TAX • 7 APRIL 2025 • 5 MIN READ

GST - special transactions

SECTIONS

Zero-rated supplies

Exempt supplies

Digital service providers

Donations and koha

GST on land (property) transactions

Reminder

You may have encountered some transactions where you weren’t sure about the GST treatment. If you haven’t (yet), you may in the future.

The transactions explained in this article are ones that may require special attention. They are the most common situations we see, but by no means is this a comprehensive list.

GST can be a minefield, so if you’re unsure about any aspect, please contact your accountant.

Zero-rated supplies

Zero-rated supplies are still subject to GST, but at a rate of 0%, not 15%. This is different to exempt supplies which are not subject to GST at all.

Imported and exported goods

The most common reasons for having zero-rated supplies are the importation and exportation of goods.

When selling overseas, your invoice needs to show GST at 0%. This applies to online sales as well, but you must keep documentation which proves that the customer was overseas at the time of sale. These sales must still be disclosed on your GST return.
If you purchase overseas goods, you cannot claim GST on the supplier’s invoice. Customs may charge import duty and/or an Import Transaction Fee which are both tax-deductible expenses. They will also charge you GST which you can claim back via your GST return. It’s not a straight-forward entry, so feel free to contact your accountant (or Beany support if you're a client) for assistance.
Australian invoices may have a separate line showing GST, but you cannot claim this either.

Sale of a business (going concern)

There are three ways of selling a business:

Selling the business assets: you must pay GST on the sale price of assets sold.
If the business is a company, you can sell the shares: no GST impact.
Selling the business as a going concern*: if the seller and purchaser are both GST-registered, the sale can be zero-rated. This means the seller does not need to pay GST on the sale price, and the purchase cannot claim GST on the purchase.

All sale and purchase agreements need to be carefully worded. Before signing anything we strongly recommend you have the agreement reviewed by a lawyer and accountant. If certain aspects are not addressed or unclear, the repercussions could be disastrous.

* A going concern is where the business’ normal operations continue after the sale. The customer may not know the business has changed hands.

Example – selling business assets vs a going concern

If a farmer sells his farm, including house, land, sheds, livestock, plant and equipment. This is a going concern and can be zero-rated if the purchaser is registered for GST. He’s sold a farming operation.

If he only sold the land and house but kept everything else, the farming business has not been sold. It’s just the sale of assets. These assets may be subject to GST (see our section on land sales below).

Services performed outside New Zealand

An example of this could be a New Zealand newspaper using a third-party publishing company which is based overseas. The newspaper cannot claim GST on its payments to the reporter.

Exempt supplies

Exempt supplies are not subject to GST. They’re not zero-rated, GST just doesn’t apply. A slightly cynical way of looking at it, is that as the customer you don’t actually receive any goods or services. Examples of these are:

Bank charges
Interest received or paid
Penalties and fines
Certain financial planning fees
Mortgages and other loans
Residential rental property income and expense
Sale of a residential rental property

Digital service providers

We assume that businesses supplying remote services such as digital content, apps, software, subscriptions, and website design, receive more than $60,000 from sales to New Zealand customers. They are therefore legally required to register for GST in New Zealand and charge GST.

New rules came into place in 2023 regarding these types of businesses and GST. Read our article about GST on remote services (also known as 'Netflix' tax) for more info.

Donations and koha

If a GST-registered organisation receives a donation with no strings attached, it is not subject to GST. By “no strings attached”, we mean that the person donating has done so voluntarily and expects nothing in return.

However, if it sells goods (fund-raising activities for example) or performs services (this could be a tour), GST must be applied and declared with Inland Revenue.

Businesses donating to other organisations cannot claim GST on this expense.

GST on land (property) transactions

Ask any tax specialist and they’ll have a horror story in their ‘land tax gone bad’ file. We’ve seen more than our fair share of disasters and usually the conversation starts with, “I’ve just signed an unconditional contract and the real estate agent/best friend/someone I met in the pub who does this all the time [delete as applicable] tells me that everything’s fine”.

No.

No disrespect here to real estate agents, but land tax is an extremely complicated area and even accountants get this wrong from time to time. One of the key issues is that what might work for one client does not work for another because of different scenarios.

Inland Revenue has a good “yes/no” flow diagram which is extremely helpful. They have a disclaimer though, in the small print:

"Disclaimer: This flowchart is a guide only and cannot be relied upon or substituted for professional advice. Nothing in this flowchart is binding on Inland Revenue. Leases aren’t covered. If there are other items included in the sale, please consult a tax advisor."

We cannot emphasise this enough. If you’re signing a sale and purchase agreement, take 10 seconds to consider this – should I just run this past my accountant? If it’s anything but buying the family home*, the answer is always yes. The cost of getting this wrong can be HUGE.

* and even then, we still suggest you seek professional advice.

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Reminder

If you are not registered for GST, you cannot add 15% GST when selling a good or performing a service. Remember that the other person cannot claim the GST on the expense.
If you receive goods and services from an unregistered business, you cannot claim GST even if you are registered (except if they’re second-hand goods).

Handy Resource: use our GST calculator to calculate GST inclusive and exclusive prices.

Who are Beany?

Beany are accountants for ambitious businesses. Delivering big firm expertise without the big cost, we take care of all annual work including financial statements and tax returns, along with day-to-day bookkeeping. And we love to work on more complex concerns such as strategic forecasting, financial insights, buying or selling a business and all things accounting related. With Beany, we help people make smarter decisions for their business and lifestyle through our responsive, friendly expertise. Book a call today to discuss how we can help your business.