FIF Rules Explained Calculator

This calculator explains New Zealand's foreign investment fund, or FIF, rules in plain terms and compares the two main methods so you can see which gives you the lower taxable income. Once the cost of your offshore shares passes the fifty thousand dollar de minimis threshold, you must calculate FIF income each year, and for most individual investors that means choosing between two methods. The fair dividend rate, or FDR, simply taxes you on five percent of the market value of your shares at the start of the year, no matter what they actually did. The comparative value, or CV, method taxes your actual economic return for the year, being the change in value plus any distributions. The clever part is that individuals can use whichever method gives the lower income, and because FIF income cannot be negative, a flat or falling year under CV can produce little or no taxable income, while a strong year is usually better under FDR. You enter your shares' opening and closing market values, the dividends received, and your marginal tax rate, and the calculator works out the income under each method, the lower figure you would use, and the tax on it. Use it to understand the rules and estimate your FIF tax. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm with IRD or an accountant.

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Individuals may use the lower of FDR and CV; FIF income cannot be negative. Only applies if foreign shares cost over $50,000. General information, not tax advice.