How to register for GST in NZ

Q: How much do you have to earn before you pay GST in NZ?

GST registration becomes compulsory once your turnover passes $60,000 in any 12-month period. Turnover means total sales, not profit.

Q: How do I register for GST in New Zealand?

Register through myIR. Log in with your IRD number, select GST registration, and provide your start date, expected turnover, filing frequency and accounting basis. You also need a bank account for refunds.

Q: How long does it take to get a GST number?

GST registration through myIR is usually processed within one working day. For sole traders the GST number is generally the existing IRD number.

Q: Can I register for GST voluntarily below $60,000?

Yes, voluntary GST registration is allowed below the threshold. It generally suits businesses selling to other GST-registered businesses, and generally does not suit businesses selling to households.

Q: What happens if I register for GST late?

Inland Revenue can backdate your registration to the date you were required to register, meaning GST is owed on past sales that never included it. That amount comes out of income already received.

Q: Do I have to charge GST on every sale once registered?

Once registered you charge 15% GST on your taxable supplies. A small number of categories are zero-rated or exempt, including exports, most financial services and residential rent.

Last updated 10 September 2026

The short answer: you must register once your turnover passes $60,000 in any 12-month period, or as soon as you expect it to over the next 12 months. Registration is done in myIR, takes about ten minutes, and is usually processed within a working day. Below the threshold it is your choice.

The threshold, precisely

Turnover means your total sales, not your profit: a builder billing $70k a year with $30k of materials is over the threshold, even though the money they actually live on is well under it.

The “any 12-month period” part catches people out — it's a rolling window, not the tax year. If a busy nine months puts your trailing 12 months over $60k, that's the trigger, in March or in November alike. It also works forwards: if you sign a contract today that you know will take you past $60,000 within the year, the obligation starts now, not when the money arrives.

How to register, step by step

Log in to myIR. If you have never used it, you register for myIR first with your IRD number — that part can take a day or two, so do it before you are close to the deadline.
Choose to register for GST from your account's list of registrations.
Give your start date. This is the date you become registered, and from that date every sale carries 15%. Choose the start of a period rather than the middle of one if you can.
State your expected turnover for the next 12 months. An honest estimate is what is being asked for.
Pick your filing frequency — six-monthly, two-monthly or monthly. Two-monthly is the usual answer.
Pick your accounting basis — payments, invoice or hybrid. Under $2 million of turnover the payments basis is available and is much kinder to cash flow.
Give a bank account for refunds.

Both of the choices in steps 5 and 6 can be changed later, and both are explained properly in filing frequency and the payments vs invoice basis.

What registering actually changes

You charge 15% on top. A $100 job becomes $115 — you're collecting the extra $15 for IRD, not keeping it. Whether your customers care depends on who they are: GST-registered businesses claim it straight back and won't blink, but for households your effective price just went up 15% overnight.
You claim GST back on expenses. Tools, materials, fuel, the work ute — the GST you pay on business costs comes back to you in your return. On a materials-heavy trade this is worth real money and is the main argument for registering early.
You file GST returns. Every period, on time, including nil returns in a quiet period. The due dates are here.
Your invoices change. GST number shown, GST amount clear — see our invoicing guide for the details.

Should you register voluntarily?

It comes down to one question: who are your customers?

Mostly businesses — register. They claim the GST back, so your price is unchanged from their point of view, and you start claiming back the GST on everything you buy. Being registered can also read as more established to commercial clients.
Mostly households — usually wait. Your price rises 15% against unregistered competitors, or you absorb it and take 13% less. Either way you have added returns to your year for a worse margin.

A useful test: add up the GST on a typical year of your materials, tools and fuel. If that number is larger than the price sensitivity of your customers, registering early pays. For a sparky buying $20,000 of cable and fittings, that's roughly $2,600 a year you are currently donating.

If you're near the line

Watch your rolling 12-month total, and register before you cross rather than after — register late and IRD can treat you as registered from the date you should have been, meaning GST owed on sales you never added it to and cannot now collect. That money comes out of income you have already spent.

Once you know the GST inside any price, checking your numbers is arithmetic — our free GST calculator does it both directions. And while you are still under the threshold, invoicing without a GST number covers what to leave off.

Common questions

How much do you have to earn before you pay GST in NZ?

$60,000 of turnover in any 12-month period. Turnover means total sales, not profit — a builder billing $70,000 with $30,000 of materials is over the threshold even though far less than $60,000 ends up as income.

How do I register for GST in New Zealand?

Through myIR. Log in, choose to register for GST, and give your start date, your expected turnover, your filing frequency and your accounting basis. You need an IRD number and a bank account for refunds. The form takes about ten minutes if you have decided the answers beforehand.

How long does it take to get a GST number?

Usually very quickly — often the same working day through myIR, and within a few days at most. For a sole trader the GST number is generally your existing IRD number, so there is often no new number to wait for at all.

Can I register for GST voluntarily below $60,000?

Yes. It is worth it when your customers are mostly GST-registered businesses — they claim the GST back and do not care, while you start claiming GST back on tools, materials and fuel. It is usually not worth it when your customers are households, because you become 15% more expensive or 13% poorer.

What happens if I register for GST late?

IRD can treat you as registered from the date you should have been. That means GST is owed on sales you never added it to, and you cannot realistically go back to those customers for it — so it comes out of money you have already banked and spent. Register before you cross the line, not after.

Do I have to charge GST on every sale once registered?

On essentially every sale you make in the course of your business, yes, at 15%. A few categories are zero-rated or exempt — exported goods and services, most financial services, residential rent — but for ordinary trade and services work the answer is simply yes, on everything.

Whichever side of the line you're on

PayMint handles both: set your GST status once and every invoice is right — 15% added and shown properly if you're registered, no GST mentioned anywhere if you're not. When you do register, it's one switch in Settings, and the GST report gives you the payments-basis numbers for your return.

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Related guides

General information, not tax advice. Thresholds and rules are IRD's — check ird.govt.nz or ask an accountant about your specific situation.