[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]
14 December 2022
Anatole Sergejew
[email address]
Dear Anatole Segejew
Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), received
on 2 December 2022. You requested the following:
Could you please advise if there has ever been a “blue line test” regarding the need
to declare income from having a tenant staying in part of your own home.
I have interpreted the term “blue line test” to mean “bright-line test”. The bright-line test
or bright-line rules apply when someone sells a residential property within a set period
after acquiring it, they may be required to pay income tax on any profit made through the
property increasing in value.
To answer your question, there has not been a bright-line test relating to declaring income
when a tenant is staying in your home. However, information on renting out a room in
your home and declaring your rental income can be found on Inland Revenue’s website
here:
https://www.ird.govt.nz/property/renting-out-residential-property/tax-by-rental-
property-type/renting-out-a-room-in-my-main-home.
Thank you for your request.
Yours sincerely
Paul Fulton
Acting Policy Lead
www.ird.govt.nz
Ref: 23OIA1637