GST on horse training invoices in New Zealand: a practical guide

If you're GST-registered, every training fee, agistment charge and on-charged vet bill you send to owners needs the GST handled correctly. This is a general guide, not tax advice. Check your situation with your accountant or Inland Revenue (IRD).

The basics

• New Zealand GST is 15%.
• Businesses must register for GST once turnover exceeds, or is expected to exceed, $60,000 in 12 months.
• Since 1 April 2023, "tax invoices" became "taxable supply information" (TSI). The details you must show depend on the value of the supply. See IRD's guidance on taxable supply information.

Recharging owners for vet, farrier and float costs

When you pay a supplier and charge the owner back as part of your service, that recharge is generally part of your taxable supply and carries GST. A true disbursement paid on the owner's behalf, as their agent, may be treated differently. How you set up your owner agreements matters, so talk to your accountant.

Syndicates and split ownership

When a horse has several owners, each owner's share of the month's charges needs its own correct GST amount, and the shares must add up to the cent. Owners who are themselves GST-registered will want invoices that support their own GST claims.

How Stability handles it

Stability charges the horse at 100% and splits each charge by ownership share, by date, at month end. Rounding always adds up. NZD and 15% GST invoice formats are being built for our NZ launch. Talk to us if you'd like to be onboarded early.