How do you get an IRD number in New Zealand in 2026?

If you have just arrived, start with Inland Revenue's new-arrival process. You let IRD check your identity with Immigration New Zealand instead of mailing the same papers twice. For Immigration NZ visa holders, the deadline is the final date printed on the visa by which you must arrive in New Zealand. Miss that date and you must switch to the living-in-New-Zealand process. Australian passport holders often get a short post-arrival window measured in weeks rather than a visa travel-by date.

New-arrival applicants usually need passport details and, for resident, student, or work visas, the Immigration New Zealand application number. Student and work visa applicants may also need their most recent overseas tax number. Inland Revenue can still ask for a functioning New Zealand bank account or customer due-diligence paperwork on some student and work routes, which is why open-bank-account-new-zealand often sits beside this step.

If the new-arrival window has closed, apply online as living in New Zealand. You then have 20 days to take original physical documents to an AA Driver Licensing Agent. AA here means the Automobile Association sites contracted for driver licensing, not every AA Auto Centre. Bring one Category A primary document (commonly an overseas passport plus New Zealand visa, or an Australian, Cook Islands, Niuean, or Tokelauan passport) and one Category B secondary document such as an overseas driver licence or International Driving Permit. Digital copies are not accepted.

Employers need a completed Tax code declaration (IR330) with your name, IRD number, and tax code. Without a complete declaration, payroll must use the non-notified rate: a high withholding rate of 45% plus ACC earners' levy (Accident Compensation Corporation injury levy), with tax code ND. That is cash-flow pain, not a permanent tax rate, but it can take weeks to sort through myIR.

myIR is Inland Revenue's online account for tax, KiwiSaver, and employer messages. It is separate from RealMe, though some IRD logins can use RealMe as an access method. Create myIR after you have the number so you can check deductions, file returns, and manage set-up-kiwisaver-new-zealand.

Approved new-arrival applications often arrive by text or email within about two days, or by post within about ten. Living-in-New-Zealand applications typically finish only after the AA visit, then IRD aims for about ten working days for online cases.