2025 EOY Tax Tips and Annual Checklist

As we approach the end of another financial year, it's a great time to reflect on the past 12 months and plan ahead for a strong start to the 2026 financial year. To help you wrap up 2025 with confidence, we've put together key insights and practical tips to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Below you'll find essential end-of-year tax tips, along with our annual checklist and authorisation to help you stay on top of compliance. We've also outlined important tax updates taking effect from 1 April 2025. Beyond tax, we're looking at the bigger picture - exploring the current economic landscape and strategies for business growth, as well as sharing insights from Atomic Habits on how small, consistent changes can lead to lasting success.

END OF YEAR TAX TIPS

Debtors/Bad Debts

Review your debtors and determine if any are unlikely to be recovered and should be written off. For the unrecoverable income to not be taxable, it must be physically written off your ledger prior to 31 March 2025.

Log Book / Vehicle Expenses

Make sure you are keeping a log book or record of vehicle expenses if you use a personal car for business use. Please include this when compiling your EOY information.

Fixed Assets

Do you have any assets that are no longer in use or are surplus? Now’s the perfect time to review your fixed asset schedule, and write off or sell your obsolete assets. Please contact us if you would like a copy of your asset schedule.

Stock Take

As a reminder, if you hold stock of more than $10,000, a stock take will be required at 31 March 2025. When completing the stock take please provide us with the GST exclusive figure.  

Pre-pay expenses

Think about any upcoming business expenses you may have, such as a re-stock of office supplies or new equipment. Depending on their value, if purchased prior to 31 March we can claim these costs now to help minimise your tax bill. 

Home Office

If you work from home, a portion of your home expenses can be claimed as a business expense. If this is the case for you, please provide us with your annual household running costs (such as mortgage/rent, rates, power, R&M and phone/internet) and the percentage of area in your home used for work.

Donations

Should you wish to make any charitable donations, try to do so before 31 March. This allows us to claim a tax deduction of 33% of your total donations. Please remember to keep your receipts.

ANNUAL CHECKLIST AND AUTHORISATION

Please click here for a checklist to assist you in assembling the records and documents necessary for the preparation of a full and correct set of Financial Statements, Taxation, Statistical and Statutory Returns for the year ending 31 March 2025.

Once you have completed the checklist for each entity, please insert your entity’s name where indicated, assemble the necessary records and documents, then either contact us or forward them to our office.

Due to the Privacy Act we are required to have written authority to access your information each year. Can you please read the authorisation section, insert your entities’ names and IRD numbers, sign where indicated, and return with the above information.

TAX UPDATES FOR THE 2025/26 YEAR

After several years of navigating complex tax updates and legislative changes, it's a welcome change to start the new financial year without a heavy load of new tax rules to digest. While there are still a few important updates to be aware of, this year brings a much needed break from major overhauls. Below we've outlined the key tax changes you need to be aware of:

Residential Interest Deductibility 

• From 1 April 2025, interest deductibility on residential rental properties will be fully restored, meaning we are able to claim 100% of your interest cost on all residential rental property loans.

PAYE

• The minimum wage will increase by $0.35 on 1 April 2025, from $23.15 to $23.50. If you have any employees earning less than $23.50 an hour, please ensure you increase their wages to remain compliant.

• The ACC earners' levy rate will also increase from 1 April 2025 to $1.67 per $100 (1.67%). Please ensure your payroll systems are updated to account for the new rate.

• The annual Student Loan repayment threshold for the 2026 financial year will remain the same as what it is currently, at $24,128 or $464 per week, meaning you are not required to make any adjustments to this in your payroll.

ECONOMIC UPDATE: FINDING THE RIGHT GEAR FOR GROWTH

Economist Brad Olsen recently presented an economic update via the Waikato Chamber of Commerce. We've outlined below the key takeaways from his talk and what they mean for businesses navigating the year ahead.

New Zealand's economy is shifting gears - but like driving a manual car, we can't go straight from reverse to fifth. After a period of stagnation, we're in a holding pattern, with mid-year shaping up as a turning point. Consumers need time to start spending again, and businesses need confidence before taking on additional staff.

The Waikato Region continues to see growth in the primary sector, with deferred maintenance now beginning to be addressed, while urban areas have felt the economic slowdown more acutely. This is showing that different sectors are recovering at different speeds, making it important to identify where the new "Goldilocks zone" of stability lies.

Looking ahead, Hamilton is positioned to become the country's third-largest economic region in the coming years. The key challenges will be improving productivity and investing in the right areas. After a period of relative inactivity, the greater risk now is doing nothing. Businesses that find their niche and build momentum will be best placed for success.

On the global front, trade tensions remain a wildcard. Tariff wars create unpredictability, China's economy is softer, and the U.S is facing potential economic headwinds. Despite this, NZ has a strong international reputation. The focus should be on maintaining valuable connections, staying informed on trends, and doubling down on what we do best.

As we continue to move through the year, businesses should be prepared to back the momentum and making strategic moves to position themselves for future growth.

BUILDING BETTER HABITS FOR SUCCESS

As a team, we recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear, a book that breaks down how small, consistent actions can lead to big results over time. One of the key takeaways we took from the book is that success isn’t about setting massive goals but about building daily habits that move us in the right direction.

We’ve been working on applying these principles through our annual goal-setting processes, focusing on making incremental improvements that lead to long-term success. By refining how we set and track our goals, we’re creating a stronger foundation for both individual and team growth.

The beauty of Atomic Habits is that its principles apply to both business and personal development. Whether you’re looking to build better financial habits, improve team performance, or set more effective business goals, the key is focusing on small, repeatable actions. Strategies like habit stacking (pairing a new habit with an existing one), making good habits easy and bad habits harder, and tracking progress can all help create lasting change. If you’re looking for a fresh approach to goal setting and personal growth, we highly recommend giving it a read!

If you have questions regarding any of the areas covered above, or if you'd like a hand in developing your goals for the new financial year, please feel free to get in touch. We'd love to help.