- Government contribution payment for the 2025-26 KiwiSaver year (1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026): IRD pays by 15 August 2026
FBT (Fringe Benefit Tax)
| FBT period | Return due |
|---|---|
| Quarter ended 31 March 2026 | 31 May 2026 |
| Annual (if applicable) | 31 May 2026 |
Late Filing and Late Payment Penalties
Late filing penalties
If you are required to file and miss the deadline, IRD charges initial late filing penalties:
| RIT range | Penalty |
|---|---|
| RIT under $50,000 | $250 |
| RIT $50,000 – $100,000 | $500 |
| RIT over $100,000 | $1,000 |
A further incremental penalty may apply if the return remains outstanding for more than one month.
Late payment penalties
Late payments incur:
- 1% penalty on the day after the due date
- 4% penalty on the amount remaining unpaid seven days after the due date
- 1% per month ongoing penalty on the amount still owing each month
These stack up quickly. On a $10,000 underpayment, you would owe $100 on day two, a further $396 at day seven, and then approximately $100 per month thereafter — in addition to use-of-money interest.
Planning Tips
- Diarise all three provisional tax dates — missing the August date is the most common oversight because it falls early in the year
- Review your prior-year RIT in April — determine whether your income has grown significantly, which may mean the standard uplift underestimates your liability
- Register with a tax agent before 31 January — this gives you access to the extended return deadline of 31 March 2027
- Set up direct debit — IRD’s direct debit facility means you can schedule provisional tax payments in advance so deadlines are met automatically
Summary
Key dates at a glance for the 2025-26 year:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2025 | 2025-26 tax year begins |
| 28 August 2025 | 1st provisional tax instalment due |
| 15 January 2026 | 2nd provisional tax instalment due |
| 31 March 2026 | 2025-26 tax year ends |
| 7 May 2026 | 3rd provisional tax instalment due |
| 7 July 2026 | IR3 standard return due date |
| 15 August 2026 | KiwiSaver government contribution paid |
| 7 February 2027 | Terminal tax due (no agent) |
| 31 March 2027 | IR3 extended return due (tax agent clients) |
| 7 April 2027 | Terminal tax due (agent clients) |