Understanding the US New Zealand Tax Treat y is crucial for Americans living in New Zealand and to New Zealanders who have U.S. sourced income. This guide breaks down the treaty's provisions, offering clarity on how it affects personal taxation and helps avoid double taxation.
Executive Summary
The US New Zealand tax treaty, signed in 19983, serves as an agreement between the two countries for determining the taxation of income where both nations may have the legal right to taxation according to their respective laws. The treaty covers, among other topics, avoidance of double taxation, residency tie-breakers and taxation of various forms of income, including business profits, dividends, interest, pensions, and capital gains. This article will focus on some of the key aspects of the treaty that hold particular significance.
The New Zealand US treaty provides mechanisms for relief from double taxation, ensuring that income earned in one country by residents or citizens of the other is not taxed twice. Specifically, the treaty allows U.S. citizens and residents to claim a foreign tax credit for the income tax they paid on New Zealand sourced income to New Zealand against their U.S. tax liability. Conversely, New Zealand offers a credit for U.S. taxes paid on U.S. sourced income against it's own tax liabilities.
Jack Taylor, a U.S. citizen living in Auckland, earns an annual salary of $80,000. In New Zealand, he pays $25,000 in taxes for the year. Jack's U.S. tax liability for this income amounts to $22,000. Thanks to the relief of double taxation provision of the tax treaty, he is entitled to claim a foreign tax credit on his US taxes. Jack applies the $25,000 he paid in New Zealand taxes against his U.S. tax obligation, effectively reducing his U.S. tax liability to zero and even generating a $3,000 credit surplus, which may be carried over to subsequent tax years.
The New Zealand US tax treaty contains a "savings clause" which allows the U.S. to impose taxes on its citizens according to its own laws, even if this contradicts the treaty. As a result of this clause, the majority of the benefits and reductions offered by the treaty do not apply to U.S. citizens living in New Zealand.
Emma Wilson, a U.S. citizen, resides and works in Wellington, New Zealand, for an American bio-tech company. She performs all her work duties in New Zealand and has no physical presence in the U.S. Although the New Zealand U.S. tax treaty exempts such income from U.S. taxation on the basis that there is no permanent establishment in the U.S., the savings clause overrides this, requiring Emma to declare and possibly pay U.S. taxes on her income. Nevertheless, Emma can take advantage of foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credits for the taxes paid in New Zealand to avoid being taxed twice on the same income.
Expert Tip: It's crucial for U.S. citizens to familiarize themselves with the savings clause exclusions in all tax treaties to accurately determine which tax benefits they can utilize.
The United States and New Zealand each have their own criteria for determining who is a resident for tax purposes. As such, it's possible for someone to meet the residency requirements of both countries simultaneously. To prevent the problems that dual tax residency could cause, the U.S.-New Zealand tax treaty provides a series of tie-breaker rules. These rules help to decide which country has the primary right to tax the individual's income.
Passive income from U.S. sources, which is not tied to a U.S. trade or business, is generally taxed at a flat rate of 30% if earned by a non-resident alien. However, the US New Zealand tax treaty lowers this rate or even totally exempts it from US taxation for certain types of income. We've summarized some of the tax treaty rates in the table below. It's important to note that that these rates generally do not apply to U.S. citizens due to the savings clause mentioned earlier.