GST on Services to Overseas Clients
Working with international clients? Here's exactly when you can charge 0% GST and what evidence you need to prove it to the IRD.
If you provide services to overseas clients and those services are consumed outside New Zealand, you can zero-rate them, meaning you charge 0% GST to your international client.
Charging GST to Foreign Clients
Inland Revenue’s zero rated supplies page charges GST at 0% when the requirements for an exported service are met. A GST registered New Zealand business can charge 0% when it supplies a service to a non resident who is outside New Zealand at the time the service is performed. The page’s example is a New Zealand lawyer giving legal advice to a person living in Australia.
| Check | What Inland Revenue looks at |
|---|---|
| Customer | The person or company you invoice is not a New Zealand resident. |
| Where the service is used | Services performed outside New Zealand are zero rated. So are services supplied to a non resident who is outside New Zealand when you perform them. |
| New Zealand land | Interpretation statement IS 18/07 says that service is not eligible for zero rating when it is directly in connection with land in New Zealand, or when it is meant to change the physical condition, ownership, or legal status of that land. |
If those checks are met, invoice at 0% GST. If the customer is in New Zealand, the same zero rated supplies page says a registered New Zealand business charges 15% on goods or services supplied online to people in New Zealand. An unregistered business does not charge GST. Inland Revenue’s claiming GST page says a GST registered business is the one that claims GST on costs used in the taxable activity. Registration steps are on how to register for GST in NZ.
The Best Part: GST Refunds
Unlike "exempt" supplies, zero-rated supplies still allow you to claim back 15% GST on all your New Zealand business expenses. Because you are charging 0% but claiming 15%, you will frequently receive GST refunds from the IRD.
Zero Rated and Exempt Supplies
Inland Revenue treats a zero rated supply and an exempt supply differently. A zero rated supply has GST charged at 0%. An exempt supply is not subject to GST, and you do not include it in your GST return.
| Treatment | GST you charge | GST you can claim |
|---|---|---|
| Zero rated | 0% where the exported service requirements are met. | A GST registered business can claim GST on goods and services used in the taxable activity. Input tax is subtracted from the GST you charge, which can leave tax to pay or a GST refund. |
| Exempt | No GST. Residential rent is the Inland Revenue example: GST cannot be charged on the rent for a residential dwelling. | You cannot claim GST on supplies used to make exempt supplies. A landlord cannot claim GST on dwelling expenses such as maintenance, rates, and insurance. |
For services to overseas clients, the treatment you want is zero rated: charge 0%, then claim the GST on the costs of the taxable activity. That claim is set out on claiming GST NZ. Showing GST at 0% on the invoice records the treatment.
The "Consumed Outside NZ" Test
Common Freelancer Scenarios
You build software in NZ for a client based in California. They use it in their US business.
0% GSTYou provide business strategy advice via Zoom to a Sydney-based company.
0% GSTYou create logos and branding materials for a London marketing agency.
0% GSTThe NZ Property Trap (Exception)
Services directly connected to land or property in New Zealand are NOT zero-rated — even if the client paying the bill lives overseas. For example, if an overseas investor hires you to manage or renovate their Auckland rental property, you must charge them 15% GST.
Services That Can Be Zero Rated
Inland Revenue’s zero rated supplies page lists exported services that are charged at 0% when the requirements are met. The list includes services supplied to a non resident who is outside New Zealand when the service is performed, services performed outside New Zealand, and services supplied directly in connection with land or goods that are outside New Zealand.
| Service | Inland Revenue example |
|---|---|
| Professional services | Legal advice from a New Zealand lawyer to a person living in Australia. |
| Overseas land or goods | A New Zealand architect designs a building for an overseas property and an overseas client. A New Zealand insurer covers a vehicle located outside New Zealand. |
| Remote services | A New Zealand business selling services online to overseas customers is generally charged at 0%, if there is enough evidence the customer is overseas and the service has been exported. |
| Work performed overseas | A New Zealand singer who performs overseas charges GST at 0%. |
Two limits stay in place. Services directly in connection with land in New Zealand are not eligible for that zero rating, even when the client lives overseas. Interpretation statement IS 18/07 is Inland Revenue’s view on that test. A service performed for someone who is in New Zealand at the time is not the non resident rule. A wider map of the tax is on the NZ GST guide.
Proof Requirements
To legally zero-rate your services, you must be able to prove your client is not a New Zealand resident. The IRD requires at least two pieces of evidence from this list:
- ✓ Billing address: Client's physical invoice address is overseas.
- ✓ IP address / geolocation: Website analytics or Stripe/PayPal payment data.
- ✓ Bank details: Swift code or payments arriving from an overseas bank account.
- ✓ Mobile country code: Phone number with an international prefix.
- ✓ Business registration: Company registered overseas (e.g. ABN in Australia, EIN in the US).
The Tax Rate for Each Customer
Inland Revenue’s zero rated supplies page uses the customer’s place and the place the service is performed. A registered New Zealand business that sells online to people in New Zealand charges 15%. The same kind of sale to an overseas customer is generally 0%, if you hold evidence the customer is overseas and the service was exported.
| Step | Rate |
|---|---|
| Where is the customer? | A New Zealand resident is 15%. A non resident keeps going to the next step. |
| Where is the service performed? | Services performed outside New Zealand are zero rated. Services supplied to a non resident who is outside New Zealand when you perform them can be zero rated. A service performed in New Zealand for someone who is in New Zealand at the time is not that rule. |
| Is there New Zealand land? | Interpretation statement IS 18/07 excludes services directly in connection with land in New Zealand from that zero rating. |
Put the result on the invoice: GST at 0% for a zero rated export, and 15% for a New Zealand supply. The GST invoice generator can show the GST line. For remote services, Inland Revenue says you can use any two pieces of evidence that the customer is not a New Zealand resident, and you should keep that evidence.
What About Services Performed IN New Zealand?
Services physically performed in NZ for someone who is in NZ at the time are typically not zero-rated, even if they're paid for by an overseas entity.
Example: A training course delivered in an Auckland conference room to employees of an Australian company would be subject to 15% GST because the service is consumed in NZ. But the exact same training delivered via Zoom to employees sitting in a Sydney office would be 0% GST.
GST on Services to Australian Clients
Australia is not a separate GST rate. Inland Revenue’s example of a zero rated service is legal advice given by a New Zealand lawyer to a person living in Australia, where that person is outside New Zealand when the service is performed. Advice on a call to a Sydney office, or design work used by a client in Australia, follows that same non resident test and is charged at 0% when the test is met.
The usual limits still apply. If the customer on the invoice is a New Zealand company, including a New Zealand company in an Australian group, you are billing a New Zealand customer and the online sales rule is 15%. If you deliver the work to someone who is in New Zealand at the time, that person is not outside New Zealand, so the zero rating example does not apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Only GST-registered businesses can zero-rate supplies and claim input tax credits. If you're not registered, you don't charge GST at all — but you also can't claim any back.
If you're invoicing the NZ subsidiary (a NZ-registered entity), you generally charge 15% GST. If you're invoicing the overseas parent company directly, it may be zero-rated — confirm exactly who the actual customer is.
Yes. Show the line item as zero-rated (e.g., 'GST 0%' or 'Zero-rated export') so it's clear you've applied the correct treatment. Don't just leave GST off entirely, as this can look like a mistake.
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