Long-term residential renting is GST-exempt in New Zealand — but short-term and holiday accommodation is generally taxable, and platforms now have their own specific collection role.
Last updated: June 2026
Renting out residential property on a standard long-term tenancy is exempt from GST in New Zealand — you never charge GST to tenants, regardless of your portfolio size. The trade-off is that you generally cannot claim back GST on costs related to that exempt letting activity.
Short-term furnished accommodation (Airbnb-style stays, holiday homes, serviced apartments) is treated as a taxable supply of accommodation, similar to a hotel, rather than exempt residential letting. This means income from short-term lets counts toward the NZ$60,000 registration threshold like any other taxable business activity, once your total taxable turnover (including any other business income) crosses that level.
No. Long-term residential rental income is GST-exempt and doesn’t count toward the registration threshold in this scenario.
Yes. Short-term accommodation income is generally treated as taxable and counts toward the NZ$60,000 threshold, even though your long-term rental income does not.
Under the "listed services" rules, platforms like Airbnb have specific GST collection obligations on accommodation bookings — check current rules for exactly how this interacts with your own registration status.
Generally yes, once GST-registered for the short-term accommodation activity, subject to normal input tax credit rules for the specific costs involved.
No, it’s the same NZ$60,000 threshold as any business — the key difference is simply that long-term residential rental income doesn’t count toward it because it’s exempt.
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