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New Zealand tax residency: 183 and 325‑day rules

New Zealand 183 days

Tax days
183days in any 12 months

More than 183 days in any 12-month period makes you a New Zealand tax resident, unless you are a non-resident visitor.1

A day is
Parts of days, such as the days you arrive and leave, count as whole days. The 183 days do not need to follow each other.2
Backdated
Your tax residency is backdated to the first of the 183 days.3
Also counts
A permanent place of abode in New Zealand also makes you a tax resident.1
Ties
To judge a permanent place of abode you may need to consider your ties, such as how often you return, how long you spend here, and your family and social connections.45
Visitors
You can be a non-resident visitor if you stay up to 275 days in total in any 18-month period and meet the listed conditions, such as not being paid by a New Zealand resident.67
Leaving
A resident becomes a non-resident taxpayer with no permanent place of abode in New Zealand and more than 325 days away in any 12-month period.8
Days away
Part-days spent in New Zealand, such as the day you leave, do not count as days away. The 325 days do not need to follow each other.9

Worked example

Residency reaches back to day one

  1. You arrive in Auckland on 1 October 2026 and stay until 15 April 2027. Counting the arrival day as a whole day, 2 April 2027 is day 184, the day you pass 183.2How we count: Calendar days from arrival, both ends included.
  2. Your residency is then backdated to the first of the 183 days, so you are treated as resident from 1 October 2026, not from April.3How we count: The first day of the run that passed 183.

The rule it rests on: More than 183 days in any 12-month period makes you a New Zealand tax resident, unless you are a non-resident visitor.1 Parts of days, such as the days you arrive and leave, count as whole days. The 183 days do not need to follow each other.2 Your tax residency is backdated to the first of the 183 days.3

Questions people ask

How many days make you a New Zealand tax resident?

More than 183 days in any 12-month period makes you a New Zealand tax resident, unless you are a non-resident visitor.1 A permanent place of abode in New Zealand also makes you a tax resident.1

Do part-days and non-consecutive days count?

Parts of days, such as the days you arrive and leave, count as whole days. The 183 days do not need to follow each other.2

What is the 325-day rule?

A resident becomes a non-resident taxpayer with no permanent place of abode in New Zealand and more than 325 days away in any 12-month period.8 Part-days spent in New Zealand, such as the day you leave, do not count as days away. The 325 days do not need to follow each other.9

When does my residency start?

Your tax residency is backdated to the first of the 183 days.3

What is a non-resident visitor in New Zealand?

You can be a non-resident visitor if you stay up to 275 days in total in any 18-month period and meet the listed conditions, such as not being paid by a New Zealand resident.67

Sources

9 official pages, each with its exact words
  1. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You become a New Zealand tax resident when the first of these happens: you've been in New Zealand for more than 183 days in any 12-month period (unless you're a non-resident visitor) you have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand.
  2. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Parts of days (such as the day you arrive and leave) count as whole days towards the 183 days. The 183 days do not need to follow each other.
  3. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Your New Zealand tax residency status is backdated to the first of the 183 days.
  4. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words To have a permanent place of abode, you may need to consider what your ties are to New Zealand.
  5. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words how often you return to New Zealand how long you spend here your family and social connections
  6. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You're a non-resident visitor if you visit New Zealand for up to 275 days total in any 18-month period, and:
  7. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words you're not working for or paid by a New Zealand resident or New Zealand branch of a non-resident employer
  8. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words you'll become a non-resident taxpayer if you both: do not have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand are away from New Zealand for more than 325 days in any 12-month period.
  9. Inland Revenue, Tax residency status · Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Parts of days you are in New Zealand (such as the day you leave) do not count as whole days towards the 325 days. The 325 days do not need to follow each other.
Checked against Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake, New Zealand (ird.govt.nz) on 26 Oct 2026 Updated 26 Oct 2026

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