Full source list for Do I need to register for GST — and how does it work if I do?
Ten numbered references for /wayfinder/refs/gst-registration:
1. GST registration threshold: $60,000 of taxable supplies in any 12-month period (rolling), per section 51 of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985. The threshold applies on a rolling 12-month basis — it does not reset each financial year. The $60,000 operates under two independent tests, either of which triggers registration: a retrospective test (taxable turnover in the previous 12 months has exceeded $60,000) and a prospective test (reasonable grounds to believe turnover in the next 12 months will exceed $60,000).
2. Registration must be completed within 21 days of exceeding the threshold (or of forming a reasonable belief that it will be exceeded) — section 51(2) exact text: "shall apply to the Commissioner in the prescribed form for registration under this Act, within 21 days of becoming so liable." The 21-day period is in calendar days, not working days.
3. Late registration results in IRD backdating the registration date and treating supplies since that date as taxable, with GST owing on them.
4. Filing frequencies under sections 15 and 15B of the GST Act 1985:
5. Accounting basis options under the GST Act:
6. Voluntary deregistration: there is no minimum registration period before a voluntarily-registered person may apply to cancel. Section 52 of the GST Act permits cancellation where the Commissioner is satisfied the person's taxable supplies in the next 12 months will not exceed the $60,000 threshold. IRD guidance (ird.govt.nz/gst/gst-cancellation/when-to-cancel-your-gst-registration) confirms no minimum period is required; cancellation is available once turnover is expected to remain below $60,000, or after 12 months of nil returns. The structural disincentive is the deemed supply on cessation: when a registered person ceases to be registered, business assets retained are treated as supplied at market value immediately before cessation, and GST must be accounted for on that value in the final return. Cancellation is not available while GST is still included in prices (per IRD guidance). The prior claim of a "two-year minimum" has no basis in NZ law; it is a cross-jurisdiction contamination (the two-year rule applies in Singapore).
7. GST rate: 15% since 1 October 2010, set under section 8 of the GST Act 1985. Some supplies are zero-rated (most exports, some financial services to non-residents) under section 11; some are exempt (residential rent, most financial services to residents, donated goods sold by non-profit bodies) under section 14. Zero-rated supplies still count toward the $60,000 registration threshold (they are taxable supplies charged at 0%); exempt supplies do not count toward the threshold (they fall outside the GST system entirely).
8. On-time mandatory registration: where a person applies within the 21-day window after becoming liable under section 51(1), IRD generally sets the registration effective date to when the person first became liable (Standard Practice Statement SPS 18/03). Voluntary registration below the threshold is generally effective from the date of application or another prospective date the Commissioner approves (SPS 18/03).
9. It's not the full 15% — the GST portion of a price that already includes it is 3/23: $130 from every $1,000. The tax fraction is defined in section 2(1) of the GST Act 1985 as r/(100+r) where r is the rate (15), giving 15/115 = 3/23; IRD's method for a GST-inclusive amount is to multiply by 3 and divide by 23.
10. GST paid on goods and services bought before you registered can still be claimed as input tax once you are registered, to the extent they are used to make taxable supplies and you hold the records to support the claim. The adjustment on becoming registered is provided for in section 21B of the GST Act 1985.