NZ GST Codes in QuickBooks: a Bookkeeper's Reference (Free CSV)

QuickBooks Online does not arrive in New Zealand with a ready-made set of GST codes, so the first job in a New Zealand file is to set them up correctly. This reference lists the GST codes a New Zealand business needs, the rate each carries, when to use it, and what it does to the GST return. The download is a single sheet you can keep beside the screen while coding.

Start here: New Zealand is a self-setup region

QuickBooks Online automatically provisions a default GST or VAT code set for a specific list of countries, and New Zealand is not included. That means a new company file has the Tax feature available but no New Zealand rates waiting. You turn on GST under Taxes, create the GST agency with your IRD number and filing frequency, and add the rates. The names used here follow the way Inland Revenue’s GST return is laid out and the way most local bookkeepers label their rates, so a colleague picking up the file recognises them immediately.

The codes to set up

• GST on Income: 15%, on standard-rated sales.
• GST on Expenses: 15%, on standard-rated purchases.
• Zero Rated: 0%, for exports, going concerns and other zero-rated supplies. Taxable, and on the return.
• GST on Imports: for the GST that Customs charges on imported goods over NZ$1,000, recorded against the customs entry.
• No GST: for items outside the scope (wages, transfers, drawings) and for exempt supplies (financial services, residential rent), neither of which gives an input-tax claim.

The distinctions that matter

1. Zero Rated is not No GST. A zero-rated supply is taxable at 0% and is reported on the return; an export is the classic case. No GST is for things the GST system does not touch, plus exempt supplies. Code an export as Zero Rated, not No GST.
2. No GST is doing two jobs. Because there is no separate Exempt code in the standard New Zealand setup, No GST carries both out-of-scope items and exempt supplies. If you want to track exempt separately, create a dedicated rate, but most files fold them into No GST.
3. Imports are their own code. GST charged at the border is not the same as GST on the supplier’s invoice. Use GST on Imports on the customs entry so you do not double up.

A few New Zealand specifics

Insurance on business cover is standard-rated and claimable here, unlike some countries where it is exempt. Domestic travel carries 15%, while international travel is zero-rated. Entertainment with a private element is only 50% deductible, and the GST claim is limited to that half through an annual adjustment, so a meal coded at 15% still needs the year-end correction.

The code is a default that prefills the line

Once your rates exist, QuickBooks lets you assign a default GST code to each account in the chart of accounts, in bulk, and that default prefills the transaction line. You override it on any line that needs a different treatment, which is why a good chart pairs the default with the allowed alternatives. Remember the chart-of-accounts import does not carry GST codes, so you assign them after the structure is in.

How to use the reference

1. Identify the nature of the supply, not just the account it lands in.
2. Match it to the code, keeping Zero Rated and No GST distinct.
3. For imported goods over NZ$1,000, record the border GST with GST on Imports.
4. Pair this with the NZ chart of accounts for QuickBooks, whose CSV maps each account to its code for bulk-assigning.

Coding every transaction by hand is exactly the work software removes. ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, applies the correct New Zealand GST code for the supply, and posts it into QuickBooks Online with the source attached, so the code is right at capture. Dext and Hubdoc also pull GST off documents as they arrive. On Xero? See the NZ GST codes in Xero reference.