Tax deductions for content creators & influencers in New Zealand
As a content creator you can generally claim the gear, software, phone and internet you use to make content — and the part most people miss is that gifted products and platform tips count as income you must declare. In New Zealand you report it through an IR3 individual return, plus GST returns once registered.
Creating online is now the largest digital side hustle there is, and the costs of making the work — cameras and lighting, editing subscriptions, the work share of your phone and internet, the space you film in — are generally claimable where they meet the three rules below. One thing is worth knowing early, because it shapes your record-keeping: income here is broader than money. Products you are gifted to promote, tips, collaboration payments and platform revenue all count, including from overseas — so log them as they arrive and the rest is straightforward.
The three rules for any claim
- You paid for it yourself and weren’t reimbursed.
- It directly relates to earning your income.
- You have a record — a receipt, invoice or bank statement.
Where you stand in New Zealand
Self-employed income is declared in your individual return and taxed at the personal rates. There is no tax-free threshold — tax applies from the first dollar — and once your tax bill passes the threshold you move onto provisional tax, paying in instalments through the year.
- GST rate
- 15%
- Registration
- NZD 60,000 turnover/yr
- Returns
- Monthly, 2-monthly or 6-monthly
- Authority
- Inland Revenue
What you can usually claim
These are the costs of doing the work — the same list wherever you are based. How each one is claimed follows the rules in New Zealand, set out below.
Cameras, lighting and audio gear
Cameras, lenses, ring lights, microphones, tripods and capture cards bought to make content.
Editing software and subscriptions
Editing suites, design tools, stock music and footage licences, scheduling and analytics tools — the recurring subscriptions that keep the channel running.
Phone, internet and data
The work-related share of your phone and internet. Keep a representative record of the split, because the private portion is not claimable.
Home studio running costs
If you film or edit from home, the running costs of that space — electricity, heating and cooling — can generally be apportioned to the work use.
Props, set pieces and specific costumes
Items bought purely to appear in content. Everyday clothing is not claimable even if you wear it on camera; distinctive costumes and props used for the work generally are.
How New Zealand treats them
Vehicle and travel
Vehicle costs are claimed on the business-use share, using either a logbook or Inland Revenue’s kilometre rates.
Home workspace
The business-use share of home costs is claimable, worked out from the area used for work or using the square-metre rate option.
Equipment and higher-cost gear
Assets over the low-value threshold are depreciated at Inland Revenue’s rates rather than claimed in full up front.
This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with Inland Revenue or a registered tax adviser, and keep records to back up every claim. Official guidance from Inland Revenue →
Keep in mind
- Everyday clothing, makeup and haircuts, even when you appear on camera.
- The private share of your phone, internet or streaming subscriptions.
- Gear bought before you started earning from content, unless it genuinely relates to your current income.
- Provisional tax catches people in year two. Your first year has no instalments, then the next year you can face both the previous year’s bill and the new year’s instalments at once — so it is worth setting money aside before it arrives.
Content creators & influencers in New Zealand — common questions
What can content creators & influencers claim in New Zealand?
The spending travels even though the rules do not: cameras, lighting and audio gear, editing software and subscriptions, phone, internet and data, home studio running costs and props, set pieces and specific costumes. What changes is how you claim it — in New Zealand, assets over the low-value threshold are depreciated at Inland Revenue’s rates rather than claimed in full up front. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with Inland Revenue or a registered tax adviser, and keep records to back up every claim.
How do content creators & influencers in New Zealand report self-employed income?
You report it through an IR3 individual return, plus GST returns once registered. Self-employed income is declared in your individual return and taxed at the personal rates. There is no tax-free threshold — tax applies from the first dollar — and once your tax bill passes the threshold you move onto provisional tax, paying in instalments through the year. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with Inland Revenue or a registered tax adviser, and keep records to back up every claim.
Can content creators & influencers in New Zealand claim a home workspace?
The business-use share of home costs is claimable, worked out from the area used for work or using the square-metre rate option. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with Inland Revenue or a registered tax adviser, and keep records to back up every claim.
Do content creators & influencers in New Zealand need to register for GST?
GST in New Zealand — rate: 15%; registration: NZD 60,000 turnover/yr; returns: Monthly, 2-monthly or 6-monthly. Whether you have to register turns on your own turnover and where your customers are, so check the current position with Inland Revenue before assuming you are under it. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with Inland Revenue or a registered tax adviser, and keep records to back up every claim.
More on self-employed tax in New Zealand — the New Zealand hub.
Other guides for New Zealand
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