Provisional Tax Sucks... But TMNZ Makes It Bearable
Let’s be honest provisional tax is a bit of a headache. If you’re self-employed or running a business in NZ, you’ve probably had that moment where IRD drops a bill in your inbox and you think: “Wait, I already paid tax... what’s this?”
Here’s the breakdown simple, no fluff.
So, what is provisional tax?
It’s basically the IRD’s way of getting you to pay your income tax in advance. Instead of waiting until the end of the year and paying one big lump sum, they make you pay it in chunks across the year usually in three instalments.
They base it off last year’s income, which sounds fine... until your income changes. And if you guess your income wrong and underpay? Hello, interest and penalties.
The issue?
Business cashflow isn’t always predictable. One month you’re flying, the next you’re chasing invoices. Provisional tax doesn’t care IRD still wants its money, on time, based on a formula that doesn’t always reflect what’s actually going on in your business.
That’s where TMNZ comes in
TMNZ (Tax Management NZ) gives you breathing room. They’re IRD-approved, and what they do is pretty clever.
Here’s how they help:
Flexibility through tax pooling
You pay into their “tax pool” instead of straight to IRD. That means you can:
Pay late without getting smacked with IRD penalties
Catch up on underpaid tax and still stay compliant
Even sell extra tax you’ve paid (yeah, that’s a thing)
Lower interest if you underpay
IRD interest sits around 10.91% right now. TMNZ? Closer to 6–7%. That adds up fast.
You get time
Can’t pay right now? No drama. TMNZ can delay the payment date without making you look bad to IRD.
Why does this matter?
If you’ve got uneven cashflow, seasonal income, or just don’t want tax bills dictating your business decisions TMNZ gives you options. You stay on IRD’s good side while managing tax in a way that actually fits real life.
An unsecured business loan gives you access to funds, (usually between $10K and $200K) based on your business's performance, not your personal assets.
No mortgage. No property backing. Just funding based on:
Trading history
Turnover
Bank statements
Loan purpose
The loan is generally over 6–24 months, and repayments are either daily, weekly or monthly depending on the lender and what suits your cash flow.
EXAMPLE CLIENT:
Say you run a construction company turning over $1.2M a year.
You’ve just won a new contract but need $100K to pay for upfront materials and labour before the first invoice is due. You don’t have time to go to the bank and wait potentially 4 weeks for a reply.
An unsecured loan gives you:
$100,000 in the bank (within 1–3 days)
Repayments that align with your cash flow
No need to wait for approval from your bank or mortgage broker
Is it Expensive? Yes compared to a secured loan it can be. But you’re paying for speed, flexibility and not tying up your house.