Get an IRD number and file your first IR3 as a newcomer to New Zealand

Step-by-Step

1. 1

   Decide which IRD-number application route applies

   1. If you are still overseas and need the IRD number before arrival — for example, your employer requires it on day one — choose the offshore IR742 route by email to Inland Revenue.
   2. If you have recently arrived in New Zealand (Australian passport-holders within 4 to 6 weeks of arrival; visa-holders before the final-arrival-date on the visa expires), choose the new-arrival route — it is faster and asks for fewer documents because Inland Revenue verifies your identity through Immigration New Zealand.
   3. If you have been in New Zealand longer than the new-arrival window allows, or you are a New Zealand citizen returning, or you missed the new-arrival window, choose the resident route — physical Category A and Category B identification will need to be verified in person.

   💡 Tip: There is no requirement to hold an IRD number before arrival. The choice between the offshore IR742 and the new-arrival routes is driven by whether a New Zealand employer, bank, or contract needs the number before you land.

2. 2

   Gather the supporting documents for your chosen route

   1. (Applicant — new-arrival route) Passport details, Immigration New Zealand application number (for visa-holders), and home-country tax identification number (where one exists). No physical documents are submitted — identity is verified electronically through the Immigration New Zealand share.
   2. (Applicant — resident route) One Category A document (current New Zealand passport, current overseas passport with New Zealand visa, full New Zealand birth certificate, New Zealand citizenship certificate, New Zealand firearm or dealer licence, New Zealand certificate of identity, refugee travel document, or emergency travel document) plus one Category B document (current New Zealand or overseas driver licence, Kiwi Access Card, HANZ 18+ card, student photo ID, or International Driving Permit). All originals — Inland Revenue is explicit that identification documents must be physical, not digital.
   3. (Applicant — offshore IR742 route) Photo identification, proof of address (utility-company letter), home-country tax identification number, evidence of the reason for applying, and either a fully functioning New Zealand bank account or a completed IR997 customer-due-diligence form. Non-English documents need a certified translation from an approved translator (Waka Kotahi maintains the list).

   ⚠️ Watch out: Where the name on your identification differs from your current legal name (marriage, civil union, deed poll), add a marriage certificate, civil-union certificate, or deed-poll name-change certificate to your bundle — original on the resident route, scanned on the IR742 offshore route.

3. 3

   Lodge the application

   1. (Applicant — new-arrival or resident route, online) Open the Apply for an IRD number link on the relevant Inland Revenue page and step through the guided web form. Tick the consent box that authorises Inland Revenue to verify identity through Immigration New Zealand (this is what enables the streamlined new-arrival processing time).
   2. (Applicant — resident route, paper) Download IR595, complete it, and take it together with the original Category A and Category B documents to an AA Driver Licensing Agent.
   3. (Applicant — offshore IR742 route) Complete IR742 and email it, with scanned supporting documents, to the Inland Revenue address printed on the form.

   💡 Tip: The new-arrival route hinges on the Immigration New Zealand share. If you do not tick the consent box, the application falls back to the resident route — and physical document verification at an AA Driver Licensing Agent will then apply.

4. 4

   Take your documents to an AA Driver Licensing Agent (resident route only)

   You applied online or by paper on the resident route

   1. (Applicant) Locate an AA Centre — not an AA Auto Centre — on the AA's branch list.
   2. (AA Driver Licensing Agent) Inspects each original document, records the verification on the Inland Revenue system, and returns the originals at the counter.
   3. (Applicant) Complete this step within 20 days of lodging the online application. Where no AA Centre is reachable (rural location, medical, accessibility), request verification at an Inland Revenue office instead.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Arriving at an AA Auto Centre with your documents results in a turn-away — AA Auto Centres are the AA's vehicle-servicing branches and do not provide identification verification for Inland Revenue. Locate an AA Centre on the AA's branch list and re-attend; the 20-day window runs from the original application date.

5. 5

   Receive the IRD number and supply it to employers and banks

   1. (Inland Revenue) Issues the IRD number — by text or email within 2 days on the new-arrival route, within 10 working days on the resident online route, within 12 working days on the resident paper IR595 route, and within 20 days on the offshore IR742 route. A postal copy follows within 10 days for new-arrival applicants, or up to a further 20 days for offshore applicants.
   2. (Applicant) Give the IRD number to every employer with a completed IR330 tax-code declaration, and to every New Zealand bank, KiwiSaver provider, and other payer at the start of the relationship.

   💡 Tip: If you do not have an IRD number, tax will be deducted at the non-declaration rate, which is higher than the normal rates. The over-deduction reconciles at year-end through the IR3 or through the automatic income-tax assessment, but the cleanest path is to supply the IRD number with a completed IR330 as soon as the number arrives.

6. 6

   Register for myIR

   1. (Applicant) Open myir.ird.govt.nz and create an account. The IRD number, a verified email address, and a chosen password are required.
   2. (Applicant) Confirm your contact details and add a New Zealand bank account for any future refunds.
   3. (Applicant) myIR is where you will see the automatic income-tax assessment, file the IR3, update tax codes, manage KiwiSaver, claim refunds, and communicate with Inland Revenue.
7. 7

   Wait for the tax year to end (31 March)

   1. The New Zealand tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Returns for a given tax year cannot be filed before 1 April of the following year.
   2. (Applicant) Keep records as the year progresses — bank-interest statements, dividend statements, self-employment ledgers, rental ledgers, donation receipts, and records of overseas income for categories that are not exempt under the transitional-resident exemption.
8. 8

   Confirm whether an IR3 is required

   1. (Applicant) Log in to myIR and check the income-tax assessment status.
   2. (Inland Revenue) Pre-populates an automatic assessment for taxpayers whose only income is salary or wages with PAYE correctly withheld.
   3. (Applicant) If any of the IR3-triggering circumstances apply — more than NZ$200 of untaxed income, self-employment, rental income, untaxed overseas income, a change in residency status during the year (the typical first-year scenario), or a direct request from Inland Revenue — myIR surfaces a task to complete the IR3.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Where the only New Zealand income for the year was salary or wages with PAYE correctly withheld and no other untaxed income exists, no IR3 is required and the automatic assessment is the final document — Inland Revenue does not auto-generate the IR3 for taxpayers who do need to file, the myIR task is the signal.

9. 9

   Complete the IR3 in myIR

   1. (Applicant) Check the auto-populated lines — salary and PAYE deducted, bank interest and resident-withholding tax, dividends and imputation credits, KiwiSaver contributions, portfolio-investment-entity income — against your own payslips and statements, and correct any discrepancies.
   2. (Applicant) Add income that is not pre-filled — self-employment, contract income, rental income, overseas employment, foreign investment income that is not exempt — using the supporting schedules (IR3R rental, IR10 financial-statements summary, IR3B business income, IR3F farming income, IR1261 overseas-income summary, IR833 property sales).
   3. (Applicant) Enter the date your New Zealand tax residency began. This sets the part-year split: NZ-source income only for the pre-residency portion of the year; worldwide non-exempt income for the residency portion.
   4. (Applicant — transitional residents) For foreign-sourced employment and foreign-sourced services income, declare on the IR3. For other foreign-sourced income (overseas dividends, interest, rental, FIF income, royalties, foreign superannuation withdrawals), the transitional-resident exemption applies — these are not included on the IR3 during the four-year window.
   5. (Applicant) Claim allowable deductions and credits — donation tax credits via IR526, independent-earner tax credit where eligible, and other applicable items. Retain donation receipts.

   💡 Tip: Full-year non-residents file an IR3NR (not an IR3). Part-year residents — the typical first-year newcomer pattern — file an IR3. Filing the wrong form results in a return that does not match the declared residency status, and Inland Revenue typically returns it for correction.

10. 10

    Submit the IR3 and meet the deadline

    1. (Applicant) Review the calculated tax position in myIR, then submit. The system generates a notice of assessment confirming the tax liability or refund.
    2. (Inland Revenue) Issues a payment notice where tax is owed, with the terminal-tax due date — 7 February of the following calendar year without an extension, or 7 April with a tax-agent extension. Refunds are paid by direct credit to the bank account registered in myIR.
    3. (Applicant) The IR3 must be filed by 7 July following the end of the tax year, unless a registered tax agent has linked your account to their list before 31 March of the tax year — that extension typically shifts the deadline to 31 March of the following calendar year.

    ⚠️ Watch out: Filing after 7 July without an extension exposes you to late-filing penalties and use-of-money interest on any tax owed. Voluntary disclosure before Inland Revenue raises the issue reduces penalty exposure. A taxpayer who engages a tax agent only after the year ends typically does not benefit from the 31 March extension and must file by 7 July.