Contracting in NZ, how?

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webwat

2036 posts

Uber Geek

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#477768 4-Jun-2011 15:35

motozed: oh i thought as a business transport is an expense hence tax deductible.

any more tips on what might be able to be claimed as an expense?

thanks very much all, will speak to IRD re the gst side soon. im thinking if i just collect for now anyway, and if i dont go over 60k i just give it ird ?

I understand you can claim transport costs from your base travelling to jobs onsite. I think it would be hard to explain bus fares being "business travel" unless you can show thats how you meet clients and you still do substantial work from your home office.

You should be able to get GST registered before your income hits 60k, since it sounds like you won't have too many expenses to claim for. Otherwise you would want to get registered and claim back GST on all costs from the beginning. Being only here for 3 months, is it worth all that trouble and time? If you remain a tax resident in your home country you might be able to just pay non-resident withholding tax here? Not sure about criteria for that but your accountant should know more, and ok to ask IRD if you just stick to questions about the legal requirements and their tax relationship with your home country.

Edit: Yes you need to pay ACC, but thats insurance so you can claim it if you get hit by a keyboard or something. Its not too much.

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wsnz

640 posts

Ultimate Geek

#479392 9-Jun-2011 16:09

Practically speaking, there are no issues claiming bus fares as business travel. Keep the individual tickets, as well as any top-up receipts you use (assuming you're using a stored value card).

You might also wish to purchase some public liability insurance. This will cover you if you accidentally damage the property of a client - say you drop a screwdriver onto a PC and it causes a fatal short.

Professional indemnity insurance would cover you for any mistake you make in the course of your work, that leads to you being sued by the client. This type of insurance can be prohibitively expensive though, so you're need to make a judgement call.

Also remember that if you use a trading as status, that it is much more easy to hold you personally liable any unpaid bills, or professional mistakes you might make.

Whoever said being a contractor was an easy ticket to a big fat paycheque, eh!

lchiu7

6182 posts

Uber Geek

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#479543 9-Jun-2011 23:06

I would also look at income protection insurance. If you are a contractor you don't have sick leave, short or long and if that's your entire source of income and you get sick/have an accident, it's good to have some coverage.

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