Getting a tax refund
Most people automatically get a tax refund if they're owed one.
- If you’ve been affected by COVID-19, Work and Income may be able to help.
COVID-19 — Work and Income - Use the online tool to find out what financial support you could access.
COVID-19 financial support tool
Did you find what you were looking for?
Help improve us the information in this section by doing a short survey.
Who gets automatic refunds
Your refund will be automatic if your income is from:
- employment (such as salary and wages)
- investments (such as interest or dividends under $200 from bank deposits or savings)
- an employee share-scheme benefit where tax is already deducted
- schedular payments
- income-tested benefits
- taxable Māori authority distributions
- New Zealand superannuation (NZ Super).
If you’re self-employed or get income from somewhere not listed above, you need to:
Complete my individual tax return (IR3)
Check if you have a refund
Log in to Inland Revenue to see if you have a refund.
While you’re there:
- check your contact information is correct
- nominate a bank account where IR can deposit your refund.
Get your refund
If you have an account with IR, and they have your bank account information, they’ll deposit your refund. You don’t have to do anything.
If you don’t have an account, IR will post a cheque to you.
Have your say about this page
Is there something wrong with this page?
Last Updated
Page last updated:
