At the end of June another year closes for Kiwisaver. In early July, your provider will add up your contributions for the year and request a Member Tax Credit from the Government to be paid into your Kiwisaver account.
This is essentially free money and is calculated at 50% of your contributions up to $1,043, meaning you can get up to $521 each year. You should therefore treat this as an instant return on investment, that will then earn compounding returns until you turn 65.
The handicap that self employed contractors and business owners have over employees is that there is nobody making these contributions on their behalf, so you'll need to take responsibility for contributions each year. We recommend:
- Checking your contributions since 1 July last year, either through My Kiwisaver or with your provider directly
- Make sure to include employee and voluntary contributions only, as employer and government contributions don't count
- If you're likely to contribute less than $1,043 for the year, make a top-up payment to your provider
- Most Kiwisaver providers have their bank account details registered directly with internet banking, but you can also make a payment through the IRD using the "Pay Tax" option in internet banking
- Allow a week or so for processing at the end of the month (make the payment soon)
If you can't make a top-up to the limit this year don't worry, you'll still get a tax credit based on your contributions at the rate of 50%. However any limit not used this year will not carried forward to future years so use it or lose it.
You could also look to set up a regular automatic payment (say $100 per month) to take care of this next year.
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