Opening a company in New Zealand: locals, foreigners, freelancers and digital nomads

At a glance: Limited company (Ltd) with no minimum capital, incorporated online at the Companies Office within a day for about NZD 130 (about 70 euros), 28 percent corporate tax, GST from NZD 60,000, a resident director in New Zealand or Australia, no nomad visa but remote work for a foreign employer allowed on visitor visas. Legal forms. Sole trader: an IRD number and nothing else, no capital, personal liability. Limited company (Ltd) under the Companies Act 1993: no minimum capital, one share and one shareholder suffice, one director living in New Zealand (or in Australia and also a director of an Australian company). Small companies can elect look-through company (LTC) status; no business-name register exists, so trade under any name with your NZ Business Number (NZBN). Registration. Companies Office register, online with a RealMe login: name reservation about NZD 10, incorporation about NZD 120, consents uploaded as scans, no notary. The NZBN is issued at once and the IRD number and GST registration can be requested in the same workflow; approval takes hours, a working day at most. Annual return about NZD 50. Typical total with an accountant excluding capital: NZD 150 to 1,200 (about 80 to 620 euros). Taxes 2026. Corporate tax 28 percent flat, no small-company rate. Imputation credits attach company tax to dividends: residents pay their marginal rate net of the credit; non-residents pay 30 percent withholding on unimputed dividends, 15 percent on fully imputed ones and zero on fully imputed dividends to holders of 10 percent or more. GST 15 percent, compulsory once turnover passes NZD 60,000 (about 31,000 euros) in 12 months. Personal rates: 10.5 percent to NZD 15,600, 17.5 to 53,500, 30 to 78,100, 33 to 180,000 and 39 percent above NZD 180,000 (about 94,000 euros). No general capital gains tax; new residents get a four-year exemption on most foreign income. Freelancers and the self-employed. Nothing to register: use your IRD number, file an IR3 return by 7 July and pay provisional tax in three instalments once residual tax exceeds NZD 5,000; GST above NZD 60,000. Contractors in listed trades have schedular withholding (20 percent default) deducted by payers. No flat or presumptive regime. Mandatory cover is only ACC: an earners' levy of about 1.7 percent plus a work levy set by industry, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year; KiwiSaver is voluntary. Foreigners. 100 percent foreign ownership, no restricted sectors beyond Overseas Investment Office consent for sensitive land and business assets above NZD 100 million. The only structural rule is the resident director: in New Zealand, or in Australia while also a director of an Australian company. Residence by investment: Active Investor Plus visa, Growth category NZD 5 million (about 2.6 million euros) in direct investments or managed funds for three years with 21 days presence, Balanced category NZD 10 million over five years with 105 days, fee about NZD 27,500. The Entrepreneur Work Visa is being replaced by a Business Investor Work Visa; check the current state. Banks require an in-person identity check. Branch of a foreign company. An overseas company carrying on business registers on the Overseas Register at the Companies Office within 10 working days: certified certificate of incorporation and constitution, directors list, a New Zealand address for service, fee about NZD 150. Branch profits are taxed at 28 percent on New Zealand-source income with no branch profits tax or remittance withholding. A Ltd subsidiary is the usual choice, with the same resident director rule. Digital nomads. No digital nomad visa, but visitor visas and NZeTAs applied for from 27 January 2025 allow remote work for an overseas employer or overseas clients, provided you do not work for a New Zealand employer, supply New Zealand customers or attend a New Zealand workplace. Visa-waiver visitors stay up to three months per visit on an NZeTA (NZD 17 to 23 plus the NZD 100 visitor levy); others apply for a visitor visa (NZD 341 plus levy) for up to nine months in 18. Foreign employment income stays untaxed up to 92 days in 12 months (183 with a treaty); tax residence starts after 183 days. Changed recently. Trustee rate raised to 39 percent (1 April 2024); personal tax thresholds raised (31 July 2024); visitor visa fee NZD 341 and visitor levy NZD 100 (1 October 2024); remote work allowed on visitor visas (27 January 2025); Active Investor Plus reset to NZD 5 million and 10 million categories (1 April 2025); KiwiSaver default rate 3.5 percent (1 April 2026). Figures checked October 2026 from the Companies Office, Inland Revenue and Immigration New Zealand, with PwC and New Zealand accounting firm summaries; thresholds and fees change yearly. Confirm with a licensed adviser in New Zealand before you file.