Tax

All Whai Rawa members who are New Zealand tax residents need to provide Whai Rawa with a New Zealand IRD number, a PIR, and an RSCT rate. If these tax rates aren’t supplied, they will be defaulted to the highest tax rates.
Check you are on the right PIR and RSCT rate here.

Once you have calculated your tax rates you can update them by:
–Logging into your account; or
–Contacting us

If you do not provide your New Zealand IRD number or overseas equivalent tax file number within six (6) weeks of applying, we will not be able to complete your application.

If you are not a NZ tax resident you will get the most benefit by having a NZ IRD number. To ensure our Australian-based whānau receive the maximum value from their Whai Rawa payments from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Whai Rawa can once again assist whānau with getting their NZ IRD number.

To ensure you receive the maximum value from your Whai Rawa distributions from Te Rūnanga, you need to supply us with a NZ IRD number even if you never plan to live in or return to NZ. If you do obtain and supply a NZ IRD number your contributions from Te Rūnanga (matched savings, annual and newborn distributions) will be taxed at the bottom rate of 10.5% which will be fully offset by tax credits Te Rūnanga provides. No NZ IRD number means you will be taxed on Te Rūnanga contributions at the top rate of 39%. This applies to Retirement Scheme Contribution Tax only, your Prescribed Investor Rate will always be the highest rate 28%. However, WRFL will automatically apply a concessionary rate of 10.5% to any contributions of $200 or less.

Whai Rawa have now established a process with IRD to assist Australian-based whānau to obtain their IRD number even if they do not have a fully functioning NZ bank account. The IR742 form below needs to be completed for adults or children to obtain a NZ IRD Number.
Supporting documentation will be necessary and aligns with information required for Whai Rawa membership. This will differ when a parent/guardian is applying on behalf of a child under the age of 16.

The guide below will assist you to complete the application for Whai Rawa to verify and submit the application on your behalf.

Whai Rawa member individual accounts are pooled and invested into a pooled fund – currently the Mercer Investment Trusts New Zealand’s Conservative Fund. This pooled Whai Rawa investment earns a return. Whai Rawa is a Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) and earnings are taxed within the rules relating to PIEs.

The amount of tax you pay is based on your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR). New Zealand tax residents can check their PIR here and contact us to update rates.

Non-New Zealand residents automatically default to a PIR of 28%.

Contributions Te Rūnanga makes to your Whai Rawa account are taxed under the Retirement Scheme Contributions Tax (RSCT) rules at a rate based on your income and / or whether you are a New Zealand resident (Te Rūnanga withholds this tax and pays it on your behalf). You must declare this rate to WRFL. If you do not, Te Rūnanga’s contributions to you will be taxed at the highest rate. If you declare an incorrect rate you may have to pay IRD overdue tax.

New Zealand tax residents can check their RSCT here and contact us to update rates.

For New Zealand resident members who have provided their IRD number and correct RSCT rate, the RSCT deduction is a final tax. This means those members will not be required to pay any further tax on their contributions from Te Rūnanga and will not have to file tax returns in relation to these contributions.

Work out if you are on the correct rate on the RSCT chart below then if required update your rates online or contact us to update your rates. If you are not a NZ tax resident or are unsure whether you are, find out more below.

To ensure you receive the maximum value from your Whai Rawa payments from Te Rūnanga, you need to supply us with a NZ tax number even if you never plan to live in or return to NZ. See Non-NZ Tax Residents above for more information.

If you are based in New Zealand and providing you give us the right IRD number, RSCT, and PIR tax rate information you won’t need to include your Whai Rawa income in any tax returns to Inland Revenue; we’ll make sure the correct amount is deducted from your Te Rūnanga contributions and your earnings.

If you are based overseas, you should seek professional tax advice.

If your tamariki has an IRD number you can find this by following the below steps:

• Login to MYIR https://myir.ird.govt.nz/
• Under the ‘Summary’ tab, scroll down until you see the ‘Working for Families’ tile
• On the right hand side select the ‘Family and income details’ link
• Look for Child’s name and select the link
• You should be able to see their information including name, date of birth and IRD number

Note: If there is no IRD number here you will need to contact IRD to apply for an individual IRD number for your tamariki. Please visit http://www.ird.govt.nz/how-to/irdnumbers/individuals/yourirdnumber.html or call them on 0800 775 247.

For those residing in Australia please review the information above under Non-NZ tax residents to see how we can assist you obtain a New Zealand tax identification number.

It is important to keep your tax rates up to date. If you have had a change in circumstance and need to increase or decrease your PIR or RSCT rates, you can easily update this by logging into your online account or by contacting us directly.

Inland Revenue may instruct Whai Rawa, as your scheme provider, to update your tax information based on the information they hold. So it’s important to ensure your myIR is also kept updated to ensure Inland Revenue also have your correct information.