TMNZ: The ultimate cashflow flexibility tool for your business
In tough economic times, it can be hard for businesses to stay on top of cashflow and juggle their tax liabilities. For companies and sole traders dealing with fluctuating cashflow and provisional tax headaches, there’s an easier way to manage your obligations—tax pooling.
Did you know TMNZ’s tax pool can help you manage your tax by matching your cashflow forecasts with your provisional tax payments? And you can use tax pool deposits as an alternative funding source when cashflow is tight.
How we can help
TMNZ is an Inland Revenue (IR)-approved tax pooling provider, meaning you can use us to pay income tax on your behalf at a time that suits you. We offer greater flexibility over how and when you pay provisional tax.
First, you’ll need to think about your cashflow forecast. If you’re unsure how to put one together, read our cashflow management guide.
Once you’ve got your cashflow projection, we can work together to figure out the best time to pay your provisional tax. From there, all you need to do is tell us your tax amount owed, the date it is due, and how you would like to pay.
When your tax bill arrives, we’ll transfer the amount required to IR on your behalf as a time-stamped payment. IR will treat your tax as if it was paid on time, eliminating the risk of being charged interest or late payment fees. Simple.
A working capital solution
TMNZ’s payments to IR mean you can keep money in your business and use it at the times of the year you’ll need it most. You can top up your payments later into our tax pool at any time.
Tax pooling is a perfect solution for businesses worried about future cashflow and looming obligations. By partnering up with us, you’ll have total control over your tax bill, rather than working around IR’s strict deadlines.
With no more late fees and interest charges from IR to think about, you can get on with running your business. There will be no need to scrape together funds in the middle of holidays or quiet periods to meet IR’s deadlines.
TMNZ can also save you money by avoiding penalties and interest charges if you’ve missed or underpaid tax. We charge much lower interest rates than the penalties imposed by IR if you’re overdue.
We're a line of credit
Another amazing TMNZ feature is that we can be a line of credit for your business.
If you’ve deposited funds into our tax pool but find yourself short on cash, you can withdraw that money whenever you want to use it as working capital.
If you’ve paid provisional tax into our pool, you’ll have access to a working capital facility up to the value of your deposit. This provides even more flexibility for you and your team to get through a cash crunch and stay on top of debt management.
We can offer much cheaper interest rates than bank loans, overdrafts, or unsecured loans, meaning money withdrawn from our pool is better for you and your business, putting you in a stronger position at the end of the year.
Ready to learn more about the benefits of tax pooling?
Download our guide to Better Cashflow Management for top tips on managing cashflow throughout the financial year.
If you’re ready to take control of your tax and gain access to a valuable line of credit for your business, find out more at by reading our Tax Pooling 101 page to learn more about the full range of benefits of being in our pool.
Then talk to your tax adviser about TMNZ tax pooling to take away your tax management worries.
How TMNZ tech takes the pain out of tax
As New Zealand’s first ever tax pool, we’re proud of our long history of innovation. It’s at the heart of everything we do, and we’re always looking for new ways to simplify tax.
Technology has been at the forefront of our efforts, whether it’s rolling out new features for our customers, adding new functionality online, or partnering with forward-thinking digital platforms.
Recently, we’ve rolled out some amazing tools to help our customers and their accountants easily manage income tax.
Discover our top tech solutions to help you take the pain out of tax time, including tools to cut down on admin, share data between platforms, and get instant information on things like tax swaps.
Direct Inland Revenue Integration
TMNZ’s online dashboard is fully integrated with Inland Revenue (IR), meaning taxpayer information held by IR can be seamlessly shared on our platform, to make accountants lives easier.
In the past, accountants had to deal with multiple systems and spreadsheets to find accurate IR information. Integration means this admin work is no longer required.
Inland Revenue and TMNZ systems are directly connected so that key IR information is automatically populated on our dashboard. All relevant IR data, including Residual Income Tax figures, filing dates, and direct IR transactions appear on the TMNZ dashboard once you’ve logged in.
Thanks to IR integration, accountants can save time and reduce admin work. Direct IR integration also removes the risk of manual errors as clients populate information from one platform to another, making the process much more efficient.
IR information is fed into our calculator to help you determine your (or your client’s) tax position as quickly as possible.
Kathleen Payne, Partnerships Director at TMNZ, says:
“Following IR integration, all the data you need for your calculations goes straight onto our dashboard. All you have to do is put in the current year’s position that IR might not know yet, and everything is calculated without further data entry.”
Accountants can obtain client consent (if they don’t already have it from their engagement letter) and the integration process without leaving our platform. There’s no need for third-party software, and it’s ready at the click of a button. Once an accountant authenticates their client list through MyIR, a digital consent form is sent to the taxpayer. After they sign digitally, IR integration is ready to go.
If clients need any assistance with our direct IR integration, then TMNZ's friendly support team is on hand to help. And you can find out more about IR integration here.
Taxlab integration
Our systems are also fully integrated with Taxlab, the cloud-based tax software system designed specifically for New Zealand accountants.
Taxlab integration is easy to set up and use. Once you’ve completed the process, TMNZ transactions will appear on the Taxlab platform. Clients no longer need to use different systems to calculate their tax position.
“Accountants will get a complete picture of all TMNZ transactions sitting against their clients’ tax year,” Kathleen says.
Like IR integration, the setup couldn’t be simpler:
- log in to Taxlab, go to ‘Settings’, and add TMNZ as a connection
- you’ll then be directed to TMNZ to log in and confirm
- from there, you’ll be able to view TMNZ tax pooling information, including a full history of purchases, deposits, transfers, and tax payments.
Integration with Taxlab reduces the time and effort spent sharing information across the two platforms, giving tax agents even more time for their valuable client work.
Group Optimiser
If you’re a busy accountant in public practice looking to manage the tax year for groups of clients, TMNZ’s Group Optimiser tool is tailor-made for you.
This innovative feature enables accountants to calculate the position of several taxpayers and create multiple transactions at once.
Used alongside IR integration, Group Optimiser can make tax calculations even simpler.
Kathleen adds:
“Instead of having to prepare spreadsheets for each member in a group and then decide who has overpaid or underpaid tax, agents can use our calculator to enter a small amount of information. Then, at the click of a button, Group Optimiser calculates how to use the tax across the group in the most effective way.”
Group Optimser is ready and waiting on the TMNZ dashboard. All you need to do is log in.
Upcoming Deadlines
The Upcoming Deadlines function on the TMNZ dashboard is another of our top tech features.
For accountants managing several tax pooling clients, the Upcoming Deadlines feature can be used to track taxpayers ahead of key dates.
Offering total visibility over client tax positions as deadlines approach, the tool suggests prompts and actions to finalise the year.
“It also gives accountants a control list to work through their clients and ensure everything has been finalised,” Kathleen says. “It’s a workflow and control function and will remind advisers about everything they need to do for their clients.”
Automated Tax Swaps
TMNZ’s automated Tax Swaps is our latest dashboard feature, enabling clients to get instant quotes and process swaps below the threshold*.
Tax Swaps allow clients to even out their provisional tax payments if they have overpaid on one date and underpaid on another, saving on IR interest costs.
With our automated Tax Swap service, clients will benefit from faster, more efficient processing
The best part? The Tax Swap function is DIY.
“It’s a self-service system,” Kathleen explains. “If a client knows the swap they want to do, our system will automatically say, ‘Yes, you can do it, and this is the interest you’ll get’. You won’t have to interact with us at TMNZ. You can do-it-yourself.”
“It’s super efficient,” she adds. “Clients will have certainty of the outcome, they’ll know how much interest they’ll have to pay, or what they can earn, in an instant.
“At TMNZ, we’re all about flexibility, and empowering our customers to make decisions at a time that suits them.”
Automated Tax Swaps launched recently, following our pilot with TMNZ's Early Adopter community in April.
Become an Early Adopter
Are you part of TMNZ’s Early Adopter community, who gets first access to all our latest tech features?
Early Adopters enjoy the benefits of our new products and enhancements before anyone else, with support and training to help you make the most of new tools.
As an Early Adopter, you can share feedback and experiences to help us develop the best tech possible for accountants and clients.
“We love working with people to create the best tax solutions possible,” Kathleen adds. “Our Early Adopters are highly motivated, creative people who want to help us get even better.”
If you’re a tech savvy tax pooling user in an accounting firm, become an Early Adopter in a few simple steps:
- login to your dashboard
- Select your firm
- select ‘Early Adopter Programme’, from the left-hand menu
- review and accept the Terms and Conditions presented
- click the ‘Sign up’ button.
To learn more about TMNZ’s latest tech developments, head to our Innovative Tax Technology page or contact our support team today.
*the threshold is subject to change depending on market conditions.
Missed your latest provisional tax payment? How you can find relief
If you own a business, you’re probably familiar with paying provisional tax. Which means you’re also familiar with its inflexibility, and the penalties and interest that accumulate if you miss a provisional tax due date.
The problem with this model is how it affects your cashflow. You need money to pay staff, cover operational expenses, and invest in growth initiatives, yet it’s tied up in saving for tax time. Or worse yet, in shelling out for Inland Revenue (IR) interest and penalties on late payments.
No matter which camp you’re in, there is relief and it’s called tax pooling.
If you own a business, then you can benefit from tax pooling. Let us explain how.
First, what happens if I miss my provisional tax payment?
If you’ve paid taxes late or haven’t paid enough by the provisional tax due date, IR may charge penalties or interest on your unpaid amount as follows:
- A 1% late payment penalty is charged on the day after the due date
- An additional 4% penalty is charged seven days after the due date — including late payment penalties (LPP)
- UOMI may be charged from the day after the due date – UOMI will be charged daily until you have paid your total tax amount, including late payment penalties and any accrued interest.
What is tax pooling?
Tax pooling is unique to Aotearoa, with TMNZ being the first and largest tax pooling business. Essentially it allows tax paying businesses to pool their provisional tax payments in an account held by a registered tax pooling intermediary like TMNZ. This way, we offset one business’ underpayments by another’s overpayments. Think of it as business helping business!
Because we’re able to backpay your unpaid tax, it is no longer considered a ‘late payment.’ Meaning you avoid the IR penalties and fees on any missed tax payments.
With TMNZ, you have the flexibility to make a one-off payment or set up a regular instalment arrangement, giving you up to 13 months to pay your provisional tax. Additionally, if you've missed your terminal tax date, TMNZ can still help reduce interest costs and eliminate late payment penalties.
How about for historic payments from IR reassessment notices?
TMNZ can also assist taxpayers with historic income tax payments and other tax types such as GST and PAYE if you receive a notice of reassessment from IR. You have 60 days from the date the IR issues this notice to use tax pooling.
What’s the catch?
Paying provisional tax through a tax pooling intermediary such as TMNZ lets you pay what you owe at a time in the future that better suits your business, or take advantage of instalments to avoid the provisional tax late payment penalty.
There is some interest to pay – but this is much lower than IR's interest on tax paid late or what you will incur if you use your business overdraft or get an unsecured loan. Tax pooling wipes the late payment penalties.
All you have to do is tell the tax pooling provider the amount of tax that is due and when or how you would like to pay it. They take care of the rest and even notify IR of your arrangement. Easy-peasy.
Save yourself the tax trouble. Find out more.
If you've missed your provisional tax payment or are struggling to meet your tax obligations, you’re not out of luck.
TMNZ can help ease the financial strain of late payment penalties and provide much-needed cashflow relief. Contact your accountant or tax agent and let them know you want to pay your missed or underpaid provisional tax using TMNZ tax pooling. Or get in touch with us directly to explore your options and take control of your tax payments.
Don't let a late payment penalty derail your business. With tax pooling from TMNZ, you can navigate the challenges of tax season with confidence and peace of mind.
Contact our team to take advantage of tax pooling today.
Tax Drawdown: Use your tax payments as a line of credit
Every now and then, businesses can encounter cashflow struggles, whether you have overdue invoices or an unexpected bill to pay. When this happens, it’s typical to ask your bank for help. But did you know there’s an easier, cheaper way?
As a TMNZ customer, you can access funds you have paid into our tax pool at any time. You can draw out your deposits as an affordable line of credit without the headache of a loan application, conversation with a bank, or Inland Revenue (IRD) paperwork and still keep your original tax deposit date.
How it works
Imagine your business is suddenly hit with a big cost and you need some quick cash. By getting in touch with TMNZ, you can access the money you’ve already paid into and held in our pool.
You can draw down the funds on a temporary basis, and our flexibility helps you solve a short-term business challenge in a simple, cost-effective way.
TMNZ Tax Drawdown allows you to use your tax payments in the pool as collateral to take out funds at attractive interest rates. You can request money at any time and it will land in your account within three to five business days (provided AML requirements are met).
The benefits
Tax Drawdown puts you in control. You can borrow money for a minimum of four weeks or a maximum of up to 75 days after your terminal tax date. Once you’ve paid us back, we can continue to hold those tax payments in the pool (which will be available for a future drawdown) or transfer the payments to the IRD to meet your tax liability.
Small businesses and larger companies alike can tap into Tax Drawdown, and there’s no limit to how much of your tax deposit you can withdraw.
If your current tax pool doesn’t do drawdowns, fear not. You can transfer your tax pool payments to us and kick-start the process immediately.
While Tax Drawdown is a bit like a line of credit, we don’t charge line fees or establishment fees like the banks.
TMNZ can also offer more competitive interest rates than the banks. Our rates are the same as our finance rates, which are much closer to the cost of a home loan than a small business loan. Interest costs depend on how much money you take out and the duration of your withdrawal and you’re only charged for the period you use the funds.
Kathleen Payne, Director of Strategic Partnerships at TMNZ, says Tax Drawdown can be a business lifeline.
“It’s really useful for businesses that need to make a capital investment, buy stock, or simply position themselves for the rest of the year. People can use our tax pool to their advantage and it’s so easy to do, with interest costs limited to the time they’re using the funds. It’s another working capital option for businesses, particularly in an environment where cashflow is causing a lot of constraints.”
How to use Tax Drawdown
Accessing your money is a painless process. Get in touch with us or ask your tax adviser to call or email our team.
Kathleen says Tax Drawdown applications are “relatively simple” and can be made multiple times a year.
“A small amount of information needs to be provided. We ask how much money you need and how long you need it for. We then work out your interest rate, finalise the terms, and get it signed.”
Kathleen says Tax Drawdown can help businesses and the New Zealand economy by freeing up money for investment and growth.
“If you think about what businesses use the funds for, it’s additional spending in the economy. Tax Drawdown enables people to use money at a reasonable cost to make capital investments, investments in staff, or meet a market challenge.
“All of these things help businesses survive and thrive, and it has a circularity for the whole economy,” she says. “It’s money going back into the business community while helping companies meet their tax liability. So everyone’s a winner.”
In need of flexible, affordable financing? Contact our team to take advantage of Tax Drawdown today.
Cashflow relief for farmers impacted by flood or drought
Those impacted by flooding in Canterbury or drought elsewhere in New Zealand have another option to manage their cashflow.
It’s called tax pooling.
It lets taxpayers defer their upcoming provisional tax payments to a time that suits them, without incurring interest (currently seven percent) and late payment penalties from Inland Revenue (IRD).
The service – which has been operating with the blessing of the taxman since 2003 – is available through an approved commercial provider such as Tax Management NZ (TMNZ).
The impact of extreme weather
The Government has declared the recent flood in the Canterbury region as a medium-scale adverse weather event.
As those in this part of New Zealand assess the damage and begin the clean-up following the large deluge of rain, a big dry is beginning (or, in some cases, continuing) to bite other parts of New Zealand. The drought has been classified as a large-scale adverse weather event.
Farmers impacted by these contrasting weather events are being encouraged to act early and assess their options if they need assistance.
For those battling drought, some tough decisions around stock and feed will need to be made. In the Canterbury region, flooding only compounds the financial pressure as many were also dealing with drought beforehand.
Cashflow will be important during this difficult period.
Help is available
Managing tax payments will be a key consideration in managing cashflow too.
IRD, to its credit, is exercising some discretion.
It will allow farmers and growers affected by the Canterbury flood to make early withdrawals from the income equalisation scheme.
For those whose current or future income will be significantly affected by drought, IRD will allow late deposits for the 2019-20 income year up to 30 June 2021.
Early withdrawals are also available in the case of a medium-scale adverse event or if someone is suffering serious hardship.
Please note a taxpayer must satisfy certain criteria for IRD to exercise its discretion around the income equalisation scheme.
There's also the option of re-estimating provisional tax.
However, while that allows someone to get a refund of tax they have paid earlier in the year, it does come with some risk.
Free up cashflow by deferring payment of provisional tax
Farmers growers with a May balance date are due to pay their the final instalment of provisional tax for the 2020-21 income on 28 June.
For a small interest cost, someone can use TMNZ to defer this payment.
We make a date-stamped tax deposit to IRD on behalf of a taxpayer on 28 June and the taxpayer pays us when it suits their cashflow.
A taxpayer can either pay the full tax amount at a date of their choosing or enter an instalment arrangement.
When a taxpayer satisfies their arrangement with TMNZ, IRD will treat it as if the taxpayer had paid on time. Any interest and late payment penalties showing on their account will be remitted.
A taxpayer has up to 12 months to pay their 28 June provisional tax with TMNZ.
TMNZ’s interest cost is much cheaper than what IRD charges when someone pays their tax late.
Please click here to register with TMNZ. Alternatively, feel free to contact us if you have any questions.