When are gifts taxable? The IRD drafts a 59-page clarification of how it interprets the law

New Zealanders have enjoyed relative freedom to make gifts without tax consequences since the abolition of gift duty in 2011.

This, combined with the abolition of estate duty in 1992, has meant it has been possible to make gifts of cash or other assets without a tax cost for the past 12 years. Of course, this lack of tax cost is subject to some exceptions, of which perhaps the most well-known is the bright-line test, which taxes certain (deemed or actual) capital gains derived in relation to real estate.