How to get your IRD Number and Tax Refund in one day?

Hello my NZWH friends! 

Working Holiday in New Zealand in an exciting scheme where you can gain valuable experience by your own funding to travel throughout New Zealand. IRD number is an unique 9-digit number given by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for your employer to deduct tax from your earnings. 

How are you applying IRD number and getting full tax refund in one day? I'm going to share with you my exciting stories!

Getting an IRD Number in one day

1. Telephone Number

This is the first thing you need to do after you have reached the NZ airport. There are three major telecommunication companies:- 

• Telekom
• Vodafone
• 2 Degrees.

I bought Vodafone because everyone is going to that shop -.- Telekom is an awesome company that you might want to consider. 2 Degrees is not available in the airport, you can find it in the town. But bear in mind that their reception is not so good compared to Telekom or Vodafone.

2.Bank Account

There are several banks in New Zealand:-

• ANZ
• BNZ 
• ASB 
• Kiwibank

Kiwibank is very convenient because it is integrated with post office. I opened a Kiwibank account after I have settled down. You need to prepare a copy of of your working holidays visa, passport, driving license, phone number, and your address in New Zealand for the application. You can get a bank card right after your application. You can also apply for a Visa card for free if you have settled down in NZ.

*you can apply for your IRD Number in Kiwibank if you are not hurry.*

3. Offer Letter 

I was so lucky to secure a placement in kiwi pack house within one day. For those who are interested in Eastpack, you may e-mail to the HR Manager directly to schedule an interview. [please get the e-mail address from me if you are interested]. She will issue an Offer Letter right after the interview. This Offer Letter is very crucial to obtain your IRD Number within one day.

4. IRD Number Application

Go to the IRD Branch is the fastest method you can get your IRD Number within one day. Try to make an appointment before you go to the IRD branch by phone call. You can either go to the Takapuna branch/Manukau branch in Auckland. Get ready your copy of working holiday visa, passport, translated driving license, bank account details, phone number, offer letter and the completed Individual tax [IR 595] application form. Tell the officer that you need the IRD Number urgently by showing them the Offer Letter.

*you can get their IRD Number fast without an Offer Letter provided if you are good in bullshit.*

Then you will get an IRD Number by a phone call from IRD within 24 hours. 

Getting your full tax refund in one day

There are two methods where you can get your tax refund before you leave New Zealand.

• online application [The IRD Officer advice me to apply it but I have never tried it before. Apply it 1-2 months before you leave new zealand] 
• go to the IRD Branch

Friday

I reached Auckland on Friday bacause my flights back to Durianland is on Tuesday morning. I went to the Inland Revenue Department to settle my tax refund because I didn't know how to do it online. I filled in Individual tax return [IR 3] form together with my flight details to speed up the tax refund. 

When I met up with the tax specialist, I asked them in regards to the tax relief in New Zealand. The tax specialist said that if your country has a DTA with New Zealand, you may be exempt from NZ income tax. There are many countries that had signed the DTA with New Zealand including Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and most of the Europe Countries.  

For instance, if you are a student visiting NZ, a resident of the other Contracting State [MY/SG/TW/CN] and is present in the NZ solely for the purpose of his education or training shall not be taxed in NZ on payments (including salary or wages) to the extent to which he receives such payments for the purposes of his maintenance can be exempt from tax payment.

After the long discussion with the specialist, I was being exempted from the tax payment and entitled to get the full tax refund. The tax specialist said it is possible to issue a cheque on Monday.

Monday

I was hopeful to get the cheque and cash before I go back home but I did have high expectation. I met up with my best friend and we did some shopping together. I got a call from IRD to get the cheque around 3 o'clock. 

3.05 p.m.

My friend and I took a bus to go to the IRD branch. The bus was moving like a turtle and we have decided to take a cab to IRD branch because it is closing around 4.30p.m. 

3.45 p.m.

The clock are ticking but the taxi has yet to come. Finally we saw the taxi and we reached IRD around 4.o5 p.m.

[Advise: Never take a cab in NZ because it's bloody expensive. It cost around NZD 68 for 15 mins drive FML]

4.05 p.m.

I ran to the IRD to get my cheque. They have issued an ASB cheque to me. I ran to the bank to get the cash because the ASB bank are closing at 4.30pm too. 

4.15 p.m.

They requested to photocopy my passport as a procedural requirement. After the long checking procedure by the ASB, ASB could not give the cash due to the signatory problem on the cheque. ASB asked me to go back to the IRD to ask for clarifications.

4.45 p.m.

The IRD has closed when I ran back. I felt so desperate because both IRD and ASB has closed! I met a staff in IRD exit and she adviced me to bank into Kiwibank instead of taking the cash instantly. I followed her advice and ran to the Kiwibank bank.

5.25 p.m.

When I reached Kiwibank, I realized that ASB Bank did not return my passport!!! HOW AM I GOING BACK HOME TOMORROW MORNING???! I knocked at the ASB's door desperately and I saw an angel waiting for me to get my passport back! They did not have my contact number and I felt so touch when I saw the worker were waiting for me. I can't imagine the consequence if I did not get my passport back on time.

[Lesson learnt: Passport is the most important thing, you can lose everything but not your passport]

So that's how I got my full tax refund in a day. I thought it was the happy ending...

The beginning of nightmare
I received a letter from the IRD after I reached home. They said that I was not entitled to get full refund under the law because they have construed the law wrongly. So I have to pay them back a big sum of money. 

I appealed by giving them 1001 reasons why I should not pay them back but my application was being rejected.

FINALLY, my tax relief was granted last week after several appeals! 

Congratulations to me! *claps*

Conclusion:

Working holidays in New Zealand has filled with so many ups and downs. Many wonderful things happen when you initiate. I might be late to be called to the bar, but I want to be proud when I look back when I reach mid-20s in a few years time. All I want is to meet the best people I could meet at a point of time, tried everything that I wanted to try (cooking, working, woofing, helpX, farming, couch surfing, hitch hiking etc) and done the best that I could have done. 

I walked away to talk to local kiwi and trying to understand how their life was. Learning Maori language with all my Maori brothers and sisters was one of my best experiences in NZ! Understanding the place is definitely more important than having photos to proof you have set foot there!

Warren Buffet believes that the best investment you can make is to invest in yourself. The more you learn, the more you earn. I have spent my precious time to invest in myself in this beautiful journey. Find something that you like to do and you will never work a day in your life. Let's start investing in ourselves to figure out what is our true passion and interest :D

Guess where is my favourite place in New Zealand?
1. Lake Tekapo
2. Opotiki
3. Queenstown
4. Christchurch
5. Oamaru  
6. Kaikoura
7. Glenorchy
8. Fairlie
9. Wanaka

Please choose one and send the answer to Googlemei Page.
>>The Malaysian Winner is entitle to get a FREE BBH Card :D