Important information
The information provided is a general guide and does not consider your personal situation. Tax laws can change rapidly, and we do not guarantee this information is up to date. You should seek independent professional advice from a tax adviser or speak to Inland Revenue.
MAS has 3 investment products:
- MAS KiwiSaver Scheme
- MAS Retirement Savings Scheme
- MAS Investment Funds
Each product is a multi-rate Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE). This means that the amount of tax you pay is based on your prescribed investor rate (PIR) and the taxable investment income you receive from the investment product.
How much tax do you pay?
Individual tax residents
Firstly, you need to work out what PIR applies to your situation, so the right amount of tax is paid in relation to your investment.
Your PIR for the current tax year, which is from 1 April to 31 March, depends on your income (including from PIE investments) for either of the previous 2 income years. Income years generally commence on 1 April in any year and end on 31 March in the following year. You can choose the lower amount from those 2 years. Use the table below to work out your PIR based on your taxable income and PIE income for each of the 2 prior years.
| Your taxable income without your PIE income was | And your taxable income with your PIE income was | PIR that applies |
| $14,000 or less | $48,000 or less | 10.5% |
| $48,000 or less | $70,000 or less | 17.5% |
| All other cases | 28% |
You can also visit the Inland Revenue website to find out more about how to calculate your PIR.
Why is it important?
Once you know your PIR, please provide it to us by updating your details in the MAS Investor Portal or you can contact us. Make sure you have your IRD number handy. If you do not provide us with a PIR and your IRD number, we will apply the default PIR of 28%.
We will share your PIR with Inland Revenue. If Inland Revenue thinks that a different PIR needs to be applied, they may contact you. If Inland Revenue notifies us that your PIR needs to be changed, we will make this change to your investment account. If you disagree with the PIR used by Inland Revenue or by MAS, please give us a call or contact Inland Revenue.
You will need to provide your IRD number when you join, or we will have to close your account after 6 weeks.
Non-individual tax residents
MAS Investment Funds is open to non-individuals, including trusts and companies. If you are not investing as an individual or jointly, you may have a 0% PIR. Joint accounts will be taxed based on the investor with the highest PIR.
If you are investing as a trust or entity, visit the Inland Revenue website to find out more about how to calculate your PIR.
Non-resident taxpayers
If you are a non-NZ tax resident and do not qualify for a 10.5% or 17.5% PIR, your PIR will be 28%. If you have a PIR of less than 28%, you may need to file a New Zealand income tax return.
| Tax can be complicated, so if you are unsure of your PIR, we recommend you seek professional advice or visit the Inland Revenue website. |
You tax assessment
Your income tax assessment may include your PIE income and tax you pay on your PIE investments. Inland Revenue will review if you have overpaid or underpaid PIE tax and may factor this into your overall income tax assessment. You may receive a refund or need to pay any tax shortfall if an incorrect PIR has been used for your investment during the year.
Importantly, you can keep track of all the PIE tax paid on your behalf by the Manager by signing in to myIR on the Inland Revenue website.
We prepare annual PIE tax certificates for your investment, after the end of each financial year at 31 March. The tax certificates for members of the MAS KiwiSaver Scheme and MAS Retirement Savings Scheme, will be provided together with your Annual Member Statement. MAS Investment Funds investors will receive a tax certificate at the end of each financial year at 31 March.
For individual members, your annual PIE tax certificates will generally be for information purposes only. If correct information was provided to us, your myIR account should be pre-populated with the data from the PIE tax statements Inland Revenue receives from us. For non-individual members, there may be different outcomes, and we recommend that you seek professional advice or visit the Inland Revenue website.
It’s easy to access your tax certificates online through the MAS Investor Portal or you can contact us for a copy.
It’s also important that you refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Other Material Information document (OMI) to understand more about the Schemes.