New Zealand tax residency: the 183-day rule
You become a New Zealand tax resident once you’ve been there for more than 183 days in any 12 months — backdated to the first of them — or have a permanent place of abode there. Part days count. Without a permanent place of abode, you stop being resident after more than 325 days away in any 12 months.
New Zealand 183-day calculator
More than 183 days in New Zealand in any 12 months make you tax resident, from the first of them. The days you arrive and leave count.
New Zealand tax residency: 183 days or a home
You become a New Zealand tax resident on the first of these to happen:
- you’ve been in New Zealand for more than 183 days in any 12-month period — unless you’re a non-resident visitor (below) — and your residence is backdated to the first of those days;
- you have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand: somewhere you usually live, even if not all the time.
The days don’t need to be in a row, and part of a day counts as a whole day, so the days you arrive and leave are days present. Once resident under the 183-day rule, you stay resident until you meet the 325-day rule.
| At a glance | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| The day test | more than 183 days in New Zealand |
| Over | any 12-month period |
| The most days under it | 183 |
| A day counts if | you’re there for any part of it |
| Leaving | more than 325 days away in any 12 months, with no permanent place of abode |
Non-resident visitors: 275 days in 18 months
From 1 April 2026, a non-resident visitor isn’t subject to the 183-day rule while they’re in New Zealand for 275 days or fewer in any 18 months. You’re one if you arrived on or after that date and weren’t resident just before, and you:
- don’t work for a New Zealand resident or a New Zealand branch, sell goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand, or need to be there for your work;
- don’t get Working for Families tax credits, nor does your partner;
- are lawfully in New Zealand, and pay tax in the country where you’re resident.
Past 275 days you’re resident from day 276. Stop qualifying sooner and the 183-day rule applies again, counting the days you spent as a visitor.
Leaving New Zealand: the 325-day rule
You stop being a tax resident when you have no permanent place of abode in New Zealand and you’ve been away for more than 325 days in any 12 months — backdated to the first of those days. The days away don’t need to be in a row, and a day you’re in New Zealand for part of isn’t a day away. A permanent place of abode overrides the count: with one, you stay resident however long you’re abroad.
Worked example
You were in New Zealand from 23 September to 31 December: 100 days. Arriving again on 1 March, you can stay until 22 May — your 183rd day in 12 months. On 23 May you’d pass 183, and be resident from 23 September.
Australia counts more than half its income year instead: Australia’s 183-day test. Other countries, side by side: 183-day rule by country.
How FlySee counts it
FlySee has no New Zealand tracker built in; a tax tracker of your own counts the 183-day rule: New Zealand, fewer than 184 days, any 12 months, any part of a day. Any 12 months are counted over 366 days, so a leap year’s are held — a day early, never late. The calculator counts the 183-day rule only: not the non-resident visitor’s 275 days in 18 months, the 325 days away, or a permanent place of abode.