What Counts as Income for the NZ Rates Rebate?

The Income Year That Matters

The 2026/27 rates rebate uses your gross pre-tax income from the preceding tax year: 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Not the current year. Not your last financial year-end if it differs from the standard tax year.

This catches out more first-time applicants than any other rule. They gather current payslips or recent bank statements, fill in the form and get rejected or receive a lower rebate because the figures are wrong.

Your IRD Income Summary (or Tax Summary) for the year ended 31 March 2026 is the primary document. Request it from myIR if you don't have one.

Income That Counts (Gross, Pre-Tax)

Every dollar of pre-tax income from these sources is included for both the ratepayer and their spouse or partner who ordinarily lived at the property on 1 July 2026:

• NZ Superannuation and Veteran's Pension
• Work and Income benefits — Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Supported Living Payment
• Gross wages, salaries and overtime
• Employer-funded pensions
• Net profit from self-employment or rental property (before tax)
• ACC earnings compensation
• Bank interest and term deposit interest — this is a frequent surprise for pensioners with savings accounts
• Share dividends and managed fund distributions
• Overseas pensions — UK State Pension, Australian Age Pension, any other foreign pension

Overseas pensions count as gross income. If you receive a foreign pension, gather the annual statement showing the gross amount and ask your council how it wants foreign-currency amounts reported.

Income That's Excluded

Not everything counts. The following statutory exceptions are specifically carved out:

• Disability Allowance and Accommodation Supplement
• Family Tax Credit and Working for Families payments
• War disablement pensions and war widow's benefits
• Capital receipts — proceeds from selling property or assets
• Insurance claim payouts and funeral grants
• Lottery prizes, winnings and Bonus Bond payouts
• Monetary decorations or honour payments

These exclusions are built into the Rates Rebate Act 1973. If you receive any of them, don't include them on your application — they'll inflate your income figure and reduce your rebate.

Whose Income Counts?

Only two people's income matters: the ratepayer and their spouse or partner who ordinarily lived at the property on 1 July 2026.

Income from these household members is not counted:

• Adult children living at home
• Flatmates or boarders
• Non-partner family members (siblings, parents, grandchildren)

This distinction matters for multigenerational households. An adult child earning $80,000 who lives with their pensioner parents doesn't affect the parents' rebate eligibility at all.

The Partner Income Rule

If your spouse or partner ordinarily lived at the property on 1 July 2026, their full gross income must be declared — even if you keep finances completely separate.

There's an established legal precedent on this. A ratepayer argued that a Section 21 Contracting-Out Agreement under the Property (Relationships) Act meant their partner's income shouldn't count, since the partner had no legal interest in the dwelling. The Ombudsman upheld the DIA's position: property relationship agreements govern property division, not the statutory definition of income under the Rates Rebate Act. If your partner ordinarily lived at the property on 1 July 2026, their income is included. Full stop.

Getting Your Documents Together

For a clean application, gather:

• IRD Income Summary for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
• Bank interest certificates from every bank and financial institution
• Overseas pension annual statements (gross amount; ask your council how it wants foreign-currency amounts reported)
• Work and Income benefit statements (or sign the consent on the form for the council to verify directly)
• Self-employment accounts, IR3B or IR10 showing net profit
• Dividend statements from share registries or fund managers

The Rates Rebates in New Zealand guide includes an income document organiser aligned specifically to the 2025/26 tax year — so you can check off each source, total the figures and transfer them to the application form without missing anything.

See more New Zealand guides →