Pressed for time? You may not always be able to contact Inland Revenue when it suits you. The answer is to go online. In this article, Inland Revenue explains what you can do when you visit www.ird.govt.nz.

You may be familiar with, and already use some of our online services. We’re continually developing further online services for both our business and non-business customers so why not have a look at what’s available?

Your account

With your secure username and password, you can view all your account information that we hold for you, such as your income tax or student loan account. You can get up-to-date information of all transactions and balances. Individual customers can update their bank account and contact details, and request and confirm personal tax summaries immediately.

You can also make payments, file your GST returns, and keep track of due dates with your personalised calendar. If you wish to contact us you can use our Secure Mail service which is quick and easy.

IR 3 tax return filing via Online Services

You can file your IR 3 tax return online; all information we hold is pre-populated for you. And you don’t have to do your return all in one go as you can save a draft and return to it later.

Managing your account access

You can give others controlled access to your business accounts through the Manage account access (MAA) service. Different levels of access can be granted to suit the differing roles and responsibilities in your organisation. A demonstration of MAA is available at www.ird.govt.nz.

How do you get an online services account?

It’s easy. Visit www.ird.govt.nz and go to "Secure online services” at the top right-hand corner of the home page. Click on "Register now” and follow the onscreen instructions. You’ll be asked to choose a username and password. You can confirm your password over the phone, or you can get a temporary password in the mail.

Support for business

Our "Tool for business” is specially designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It has all the tax information you need in one convenient place. You access it on our website by using the search term "Tool for business”.

If you’d like face-to-face assistance, come along to one of our tax seminars. You can find out about a range of topics including record keeping, expenses and filing returns as well as how to use our online services. There are seminars in most regions – you can book your seat online (search term "seminar”).

Cloud computing

We are aware that "cloud computing" is becoming a popular way for businesses to set up their IT infrastructures. The use of cloud computing may mean businesses are not meeting their record keeping obligations under the Inland Revenue Acts. You can read more about this on our website – simply search for "cloud computing”.

Our online services are secure and easy to use. With tax time approaching, why not register for an online account now?

Click the Building Blocks tag below to see the other articles tagged in this series.