To accurately calculate your taxes, Solo first needs to know how much income you have earned since the beginning of the financial year (1 April). This article provides details about each of the income types that Solo supports, and how to successfully import each income type into Solo.

There are two methods for getting your income into Solo:

Which method you should use depends on the type/s of income you earned. Below are the income types that Solo supports – and how to import each type:

Tip: For personal transactions (such as transfers or a payment from a friend) use the 'Archive' category or simply leave them as uncategorised and Solo will exclude them from your tax calculations.

Self-employed Income is general untaxed income that has been paid directly to you by a customer or client and has not yet had any tax taken out if it.

Common examples:

How to import into Solo: Connect your bank account and categorise your income transactions using the 'Self-employed Income' category.

Zero-rated Supplies is income you get paid from an overseas client or customer. This type of income is similar to Self-employed Income but the key difference is that it has no GST. Overseas clients are not required to pay GST to the New Zealand government so you do not need to add GST when invoicing them. But you still do need to pay income tax on this income.

When invoicing overseas clients you should not include GST.

Solo will automatically ignore all GST on income that you categorise as Zero-rated Supplies.

Common examples:

How to import into Solo: Connect your bank account and categorise your income transactions using the 'Zero-rated Income' category.

Rental Income is income from your rental property or a flatmate in your home. Income from long-term renting (more than 4 consecutive weeks) is exempt from GST. However, GST applies to short-stay rental income (such as Airbnb or Bookabach) if you are registered for GST (earn over $60,000 in a 12 month period).

Solo will automatically calculate the correct amount of GST for the rental type you select in your settings. You also have the option to split your rental income and expenses if you own only a portion of the property.

Common examples:

How to import into Solo: Connect your bank account and categorise your income transactions using the 'Rental Income' category.

More info: How to configure your rental settings, How rental property tax works

Many New Zealanders earn multiple sources of income. If you earn income that is taxed before you receive it, such as schedular payments, salary or wages, you need to also include this income in Solo so that Solo can accurately calculate your taxes. Luckily it's super simple to include these income types in Solo. All you need to do is go to 'IRD Feed' in the main menu and connect your IRD account. Solo we then sync this income, and any tax that's been paid, directly from the IRD into Solo's calculations.

Schedular payments (also known as withholding tax payments) is contract based income that has already had some income tax taken out by your employer. Unlike salary or wages and you still have to pay your own GST, ACC and do a tax return when you receive schedular income.

Being paid schedular payments is something that you would have set up with your employer. If you’re unsure if you get paid this type of income check your payslip or with your employer.

Common examples:

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your schedular payment income (along with any withholding tax paid on it) will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's income tax, GST and ACC calculations. You don't need to categorise any income transactions for this income.

Salary and wages are the most common form of income, earned by working as an employee for a company or organisation.

Common professions: This includes professionals, retail workers, healthcare workers, teachers, office workers – essentially, anyone employed by an organisation on a permanent or part-time basis.

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your salary or wage income (along with any tax paid on it) will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's calculations. You don't need to categorise any transactions for this income.

New Zealand Interest is payments that you’ve received from your bank for interest on your savings account or term deposit. Banks automatically tax this income at a flat rate and pass the tax on to IRD.

Common examples:

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your interest income (along with any withholding tax paid on it) will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's calculations. You don't need to categorise any transactions for this income.

Benefits are payments made by the government to individuals under certain circumstances, such as unemployment, sickness, or caring responsibilities.

Common professions: Applicable to individuals who meet specific criteria set by Work and Income New Zealand.

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your benefits will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's calculations. You don't need to categorise any transactions for this income.

Pension income includes payments like New Zealand Superannuation, a retirement benefit for people aged 65 and older, and other types of retirement pensions.

Common professions: Primarily for retirees or those of retirement age.

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your pension will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's calculations. You don't need to categorise any transactions for this income.

The Student Allowance is a weekly payment to help students with living expenses while studying.

Common professions: This applies to students who meet certain criteria, typically those enrolled full-time in tertiary education.

How to import into Solo: Go to the 'IRD Feed' page and connect your IRD account with Solo. Your student allowance will be automatically synced with Solo and included in Solo's calculations. You don't need to categorise any transactions for this income.

Sometime you receive money into your bank account that hasn’t come from sales or services you provide and is therefore not considered business income. This money does not need to be categorised in Solo or included in your tax returns.

Common examples: