NZ Taxable Supply Information Requirements: Complete GST Guide

Since 1 April 2023, New Zealand no longer requires a single "tax invoice" for GST purposes. The concept has been replaced by taxable supply information (TSI), a flexible framework where the information needed to support a GST claim can come from any combination of records: invoices, bank statements, contracts, supplier agreements, or other business documents.

For the majority of NZ businesses, meeting taxable supply information requirements comes down to understanding the three-tier threshold system that determines how much detail you need to hold:

Supplies under $200 require only minimal records (enough to confirm a taxable supply occurred)
Supplies from $200 to $1,000 need simplified TSI, with no requirement to record the buyer's name or address
Supplies over $1,000 require full TSI, including the supplier's name, GST registration number, date of supply, description of goods or services, and the buyer's name and address

This threshold-based approach makes New Zealand the only English-speaking country to abandon the single-document tax invoice requirement entirely. Australia, the UK, and Canada all still mandate a formal tax invoice (or VAT invoice) as the primary document for claiming input tax credits. NZ's system instead focuses on whether the right information exists across your records, regardless of which specific document contains it.

The scale of the system this framework supports is substantial. According to Inland Revenue's GST statistics, 671,324 taxpayers were registered for GST and filing returns in New Zealand in the 2025 tax year, collectively generating $28.5 billion in net GST revenue. Getting taxable supply information right affects nearly every business transaction in the country.

If you're already issuing invoices that met the old tax invoice requirements, you likely don't need to change anything about your invoicing process. A compliant tax invoice contains all the information required under the TSI rules. The practical difference is on the claiming side: buyers now have more flexibility in how they gather and hold the required information, rather than needing it all on a single supplier-issued document.

From Tax Invoices to Taxable Supply Information

The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022-23, Platform Economy, and Remedial Matters) Act 2023 formally removed the term "tax invoice" from New Zealand's GST legislation. Effective 1 April 2023, the concept was replaced entirely by taxable supply information. Three years on, this is settled law, not a pending change. If you still see "tax invoice" in your templates or client communications, the terminology is outdated even if the underlying documents remain perfectly valid.

The shift is more than a relabelling exercise. Under the old framework, a tax invoice was a specific document with prescribed content. TSI is fundamentally different: it is an information standard, not a document type. What matters is that the total information available to both parties meets the requirements for the value of the supply, regardless of how many documents it is spread across.

This multi-record approach gives businesses genuine flexibility. A supplier might issue a simplified invoice while the buyer holds a signed contract that contains the additional details needed for higher-value supplies. Together, those records satisfy the TSI requirements. Inland Revenue (IRD) does not require one master document — it requires that the information exists and can be produced.

Who is responsible for providing TSI? In standard transactions, the obligation falls on the GST-registered person making the taxable supply — the supplier. They must ensure the buyer has access to the information needed for the supply value in question. For buyer-created arrangements, the buyer takes on this responsibility, but that is a distinct regime covered later in this guide.

For businesses already issuing invoices with the standard fields (supplier name, GST number, date, description, and GST amount), the operational impact is minimal. The 2023 changes largely codified what good practice already looked like, and removed the rigidity of tying compliance to a single named document.

New Zealand's approach stands apart internationally. Among English-speaking GST and VAT jurisdictions, NZ is the only country that does not require a defined single invoice document for goods and services tax purposes. Australia still mandates specific tax invoices under its GST system, with detailed rules about what each document must contain — see Australia's tax invoice requirements for GST compliance for a full breakdown. The United Kingdom requires VAT invoices as discrete documents under its VAT regime, and Canada similarly prescribes invoicing requirements for its GST/HST. By adopting an information-based standard rather than a document-based one, NZ has taken a distinctly more flexible path that better reflects how modern businesses actually transact and keep records. Businesses operating across both jurisdictions should note that documentation satisfying NZ's information-based TSI standard may not meet Australia's single-document tax invoice requirements, and vice versa.

TSI Requirements by Supply Value

New Zealand's TSI framework operates on a three-tier structure tied to the GST-inclusive value of each supply. The higher the transaction value, the more information the recipient needs to hold before claiming an input tax credit. These thresholds are based on the GST-inclusive amount, not the GST-exclusive price.

The table below summarizes what is required at each level:

Required Information	$200 or less	$200.01–$1,000	Over $1,000
Supplier's name	Yes	Yes	Yes
Date of supply	Yes	Yes	Yes
Description of goods or services	—	Yes	Yes
Supplier's GST registration number	—	Yes	Yes
Total consideration (including GST)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Buyer's name and address	—	—	Yes
Statement that price includes GST (or GST amount stated separately)	—	—	Yes

Supplies of $200 or Less (GST-Inclusive)

For low-value transactions, the requirements are minimal. The GST-registered person claiming the input tax credit needs to hold enough records to establish that a taxable supply occurred. In practice, this typically means a receipt or record showing the supplier's name, the date, and the amount paid. There is no prescribed format and no requirement for a GST number or detailed description at this level.

The key obligation falls on the recipient: you must retain sufficient records to support your claim if Inland Revenue queries it. A till receipt from a supplier will usually suffice.

Supplies Between $200.01 and $1,000 (GST-Inclusive)

At this middle tier, the information requirements step up. The supplier's name and GST registration number must be identifiable, along with the date the supply was made, a description of what was supplied, and the total consideration including GST.

One detail practitioners should note: the buyer's name and address are not required at this tier. This is a meaningful simplification for businesses processing high volumes of mid-range purchases, since suppliers do not need to capture and record customer details for every transaction under $1,000.

Supplies Exceeding $1,000 (GST-Inclusive)

Full taxable supply information applies to supplies over the $1,000 threshold. Every element from the simplified tier is required, plus the buyer's name and address and a clear statement that the price includes GST or a separate line showing the GST amount charged.

This is the tier where incomplete records most commonly cause input tax credit claims to fail on review. Finance teams should verify that both supplier-side and buyer-side details are captured before processing deductions on high-value purchases.

Records Don't Need to Live on a Single Document

A critical point that distinguishes the TSI system from the old tax invoice regime: the required information does not need to appear on one document. A signed contract that specifies the buyer's address, combined with an invoice that covers the supply details and GST amount, can together satisfy the full TSI requirements for a supply over $1,000. Purchase orders, delivery notes, contracts, and invoices can all contribute relevant pieces of information.

For example, consider a $5,000 equipment purchase. The supplier's invoice shows their business name, GST registration number, the supply date, an equipment description, and the GST-inclusive total. The signed purchase agreement between the parties records the buyer's company name and registered address. Together, those two documents satisfy full TSI requirements for a supply over $1,000, even though neither document alone contains every required field.

This flexibility demands discipline. Practitioners claiming input tax credits should confirm that, across all available records for a given transaction, the complete set of information for the applicable tier is present and retrievable.

Input Tax Credit Claims Depend on Holding the Right Level of TSI

The recipient must hold taxable supply information to the level appropriate for the supply value before claiming a GST input tax deduction. If you are claiming an input credit on a $1,500 purchase but your records do not include the buyer's name and address, the claim is not properly supported. The obligation to obtain and retain the correct level of TSI sits with the person making the claim, not the supplier.

Industry-Specific Overlays

Some sectors impose documentation requirements that sit on top of the general TSI framework. The construction industry is a notable example: payment claims under the Construction Contracts Act carry their own prescribed content rules that apply in addition to GST requirements. Businesses operating in these sectors need to satisfy both sets of obligations. For more detail, see NZ construction payment claim and invoice requirements.

Buyer-Created Taxable Supply Information

In certain industries, the buyer prepares the taxable supply information for a transaction rather than the supplier. This arrangement — known as buyer-created taxable supply information — is standard practice where a larger purchasing entity regularly buys from multiple smaller suppliers. Meat processors purchasing livestock from farmers, forestry companies buying logs from landowners, and commission agents operating across supplier networks all rely on buyer-created TSI as a routine part of doing business.

The rationale is straightforward: when one buyer transacts with dozens or hundreds of suppliers, it is far more efficient for the buyer's systems to generate the documentation than to chase paperwork from each individual supplier.

Before 1 April 2023, buyers needed written approval from Inland Revenue before they could issue buyer-created tax invoices. Each new supplier relationship required navigating a separate IRD approval process, creating significant administrative overhead — particularly in sectors like agriculture where new suppliers might come and go seasonally.

Under the current rules, IRD pre-approval is no longer required. Buyers and suppliers simply need a written agreement in place before any buyer-created TSI is issued. This single change eliminated a meaningful bureaucratic bottleneck, especially for businesses onboarding new suppliers frequently.

What the Written Agreement Must Cover

The agreement between buyer and supplier must establish three things:

The buyer will issue the TSI for supplies covered by the agreement
The supplier will not issue their own TSI for the same supply (preventing duplicate documentation)
Both parties are GST-registered persons at the time of the supply

This agreement must be executed before any buyer-created TSI is issued under it — not retrospectively. Businesses should retain these agreements alongside their other GST records.

Content Requirements for Buyer-Created TSI

Buyer-created TSI must include all the same information required for supplier-issued TSI at the relevant threshold tier (the supply value thresholds covered in the previous section apply equally here). In addition, the document must contain a clear statement that it is buyer-created taxable supply information.

This labelling requirement exists so that both parties — and IRD — can immediately identify who prepared the documentation and avoid duplicate input tax credit claims.

For practitioners setting up these arrangements, the key practical steps are: put the written agreement in place first, ensure your document templates include the buyer-created statement, and apply the correct content requirements based on the supply value tier. The removal of the IRD approval step means new buyer-created arrangements can now be established directly between the parties whenever the commercial need arises.

Second-Hand Goods: Claiming GST Input Credits from Unregistered Sellers

New Zealand's GST system includes a provision that surprises many practitioners familiar with overseas VAT regimes: GST-registered businesses can claim input tax credits on second-hand goods purchased from sellers who are not GST-registered. In most GST and VAT jurisdictions, no input credit is available without a tax invoice from a registered supplier. New Zealand takes a different approach, recognising that denying credits on these purchases would create tax cascading and distort purchasing decisions.

"Second-hand goods" under the GST Act means goods that have been previously owned or used. The definition is broad enough to cover used equipment, vehicles, furniture, commercial assets, and other tangible property acquired for business purposes. Certain categories fall outside the provision, including fine metals and livestock purchased under specific agricultural industry schemes. For most business purchases of previously owned items from private sellers, however, the second-hand goods credit is available.

Documentation the Buyer Must Maintain

Because the unregistered seller cannot issue taxable supply information, the burden of documentation falls entirely on the buyer. To support an input tax credit claim, you need to maintain records that include:

The seller's name and address
The date of the purchase
A description of the goods sufficient to identify what was acquired
The consideration paid — the purchase price or value exchanged

These records serve as the buyer-held evidence that replaces the supplier-issued TSI you would normally rely on. Without them, the claim has no documentary foundation.

Calculating the Input Credit

The input credit on second-hand goods is not based on a separate GST charge — the unregistered seller is not charging GST at all. Instead, the credit is calculated using the GST fraction applied to the purchase price. With GST at 15%, the fraction is 3/23 of the total consideration paid. For example, on a $10,000 purchase from an unregistered seller, the claimable input credit is $10,000 × 3/23 = $1,304.35.

Audit Scrutiny and Record-Keeping

Second-hand goods claims carry a higher practical audit risk than standard input credits. The reason is straightforward: these transactions lack third-party documentation. There is no supplier-issued TSI that IRD can cross-reference, which means the claim rests entirely on the buyer's own records.

During an IRD audit, expect closer examination of second-hand goods credits. Maintaining thorough documentation goes beyond the minimum requirements listed above. Evidence of the purchase price (bank transfer records, receipts, written agreements), the goods' condition at purchase, and the business purpose for acquiring them all strengthen your position. Where the purchase price is significant, a written sale and purchase agreement or independent valuation provides additional support for the amount claimed.

Providing, Correcting, and Retaining Taxable Supply Information

For supplies exceeding $200, the recipient has the right to request TSI from the supplier, even if the supplier would not normally issue an invoice for that transaction. Once requested, the supplier must provide the information within 28 days. This rule ensures buyers can always obtain the documentation they need to support input tax credit claims. For supplies of $200 or less, there is no legal obligation to provide TSI on request, though doing so remains good practice and avoids friction with customers who may still want records for their own accounting purposes.

Corrections to Supply Information

When original supply details change due to price adjustments, returned goods, or errors, the supplier must issue corrected information. Under the TSI framework, this does not need to take the form of a traditional credit note or debit note as a standalone document type. Any record that identifies the original supply and states the corrected details is sufficient. The corrected information must be provided within 28 days of the change occurring. This flexibility means corrections can be issued through accounting software, email, or any other format, provided the link to the original transaction and the nature of the adjustment are clear.

Record Retention: The 7-Year Rule

All GST records, including taxable supply information, must be retained for a minimum of 7 years from the end of the tax period to which they relate. This is notably longer than Australia's 5-year requirement, a detail worth flagging for practices operating across both jurisdictions. Records can be held in any format, whether paper or electronic, as long as they remain accessible and legible throughout the full retention period. Inland Revenue (IRD) does not mandate a specific storage system, but the onus is on the business to produce records if requested during an audit or review.

Penalty Framework for Non-Compliance

Failing to hold adequate TSI carries real consequences. IRD can disallow input tax credit claims where the claimant cannot produce supporting information. Beyond disallowance, the Tax Administration Act provides for shortfall penalties that scale with the severity of the failure:

Not taking reasonable care — 20% of the resulting tax shortfall
Unacceptable tax position — 20% where the position taken fails to meet the standard of being "about as likely as not to be correct"
Gross carelessness — 40%
Abusive tax position — 100%
Evasion — 150%

The bottom line: maintaining complete, accurate TSI is significantly cheaper than defending incomplete records after the fact.

Practical Compliance Considerations

Configure retention periods in your systems. Electronic record-keeping and accounting platforms should be set to retain GST-related documents for the full 7-year period. Default auto-deletion or archival policies in cloud software may not align with NZ GST record retention requirements, so verify these settings explicitly.

Preserve historical records during digital transitions. Businesses moving from paper-based to digital archives must ensure all historical GST records survive the transition intact. Scanning and destroying originals is acceptable, provided the digital copies are legible and complete. Losing records mid-transition does not reduce the 7-year obligation.

Conduct regular internal reviews. Periodic checks of TSI completeness across your sales and purchase records reduce audit risk materially. Gaps are far easier to fill while the transactions are recent and counterparties are responsive than years later when IRD raises a query.