Gifting Calculator NZ
This calculator shows how gifting money in New Zealand could affect a future application for the Residential Care Subsidy. There is no gift duty here, so you can gift money freely without tax, but the means assessment can add gifts above set allowances back into your assets, particularly gifting made in the years immediately before you apply. You enter the annual amount you plan to gift, the number of years you intend to gift for, the annual gifting amount currently allowed in the recent assessment period, and the length of that recent period in years. The calculator totals everything you have gifted, works out how much of your recent gifting sits within the allowed annual limit, and shows how much of the excess could be added back to your assets if you were assessed today. Alongside these figures you get a plain-English result telling you whether your gifting looks to be within the allowed levels or whether some may be counted back. Use it to test different gifting patterns before committing, particularly if you or a parent are gifting assets while an aged-care application is a realistic possibility. The allowable limits and the length of the assessment period are set by the rules and do change, so check the current figures and get advice before relying on this for real financial or care planning. An indicative estimate only.
There is no gift duty in New Zealand. But the Residential Care Subsidy means assessment can add back gifts above the allowed levels, with a tighter limit in the years just before applying. The limits are set by the rules and change, so confirm the current figures and get advice. Estimate only.
How it works
The calculator totals your gifting over the years, then compares it against the allowed gifting in the recent period before a residential care application. Gifts above the allowed annual level in that period, and large historic gifts, can be added back to your assets in the means assessment. The result is an indicative view of how much might be counted back, to highlight whether your gifting could affect a future subsidy.
Worked example
Gifting $10,000 a year for 5 years is $50,000. If the allowed gifting in the recent period is $7,000 a year, then $3,000 a year of that, about $15,000, could be added back as assets in a care assessment. This is why gifting to qualify for the subsidy can be unwound, and advice matters.
Related calculators
- Aged Care Means Test Calculator: the care subsidy test.
- Helping Children Buy Calculator: gifting a deposit.
- Estate Value Calculator: your estate.