{"id":1678,"date":"2023-03-14T21:50:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T08:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2023-05-25T14:17:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T02:17:50","slug":"your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Your first tax year as a freelancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

For an employed person, paying tax is a minor concern because the payroll department takes care of it. Also, end-of-year returns for employees are a doddle because the My IR site steps\u00a0 employed people through it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With self-employment, the onus is on you to calculate and pay tax when it\u2019s due. And it\u2019s not done every month \u2013 it\u2019ll be at the end of the tax year or in three installments, as provisional tax. There\u2019s GST to think about too, if you earn enough from freelancing to register for GST.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Easing into freelancing with side gigs<\/h3>\n

Being able to support yourself with freelancing involves gathering up enough regular clients to provide a steady stream of work. That doesn\u2019t happen overnight, so many newbie freelancers keep their day job and work their freelance gigs in their own time. Exhausting, but worth it if your goal is professional freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For a side hustle, it\u2019s best to bank the income into a separate account. It\u2019ll make EOFY (end of financial year) accounting easier. Keep in mind that the money going into the account hasn\u2019t been taxed, so around a third of it shouldn\u2019t be available for spending. You could set up an extra account called \u2018tax\u2019 and put a third of all your side-gig income into it for paying tax when it\u2019s due.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After March 31(and before 7 July), you need to file a return (IR3) that declares all sources of income and tax already paid (from your salaried work). That return will reveal how much extra tax you need to pay for your side gigs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your income from freelancing on the side reaches $60,000 you\u2019ll need to register for GST. More about that below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read an article about <\/span>freelancing on the side.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jumping into freelancing cold turkey<\/h3>\n

Cutting ties with your employer and launching into full-time freelancing is a bold move, but many people manage the transition successfully. Hopefully you\u2019ll have a cushion of savings stashed away to help you along while your business picks up steam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your first year of freelancing is likely to be a partial year, unless you timed your start for 1 April (the official beginning of the NZ tax year). During this year there\u2019s no tax to pay as you go, however you should keep around 30% of your income untouched because Inland Revenue are going to want it at some point. As soon as your freelancing income hits $60,000 you\u2019ll need to register for GST \u2013 keep reading to find out how.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Registering for GST<\/h3>\n

You need to register for GST if you\u2019re a self-employed individual earning more than $60,000 a year. The self-employed individual category includes freelancers, contractors and sole traders, as well as wage and salary earners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you join Afirmo, getting registered for GST is easy. We\u2019ll walk you through the process and make it happen with our easy online tax tools. Alternatively, you can do it yourself using the Inland Revenue website or pay an accountant to do it for you.\u00a0 See our <\/span>guide to registering for GST in New Zealand.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Order of events for your first tax year as a freelancer<\/b><\/h3>\n

Whether you\u2019ve worked a part or full financial year, a whole string of events starts to roll out after March 31, the official end of the tax year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

31 March \u2013 End of first financial year<\/h4>\n

Once this date has ticked over, it\u2019s time to complete your individual tax return \u2013 IR3. This gives you the chance to declare income from self-employment. Inland Revenue will already know about taxed income received during the year from salary and wages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7 July \u2013 File tax return for first financial year<\/h4>\n

The last date for filing your IR3 is 7 July, so don\u2019t forget. If the tax return shows you owe more than $5,000 in tax you will have to start paying provisional tax going forward. <\/span>Read more about provisional tax.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 If you owe less than $5,000 in tax, provisional tax doesn\u2019t apply and you can continue paying tax in one lump (dates for that to follow).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

28 August \u2013 Provisional tax instalment #1<\/h4>\n

On this date you pay your first instalment of provisional tax for your second financial year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

15 January \u2013 Provisional tax instalment #2<\/h4>\n

On this date you pay your second instalment of provisional tax for your second financial year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7 February – Tax payment for your first financial year \u2013 no tax agent<\/h4>\n

If you did your tax return yourself, with no help from an accountant or a service like Afirmo, the tax for your first financial year is due now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

31 March \u2013 End of your second financial year<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s time for another tax return \u2013 IR3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7 April \u2013 Tax payment for your first financial year\u00a0 – tax agent involved<\/h4>\n

If you completed\u00a0 your tax return with help from an accountant or a service like Afirmo, the tax for your first financial year is due now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7 May \u2013 Provisional tax instalment #3<\/h4>\n

On this date you pay your third instalment of provisional tax for your second financial year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7 July\u00a0 – File tax return for second financial year<\/h4>\n

File end-of-year tax return (IR3) for second year showing actual income and tax still owing or refund due.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still confused or don\u2019t want to think about it?<\/h3>\n

Transitioning into self-employment is hard work, made even harder with all the new dates, rules and tax requirements you have to absorb. If you want to take the easy route and keep your deep thinking for freelance projects, rather than accounting, Afirmo is ready to help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Starter Plan is free, and\u00a0 you can add extra services you need for an annual fee. All up, it\u2019ll cost you much less than working with a chartered accountant. In addition to the tax tools you\u2019ll need, there are tools for money management, marketing, sales and insurance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For an employed person, paying tax is a minor concern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-and-tax","category-starting-a-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYour first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For an employed person, paying tax is a minor concern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afirmo NZ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brendan Wilde\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brendan Wilde\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brendan Wilde\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/person\/7296591f4ef3162522de4fc3ef08730a\"},\"headline\":\"Your first tax year as a freelancer\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\"},\"wordCount\":971,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Money & tax\",\"Starting a business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\",\"name\":\"Your first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Your first tax year as a freelancer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/\",\"name\":\"Afirmo NZ\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Afirmo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Afirmo_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Afirmo_Logo.png\",\"width\":2001,\"height\":413,\"caption\":\"Afirmo\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/person\/7296591f4ef3162522de4fc3ef08730a\",\"name\":\"Brendan Wilde\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/organiksearch.nz\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Your first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Your first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ","og_description":"For an employed person, paying tax is a minor concern","og_url":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/","og_site_name":"Afirmo NZ","article_published_time":"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Brendan Wilde","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brendan Wilde","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/"},"author":{"name":"Brendan Wilde","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/person\/7296591f4ef3162522de4fc3ef08730a"},"headline":"Your first tax year as a freelancer","datePublished":"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/"},"wordCount":971,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg","articleSection":["Money & tax","Starting a business"],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/","url":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/","name":"Your first tax year as a freelancer | Afirmo NZ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-14T08:50:13+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-25T02:17:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/man-597178_1280.jpg","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/resources\/your-first-tax-year-as-a-freelancer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your first tax year as a freelancer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/","name":"Afirmo NZ","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#organization","name":"Afirmo","url":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Afirmo_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Afirmo_Logo.png","width":2001,"height":413,"caption":"Afirmo"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/marketingwebsite.afirmo.com\/nz\/#\/schema\/person\/7296591f4ef3162522de4fc3ef08730a","name":"Brendan Wilde","sameAs":["https:\/\/organiksearch.nz\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afirmo.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}