Short answer: nothing changes on 7 November. Today’s rules stay in force until Parliament passes a new law: the $60,000 GST threshold, the $1,000 low-value asset write-off and the 20% Investment Boost. Labour wants an $80,000 GST threshold and a $10,000 write-off. National wants to keep Investment Boost and review the threshold. Either way, set up your business for the rules you have now.
Election season is noisy, and none of the commentary is written for a Shopify store doing $55k or a creator about to buy a $7,000 camera kit. So here’s the founder version: what each main party has actually put on paper, when any of it could land, and what’s worth doing before you vote.
We’re not telling you how to vote. This is a planning guide, and every promise in it is a promise until it’s law.
When does anything actually change?
Later than the headlines make it sound. The Electoral Commission’s key dates are:
- Sunday 25 October, midnight: enrolment closes
- Monday 26 October: advance voting opens
- Saturday 7 November: election day, preliminary results from 7pm
After that, coalition talks start. In 2023 the election was on 14 October and the new government wasn’t sworn in until 27 November. Then policies need drafting, select committee and three readings before they’re law. That’s why the dates in the party plans sit in 2027 and 2028, not this summer.
So for this year’s GST returns, provisional tax and Black Friday stock buys, the rules you know are the rules you’ll work under.
What are the main parties promising small businesses?
Here are the two big plans side by side, as reported when each was released. Labour published its Small Business Action Plan on 6 August (1News). National released its 47-point small business plan on 7 October (interest.co.nz).
| Issue | Rule today | Labour’s plan | National’s plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| GST registration threshold | $60,000 (unchanged since 2009) | $80,000 from 1 July 2028 | Review the threshold, no figure given |
| Low-value asset write-off | Under $1,000 | Under $10,000 from 1 July 2027, firms under $10m revenue | No change announced |
| Investment Boost | Extra 20% deduction on new assets | Replaced by the bigger write-off | Kept |
| Getting paid | No set deadline for big customers | Large businesses pay small suppliers within 15 days (invoices up to $25,000) | Finish rolling out open banking and payments modernisation |
| First hire | Standard employer rules | Nothing specific | First Employee Support Package, faster handling of small employment disputes |
Labour costs its package at $1.56 billion over four years, most of it the asset write-off, according to its own policy page. National’s Nicola Willis said the GST threshold is a review rather than a promise because any change needs to be funded.
What about ACT, the Greens and NZ First? Polls point to another close result, so the smaller parties could decide which of these plans survive. Check each party’s own site for its tax and business policies, and treat any single-party promise as something that could be changed in a coalition deal.
GST threshold $80,000 NZ: should you plan around it?
This is the one founders ask about most, because it’s the one that bites the moment a side hustle takes off.
Today, Inland Revenue’s rule is simple: you must register if your turnover was at least $60,000 in the last 12 months, or you expect it to be at least $60,000 in the next 12. That second test catches growing online stores all the time. Land a big wholesale order in March and you may have to register before you’ve actually banked $60k.
Labour’s plan would move that line to $80,000 from 1 July 2028, which it says would free about 35,000 businesses from compulsory registration. National would look at the threshold but hasn’t said where it would land.
What this means for you, practically:
- If you’re under $60k and growing: register when today’s rule says to. Holding sales back for 20-odd months on the chance the threshold moves is an expensive way to save on paperwork.
- If you’re already registered: nothing in either plan forces you out. Registration below the threshold stays voluntary, and plenty of businesses that sell to other GST-registered businesses, or have big setup costs, stay registered on purpose.
- If you’re pricing products now: build GST into your margins from the start. Adding 15% to a price customers already know is much harder than launching at a GST-inclusive price.
Our GST registration threshold guide walks through the forward-looking test and the filing options in full.
Low value asset write-off $10,000 vs Investment Boost: buying gear now or later?
This is the policy difference that matters most if you’re about to buy a laptop, camera kit, coffee machine or 3D printer.
Under today’s rules:
- Assets under $1,000 can be written off in full in the year you buy them.
- Bigger assets are depreciated over their life, plus a 20% Investment Boost deduction in year one if the asset is new, or new to New Zealand, and first used on or after 22 May 2025 (IRD: what you can claim with Investment Boost). There’s no cap on the value. Second-hand gear sourced in NZ doesn’t qualify.
Under Labour’s plan, from 1 July 2027: anything under $10,000 could be deducted in full in the year you buy it, if your revenue is under $10 million. Investment Boost would go.
Here’s what that looks like on a $6,000 new camera and lighting kit for a content studio (illustrative, ask your accountant for your actual figures):
| Year-one deduction | |
|---|---|
| Today | $1,200 Investment Boost + normal depreciation on the remaining $4,800 |
| Labour’s proposal (from July 2027) | The full $6,000 |
The total you deduct over the asset’s life is the same. What changes is timing: a full write-off pulls the tax benefit into year one. That’s a useful cash-flow boost, but it’s a smaller deal than it sounds, and it’s at least eight months and one election away.
So the rule of thumb: if the gear makes you money now, buy it now. A camera that lands you three brand deals this summer beats a slightly faster tax deduction in 2027. If a purchase genuinely can wait, and your year-end lines up, it’s worth a chat with your accountant once the government is formed.
Our guide on funding equipment for a new business compares buying, leasing and borrowing. If the kit is ready to pay for itself, you can check your options for equipment funding in about a minute.
Getting paid and your first hire
Two less-talked-about promises matter for this site’s readers.
Fifteen-day payment. Labour would make large businesses (over $33 million in revenue) pay small suppliers’ invoices of $25,000 or less within 15 days. If you’re an agency, UGC creator or wholesaler invoicing big brands on 60- or 90-day terms, that would be a genuine cash-flow change. It’s still a promise, so for now, put clear payment terms in your contracts and chase overdue invoices early.
First employee support. National’s plan leads with a package for businesses making their first hire, with guidance through the first year and lighter penalties for genuine admin mistakes. If you’re hiring your first packer or social media assistant this summer, you’ll still need employment agreements, payroll and KiwiSaver contributions sorted under today’s rules either way.
What should a founder actually do before 7 November?
Make your plans work under the rules you have now. Treat any election win as a bonus, not the plan.
- Check your rolling 12-month turnover. If you’ll pass $60k in the next year, get ready to register. Don’t count on a threshold change that couldn’t start before July 2028.
- Price with GST built in if you’re anywhere near the threshold.
- Buy the gear you need now under today’s rules, and keep invoices showing purchase and first-use dates for Investment Boost.
- Map your tax dates. Provisional tax doesn’t wait for coalition talks. Our provisional tax guide covers the year-two squeeze.
- Lock in peak-season funding before the madness. Black Friday is 27 November, three weeks after the election. Stock orders and ad budgets can’t wait for a new Cabinet.
Worked example: a skincare store sitting at $54k
Illustrative only. Not a real business.
Mereana runs a small skincare brand from Tauranga through Shopify and Instagram. Her last 12 months’ turnover is $54,000 and climbing, with a stockist deal that could add $15,000 next year. She’s been wondering whether to slow down and wait for an $80,000 threshold.
Run the numbers and it doesn’t hold up. The stockist deal means she expects to pass $60,000 in the next 12 months, so she has to register under the current rule. Turning the deal down to stay under the line would cost far more than GST compliance. She registers, adjusts her retail prices to include GST, and claims back the GST on her packaging and ingredients. She also buys a new $4,500 mixing setup now rather than waiting until 2027, because the extra production is what wins the stockist.
The election’s coming. Your Black Friday plan is already here.
Whoever forms the next government, founders still face the same problem this summer: growth costs money before it makes money. Stock for peak season, a new piece of kit, an ad push that’s already proven, or a GST bill that arrives right after your best month. That’s the work we do every week with young Kiwi businesses, whatever’s happening in Wellington.
If you’d like a clear read on what’s realistic:
- The enquiry takes about 60 seconds, and there’s no credit check when you first enquire, so your credit file isn’t touched just for asking.
- Your details stay with us. We don’t send them out to a pile of lenders, so you won’t get a flood of calls from companies you’ve never heard of.
- A real person reads your situation, including your trading history, how your sales come in and what the money’s for, then calls you.
- Please fill the form in accurately, with real turnover and trading time, so we can find the right fit first time.
Buying kit? See equipment and tech funding. Sales spike in waves? A line of credit for online sellers may suit better.