IRD are rolling out the next phase of their business transformation project this month and as a result a number of their key services are unavailable from 3pm Thursday 18 April to 8am Friday 26 April 2019.
During this time, myIR secure online services are unavailable and all phone lines and offices are closed. You can still pay a bill as normal through your bank account and access information on their website.
Here are the key filings affected by this shutdown:
March Employer Monthly Schedules - Due 20 April 2019.
IRD have advised that they will accept returns through to 26 April 2019 without the application of penalties as some of their key systems are unavailable from 3pm on Thursday 18 April 2019. However, we strongly recommend that you file your return before IRD close down their systems.
Payments can still be made throughout the shutdown period and as such there is no change to the payment due date - Due to 20 April falling on Easter Weekend you have until Tuesday 23 April 2019 to make your payments.
Payday Filing
IRD have advised that any returns due during the shutdown period can be filed on Friday 26 April 2019 without incurring penalties. How this is handled will depend on the software that you use for managing your payday filing responsibilities.
If you use Xero Payroll for Payday Filing, Xero have advised that you can continue to post your pay runs and pay your employees in the normal manner through this period. Xero will automatically queue your payday filing data and will transmit this to IRD automatically once their systems come back online and are accepting data.
GST
If you are GST registered, your 31 March 2019 GST return is due to be filed with the IRD on 7 May 2019.
If you prepare and file your own GST returns in Xero, you will still be able to prepare and finalise your GST return as you normally would. However, the final step of e-filing your GST return with IRD will not be possible during the offline period so you’ll need to complete this step once IRD’s systems are back online on 26 April 2019.
If Thrive CA prepare and file your GST return, you don’t need to worry as we are managing this process around the IRD shutdown period.
Provisional Tax
The final instalment of 2019 provisional tax is due for payment to IRD on 7 May 2019. We expect to have all payment reminder notices out in the usual timeframe and these should show up in your inbox over the next couple of weeks.
More information on the IRD shutdown can be found here on the IRD website. Get in touch with the team at Thrive CA if you have any concerns or issues with your IRD obligations over this period.