Any person making gifts with a total value of over $12,000 in any 12-month period must complete a Gift Statement and forward it to the IRD. Any person who gives gifts of more than $27,000 in a year is liable to pay gift duty.
For gift duty purposes, a gift is something given:
- when nothing is received in return, or
- when something is received in return, but its value is less than the value of the property given.
If something of lesser value is given in return for a gift, the value of the gift, for gift duty purposes, is the difference between the two values.
These items can all be gifts:
- transfers of any items (for example, company shares or land)
- any form of payment
- creation of a trust
- a forgiveness or reduction of debt
- allowing a debt to remain outstanding so that it can't be collected by normal legal action
The table below outlines the rates of gift duty. For more information on Gift Duty see the IRD website.
| Value of Gift |
Duty Payable |
| 0 to $27,000 |
NIL |
| $27,001 to $36,000 |
5% of value over $27,000 |
| $36,001 to $54,000 |
$450 plus 10% of value over $36,000 |
| $54,001 to $72,000 |
$2,250 plus 20% of value over $54,000 |
| Over $72,000 |
$5,850 plus 25% of value over $72,000 |
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