Your FIF tax for the year
Enter your foreign shares and funds. We run the $50,000 test on cost, work out fair dividend rate and comparative value side by side, use the lower method you are allowed, and give you the tax and your IR3 boxes. Built from IRD’s guide IR461 and tested against IRD’s worked examples.
The short answer
Worked example for 2025/26: a person with $95,000 of other income holds US and Australian ETFs worth $117,106 at 1 April, with a quick sale on the Australian one. Their cost was over $50,000, so the FIF rules apply. FDR gives $6,189.26 and CV gives $12,305.81, so they use FDR and return $6,189.26 of FIF income. Tax on it is $2,042.37 (taxed on $6,189: IRD drops cents from taxable income), less a $180.88 US tax credit, leaving $1,861.49 to pay. In the IR3: box 17B $6,189.26, box 17A $180.88.
General information, not tax advice; check with your accountant. Everything you type stays in your browser.
Your foreign shares cost $109,810.59 on 20 August 2025, more than $50,000, so the FIF rules apply to all of them for the whole year. Fair dividend rate (FDR) gives the lower figure you can use, so you return $6,189.26 of FIF income.
1 The $50,000 test
| Holder | A person |
| Cost at 1 April | $93,000.00 |
| Highest cost on any day | $109,810.59 (20 August 2025) |
| Threshold | $50,000 |
| Result | In the FIF rules · cost more than the threshold on at least one day |
2 Your holdings in NZ$
Converted with IRD rates: 1 April values at the 31 March end-of-month rate, 31 March values at the end-of-month rate, trades and dividends at that month’s mid-month rate (IR461 p13).
| Holding | 1 April | 31 March | Bought | Sold | Dividends | Foreign tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US shares ETF | $84,063.05 | $98,532.49 | $10,131.71 | $0.00 | $1,205.86 | $180.88 |
| Australian shares ETF | $33,043.29 | $37,738.11 | $6,678.88 | $7,741.03 | $1,005.25 | $0.00 |
| Total | $117,106.34 | $136,270.60 | $16,810.59 | $7,741.03 | $2,211.11 | $180.88 |
3 Fair dividend rate
| 5% of the 1 April value of $117,106.34 | $5,855.32 |
| Peak holding amounts (total) | $333.94 |
| Quick sale gains (total) | $1,229.69 |
| Quick sale adjustment (the lesser) | $333.94 |
| FDR income | $6,189.26 |
4 Comparative value
| US shares ETF | $5,543.59 |
| Australian shares ETF | $6,762.22 |
| Comparative value (total) | $12,305.81 |
| CV income | $12,305.81 |
5 Method used
| Method | Fair dividend rate (FDR) |
FDR ($6,189.26) is lower than CV ($12,305.81), so FDR is used for every holding.
6 Income and tax
| FIF income | $6,189.26 |
| Overseas income for the year | $6,189.26 |
| Your other taxable income | $95,000 |
| Tax rates for | 2025/26 |
Taxed on $6,189: IRD drops cents from taxable income.
| Tax band | Rate | Income in band (whole dollars) | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| $78,100 to $180,000 | 33% | $6,189 | $2,042.37 |
| Tax on this income | $2,042.37 | ||
| Income tax on it | $2,042.37 |
| Less foreign tax credit | −$180.88 |
| Tax to pay | $1,861.49 |
| Holding | Foreign tax paid | Income from it | NZ tax on that income | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US shares ETF | $180.88 | $4,203.15 | $966.57 | $180.88 all of it |
7 Your IR3 return
| Box 17B: total overseas income | $6,189.26 |
| Box 17A: overseas tax paid (as a credit) | $180.88 |
| Question 40: foreign rights disclosure | Check: most people using FDR or CV for under 10% holdings in treaty countries are exempt from a separate disclosure (IR461 p21) |
Overseas income summary (IR1261), one line per income type and country. You may put all FIF income under “Overseas” and keep this page as your supporting report.
| Income type | Country | Income | Tax credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIF income | United States | $4,203.15 | $180.88 |
| FIF income | Australia | $1,986.11 | $0.00 |
If you do need a FIF disclosure, IRD asks for each investment’s name, country and NZ$ value at the start or end of the year:
| Investment | Country | Value 1 April | Value 31 March |
|---|---|---|---|
| US shares ETF | United States | $84,063.05 | $98,532.49 |
| Australian shares ETF | Australia | $33,043.29 | $37,738.11 |
- When you sell part of a holding we reduce its cost for the $50,000 test by the average cost of the shares sold. IRD has not said which method to use, so check this with your accountant.
- We pick the method that gives the lower FIF income, as IRD’s guide IR461 p14 does, not the one that leaves less tax after foreign tax credits.
General information, not tax advice. Check with your accountant.
References
- IR461 Guide to foreign investment funds (April 2026): $50,000 test p9, FDR pp14 to 15, CV p14, currency p13, credits p20
- Income Tax Act 2007 ss CQ 5, EX 46, EX 51, EX 52
- IR3G 2026 pp19 to 23: Question 17, boxes 17A and 17B, IR1261
- IRD overseas currency rates (rates used are listed above)
General information, not tax advice. Check with your accountant before you file.
Made with fifcalculator.co.nz/ on 12 November 2026.
Worked example shown. Change any figure to see your own result (needs JavaScript).
How it works
Five steps, the same as IRD’s
- The $50,000 test. We add up the cost of your foreign shares on every day of the year. More than $50,000 on any day, and all of them are in the rules for the whole year (IR461 p9).
- Exchange rates. We convert with IRD’s published rates, one method for every holding (IR461 p13).
- Fair dividend rate. 5% of your 1 April value, plus a quick sale adjustment for shares bought and sold in the year (s EX 52).
- Comparative value. Your actual gain for the year including dividends; a loss counts as nil (s EX 51).
- The lower method, then tax. A person or family trust uses whichever is lower for all holdings. We tax it at your marginal rate, take off foreign tax credits, and map it to your IR3.
FDR at a glance
FDR tax by 1 April value and tax rate
FDR income is 5% of the opening value. Tax at each marginal rate, before any quick sale adjustment or foreign tax credit. Computed by the engine at build time.
| Value at 1 April | FDR income | 10.5% | 17.5% | 30% | 33% | 39% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $3,000 | $315.00 | $525.00 | $900.00 | $990.00 | $1,170.00 |
| $100,000 | $5,000 | $525.00 | $875.00 | $1,500.00 | $1,650.00 | $1,950.00 |
| $150,000 | $7,500 | $787.50 | $1,312.50 | $2,250.00 | $2,475.00 | $2,925.00 |
| $250,000 | $12,500 | $1,312.50 | $2,187.50 | $3,750.00 | $4,125.00 | $4,875.00 |
| $500,000 | $25,000 | $2,625.00 | $4,375.00 | $7,500.00 | $8,250.00 | $9,750.00 |
Calculators
Every FIF tool
The $50,000 test
Cost, not market value, on any day of the year. Couples, joint holdings, trusts and the 4-year look-back.
Open →Fair dividend rate calculator
5% of your 1 April value plus the full quick sale adjustment, with last in, first out matching.
Open →Comparative value calculator
Closing value plus sales and dividends, less opening value and purchases, with the loss floor and the method choice.
Open →IRD exchange rates for FIF
Inland Revenue’s end-of-month, mid-month and rolling 12-month rates, with a converter.
Open →Under $50,000: dividend tax
Below the threshold your foreign dividends are ordinary income. Tax, foreign tax credit and IR3 boxes.
Open →Is this a FIF?
ASX shares, NZ PIE funds, employee shares, foreign super, crypto: in or out of the rules.
Open →New to New Zealand
Your transitional resident end date, and the revenue account method if you qualify.
Open →Overseas shares or an NZ PIE fund
The same money taxed both ways, side by side. Figures only, no recommendation.
Open →Is the threshold $100,000 yet?
No. Dated status of the lapsed bill, and the proposal on your own figures, marked NOT LAW.
Open →Guides
Read before you file
ASX shares and the FIF exemption: what is exempt and what is not
Shares in an ASX-listed company that is Australian resident and keeps a franking account are exempt from the FIF rules, so they do not count towards your $50,000. Most ASX-listed ETFs are unit trusts, which the company exemption does not cover; a separate, narrower test applies to them.
Read the guide →The comparative value (CV) method for FIF, with buys, sells and dividends
Comparative value taxes your actual gain for the year: closing value plus sale proceeds and dividends, minus opening value and purchases. Individuals and family trusts can use it when it gives lower income than FDR, but a CV loss is reduced to zero.
Read the guide →Under $50,000: how your foreign dividends are taxed
If your foreign shares cost $50,000 or less on every day of the year, the FIF rules do not apply and you are taxed on the dividends you receive, at your own rate. You still report them on an IR3 and can claim a credit for foreign tax withheld, within limits.
Read the guide →Fair dividend rate (FDR) explained, with worked examples
Under the fair dividend rate method your FIF income is 5% of the market value of your foreign shares on 1 April, plus a quick sale adjustment if you bought and sold within the year. Dividends and gains are not taxed separately, and FDR can never produce a loss.
Read the guide →FDR or CV: which FIF method to choose, and who can choose
If you are an individual or a family (type B) trust, you can use comparative value instead of FDR in any year where it gives lower FIF income, but you must use the same method for all your holdings. Companies and most other entities stay on FDR.
Read the guide →The proposed $100,000 FIF threshold: NOT LAW, status at 12 November 2026
The FIF threshold is still $50,000. A bill introduced on 10 September 2026 would raise it to $100,000 from 1 April 2026, but it lapsed when Parliament dissolved and is NOT LAW unless the new Parliament reinstates and passes it.
Read the guide →The $50,000 FIF threshold: cost, any day, couples and trusts
If your foreign shares cost more than $50,000 on any day of the income year, all of them are in the FIF rules for that year. Each person has their own $50,000, and it is measured on cost.
Read the guide →FIF and Hatch: reading the Hatch FIF report for your IR3
The Hatch FIF report works out FDR and CV for your Hatch holdings, including the quick sale adjustment. It does not cover other platforms or work out your tax, and Hatch says holdings transferred in or out can need extra care.
Read the guide →FIF and Interactive Brokers: statements, currencies and your IR3
We found no Interactive Brokers page offering a New Zealand FIF report, so IBKR users usually build their FDR and CV figures from activity statements. Use a 1 April to 31 March custom period, and convert from the original currency at Inland Revenue accepted rates rather than relying on the statement's base currency figures.
Read the guide →FIF and Sharesies: using the FIF report for your IR3
The Sharesies FIF report gives you FDR and CV figures for your Sharesies holdings only. If you hold foreign shares anywhere else, you add each method across every platform and use the lower total, not the lower figure per platform.
Read the guide →FIF and Stake: building your FIF figures from US dollar records
Stake's NZ tax help page names Sharesight for tax reports and does not mention a FIF report. If you are over $50,000, you build the FIF figures yourself from US dollar values, converted at an Inland Revenue accepted rate.
Read the guide →Which exchange rate to use for FIF: IRD mid-month, end-of-month and rolling rates
Pick one exchange rate method, either actual rates (IRD accepts its mid-month rate for each month) or a rolling 12-month average, and use it for all your FIF holdings. Once you use the rolling average you must keep using it. Divide the foreign amount by IRD’s rate.
Read the guide →FIF and children's shares: their own threshold and their own rate
A child who holds foreign shares in their own name is a natural person with their own $50,000 threshold, and is taxed at their own rate, often 10.5%. Shares held in a parent's name for a child are a different question, and trust distributions to under 16s have their own rule.
Read the guide →FIF for couples and joint accounts: how the $50,000 is split
Each person has their own $50,000 threshold, and jointly held shares are split between the owners. A couple holding up to $100,000 of cost jointly, and nothing else, are both under; add shares in one partner's own name and only that partner may go over.
Read the guide →FIF for family trusts: no $50,000 exemption, but a CV choice
Only individuals and a narrow group of "type A" trusts get the $50,000 exemption, and an ordinary family trust is not one of them, so on our reading its foreign shares are in the FIF rules from the first dollar. As a "type B" trust, though, it can use comparative value instead of FDR in a poor year, as an individual can.
Read the guide →How to file FIF income on your IR3: boxes 17A and 17B, IR1261 and Question 40
FIF income goes in box 17B of the IR3 as overseas income, and the foreign tax you can claim goes in box 17A. You also complete the Overseas income summary (IR1261) and answer Question 40 about foreign rights disclosure.
Read the guide →FIF and provisional tax: when FIF income tips you over $5,000
If the tax left to pay on your return is more than $5,000, you pay provisional tax for the next year. FIF income usually has no NZ tax deducted during the year, so a portfolio of around $300,000 to $400,000 or more can tip a salaried investor over the line.
Read the guide →Records to keep for FIF: a checklist for NZ investors
Keep every contract note, your 1 April and 31 March values in NZ dollars, dividends and foreign tax, and a note of the exchange rate method you chose. IRD says to keep tax records for at least 7 tax years.
Read the guide →FIF tax in NZ: the complete guide for 2025/26 and 2026/27
If your foreign shares and funds cost more than $50,000 on any day of the income year, all of them are taxed under the FIF rules, usually on 5% of their 1 April value. Individuals can use comparative value instead in a year it gives less.
Read the guide →Foreign tax credits on FIF income: US withholding, the 15% cap and other limits
You can claim a credit for foreign tax taken from your dividends, but only up to the treaty rate (15% for US portfolio dividends) and only up to the New Zealand tax on that holding’s FIF income. Anything above those limits is lost in New Zealand, and UK dividend tax and Australian franking credits are not creditable.
Read the guide →IR1261 and the FIF disclosure: what to report about your foreign investments
The IR1261 overseas income summary lists your overseas income by type and country and is needed whenever you report overseas income on an IR3. A FIF disclosure is separate: it lists each foreign investment with its value, and most individuals are exempt from it, but not from the IR1261.
Read the guide →New to NZ: transitional residents, the 4-year window and FIF
If you are a transitional resident, the FIF rules do not apply to you at all. The exemption lasts about 4 years: on IRD's wording it ends 4 years after the end of the month you became NZ tax resident, and then your foreign shares come into the rules.
Read the guide →Other FIF methods: cost method, deemed rate of return and attributable FIF income
Most investors use FDR or CV. The cost method is for foreign shares with no available 1 April market value, the deemed rate of return only for certain non-ordinary shares, and attributable FIF income for holdings of 10% or more.
Read the guide →PIE funds versus direct overseas shares: how each is taxed
Overseas shares you hold directly are taxed under the FIF rules at your marginal rate once their cost is over $50,000, with a choice of FDR or CV each year. In an NZ PIE fund, the fund works out the FIF income and pays tax at your PIR of 10.5%, 17.5% or 28%, and the fund does not count towards your $50,000.
Read the guide →The FIF quick sale adjustment, step by step
If you buy shares and sell them again in the same income year, FDR adds a quick sale adjustment. It is the lesser of 5% of the peak extra holding at average cost and your actual gain on those shares, totalled across your portfolio, and never below zero.
Read the guide →The revenue account method (RAM) for new residents: who can use it
The revenue account method taxes dividends plus 70% of the gain when you sell, instead of 5% of value every year. It is current law from 1 April 2025, but only for people who became resident from 1 April 2024 after 5 years away, and mostly only for unlisted shares.
Read the guide →UK pensions in NZ: transfers, the schedule method and scheme pays
A UK pension you joined before moving here is usually taxed in NZ only when you take a lump sum or transfer it, not every year as a FIF. Inside your first 4 years it is generally exempt; after that you include a schedule percentage of the lump sum, rising with each year here.
Read the guide →US 401(k) and IRA accounts in NZ: FIF or foreign super?
IRD has not published guidance naming 401(k) or Roth IRA accounts. It has said IRAs are "likely to be foreign superannuation schemes"; if that is right, an account you joined before moving here is usually taxed when you withdraw or transfer, not every year.
Read the guide →Form W-8BEN for New Zealand investors: 15% instead of 30% on US dividends
A W-8BEN tells a US payer you are not a US person and claims the New Zealand treaty rate, so US tax on your dividends is 15% instead of 30%. It does not change your New Zealand FIF income, but New Zealand only credits 15%, so without one you lose the extra.
Read the guide →What is FIF? New Zealand foreign investment fund tax in plain English
FIF is the way New Zealand taxes most overseas shares and funds once their total cost is over $50,000 on any day of the year. You are taxed each year on a set formula, usually 5% of the 1 April value, rather than on dividends and sale gains.
Read the guide →Questions people ask
Is the FIF threshold $50,000 or $100,000?
$50,000. A bill would have raised it to $100,000 from 1 April 2026, but it lapsed when Parliament dissolved before the 2026 election. It is NOT LAW unless a new government reinstates and passes it.
Is the $50,000 on cost or market value?
Cost. IR461 p5 says the exemption applies if “the total cost of their attributing interests is below $50,000 throughout the year”. Market value does not matter for the test.
If I go over $50,000, is only the excess taxed?
No. It is a cliff. If your cost is more than $50,000 on any day, all your foreign shares are in the FIF rules for the whole year, and the first $50,000 is not exempt (IR461 p9).
Are my dividends taxed as well as FIF income?
Not separately. Under FDR and CV, dividends from FIF shares are not taxed on their own (IR3G p21). Under CV they are part of the gain; under FDR they are covered by the 5%.
Can I pick FDR for some shares and CV for others?
No. A person or family trust can choose CV instead of FDR for a year, but then it applies to every holding (IR461 p14). You can switch between years.
Where does FIF income go in my IR3?
In Question 17: total overseas income in box 17B and overseas tax paid in box 17A, with an Overseas income summary (IR1261). Our result shows both, and you can print it for your accountant.