Industry Specific GST: sector rules that change the answer

Industry Specific GST is our hub for New Zealand GST rules that depend on what you actually sell. The standard rate is still 15%, but Uber trips, Airbnb stays, exported goods, farm sales, charity shops and building retentions each follow their own Inland Revenue (IRD) path.

This page is for the 2026/27 tax year (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027). Use it to find the sector guide that matches your work, then open the detailed posts listed below. It is not a substitute for advice on complex structures.

Why “industry” GST still starts with the same basics

On IRD’s GST overview, GST is a tax on most goods and services at 15%. You still register when taxable supplies hit (or are expected to hit) $60,000 in a rolling 12 months, or when you add GST to prices. Zero rated supplies still count toward that threshold.

Sector rules sit on top of that. They change who collects the tax, whether you charge 0% or 15%, and when a progress claim or retention hits your return. For registration and filing first, use the GST Basics Guide and the free GST calculator. The wider map is in GST Guide NZ.

Listed services: ride sharing, delivery and short stay

From 1 April 2024, IRD’s GST for drivers, deliverers and accommodation owners rules apply when you supply “listed services” through an online marketplace. Listed services are ride sharing and ride hailing, food and beverage delivery, and short stay or visitor accommodation. Closely connected extras sold through the same marketplace (for example cleaning fees on a holiday rental) are included.

You must give the marketplace your name, IRD number and GST registration status. If you are not GST registered, the marketplace collects 15% GST, pays 6.5% to IRD, and passes 8.5% to you as a flat rate credit. If you are GST registered, marketplace listed service sales go in your return as zero rated, and you can still claim GST on related costs. Off platform work (your own website, phone bookings, or a platform that hires you directly) follows the ordinary GST rules.

Driver and delivery detail sits in Uber and gig economy GST rules. Host detail sits in Airbnb and short term rentals. IRD’s fact sheet AD277 (GST on listed services) is the official plain English summary.

Short stay accommodation vs long term residential rent

IRD defines short stay and visitor accommodation as renting residential property to guests for up to 4 consecutive weeks at a time (Airbnb, Bookabach and similar). Long term residential rent under the Residential Tenancies Act is generally exempt: no GST on the rent, and no GST claim on related costs.

More on hosts: IRD short stay and visitor accommodation and our Airbnb guide. Residential landlords should also read GST on residential rent in NZ under the property and assets GST category.

Contractors, agents and commissions

Independent contractors who invoice clients face the same $60,000 registration test as any other taxable activity. Many also have schedular withholding on invoices. That is income tax withholding, not a GST substitute. Start with GST for contractors basics and contractors vs employees, then use the withholding tax calculator and self employed tax calculator.

Agency and commission deals need care about who makes the supply: the principal, the agent, or both. Commission income for a GST registered agent is usually a taxable supply of services. Worked commission patterns sit in agents and commissions GST. Real estate commission splits and related traps are in GST for real estate agents.

Construction progress claims and retentions

Building and engineering contracts that provide for instalments or progress payments are treated as successive supplies for GST time of supply. In broad terms, each progress claim is timed at the earlier of the invoice for that payment, the payment becoming due, or the payment being received. Retention money held back until performance is complete has its own timing: the retained sum is generally timed when that retention becomes due or is received.

Your accounting basis (invoice or payments) still decides how those timed amounts land on the return. Compare bases in invoice basis vs payments basis. Deposit and progress payment traps more generally are in GST on deposits and progress payments. Sector walkthrough: construction and retentions GST.

Content creators and services to overseas clients

IRD’s zero rated supplies page lists services that can be charged at 0% when conditions are met, including many services supplied to non residents who are outside New Zealand when the service is performed, and certain remote services to non residents (you must be able to show the customer is not a New Zealand resident).

That is why many YouTube, Twitch and similar platform payouts from overseas entities can sit at 0%, while a New Zealand brand deal is usually 15%. Creators: GST for content creators. Broader exported services: GST on services to overseas clients. Overseas platforms that sell into New Zealand have a separate regime under GST for overseas businesses and our GST digital services (Netflix tax) guide.

Exporting goods and ecommerce sellers

Exported goods can be zero rated when you export them (or will export them) in your name and you hold evidence. IRD’s zero rated supplies page says goods entered for export must generally leave New Zealand within 28 days of the time of supply unless IRD agrees a longer period. If the buyer takes possession in New Zealand and walks the goods out themselves, ordinary 15% GST usually applies.

Physical exports: exporting goods from NZ. Online sellers and dropshippers: ecommerce and dropshipping GST rules. Importing for stock still needs Customs and IRD rules: use the GST on imports calculator, and keep invoices tidy with the GST invoice generator.

Farming and agriculture

Primary producers use the same 15% rate and registration threshold as other businesses. Sales of a farm as a going concern between registered persons can be zero rated when IRD’s going concern tests are met (the dairy farm example on IRD’s zero rated supplies page is the classic case). Land between registered persons can also fall under compulsory zero rating of land rules. Livestock, farmhouses and mixed private use need apportionment care. Sector guide: farming and agriculture GST.

Non profits and charities

On IRD’s exempt supplies guidance, when a non profit body sells goods or services that were donated to it, that sale is exempt. The organisation cannot charge GST on those donated goods sales, and cannot claim GST credits on expenses of making that exempt supply. A charity shop that only sells donated clothing is the classic example. If it also sells purchased goods, claims and apportionment get more detailed.

Grants, sponsorship, raffles and trading income are not all treated the same for GST. IRD’s charitable and donee organisations guide IR255 and GST plus IR546 set out the split. Practical walkthrough: non profit and charities GST rules. Related: GST on grants and subsidies and sponsorship vs donations.

Where related topics sit

Day to day claims (entertainment, bad debts, reimbursements) sit under business and expenses GST. Grouping, reverse charge and audits sit under advanced GST rules. Property sales and mixed use assets sit under property and assets GST.

Tools that pair with sector work: PAYE calculator for staff, provisional tax calculator when residual income tax pushes you onto instalments, late GST penalty calculator if a return or payment is late, and how to file your GST return in myIR.

What this Industry Specific GST page is checked against

Last full check: 25 August 2026. Listed services (including the 8.5% flat rate credit), short stay definitions, zero rated exports and exported services, exempt donated goods sales, and the 15% / $60,000 basics were matched to ird.govt.nz/gst, IRD GST for listed services, short stay accommodation, zero rated supplies, exempt supplies, AD277, IR255 and IR546. GSTCalc.nz is a free New Zealand publisher of tax calculators and guides. Ads may fund the site. We are not Inland Revenue and this is not tax advice. Figures are working papers.

Publisher details: About us and Contact. Privacy: Privacy policy. The articles listed below this description are the detailed Industry Specific GST posts.