A personal tax summary (PTS) shows the income and tax deduction details for all salary and wage earners over the course of a financial year. These details are based on the information that your employer, pension provider or benefit provider gives to the IRD. A Personal Tax Summary is ideal if you’re unsure about having overpaid or underpaid your tax. If you’re lucky your PTS will let you know that you’re due a refund. The downside of a PTS is that it can also tell you if you’ve underpaid the IRD and you’ve got a tax bill to pay. If you request a PTS and it shows you that you really do have more tax to pay, there’s no getting out of it. It’s sad but true. Debts of $20 or less get wiped by the IRD. If you’ve been really good about using the right tax code and you’ve been paying the correct amount of tax throughout the year you won’t necessarily receive a PTS automatically. That said, the IRD will automatically send you a PTS if you tick any of the following boxes: You received Working for Families Tax Credits from Work and Income and earned over: $36,350 for the 2013 tax year and onwards. $36,827 for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax years. $35,914 for the 2009 tax year. You used the incorrect tax code. You used a special tax code. You used a casual agricultural employee (CAE) or an election day worker (EDW) tax code and earned more than $200. You received a single income as an IR56 taxpayer You had a student loan for tax years from 1 April 2012 to present and had either $1,500 or more of adjusted net income or $1,500 (or more) above the annual repayment threshold. You didn’t have enough money deducted from your salary, wage or benefit income. Once you receive your PTS, check it over to see that all the information is correct. Then, if you owe money, you want to pay what’s owed before the due date. If you’re owed a refund, double check your bank details which should be listed on the PTS. If they’re not there, fill out the direct debit form that’s attached to it and return these papers to the IRD. It’s worth noting that if the refund you’re owed is over $200, you have to call the IRD to confirm this amount, because it can’t be paid out otherwise. If it’s less than $200 the IRD will automatically pay this out within 30 days. Did you know that you can claim expenses on your PTS? Well, it’s true. And here’s what you can claim: Kiwi Tax Refunds fees for completing your tax return. Any commissions made on interest or dividend income interest on money you borrowed to buy shares or to invest, as long as the investment produces a taxable income. Premiums on loss of earnings insurance if the insurance policy is considered a taxable income. A tax credit is a reduction in the amount of tax you need to pay the IRD and your PTS can highlight whether to not you’ve overpaid and are owed a credit or if you’ve underpaid and are out of pocket! There are three main New Zealand tax credits: Tax credits for transitional circumstances (formerly the income under $9,880 tax credit) for 2012 and previous tax years Tax credits for children for the 2012 and previous tax years Independent earner tax credit for the 2010 tax year and onwards. It’s really important to make sure that all of your information on your PTS is correct because it can result in a bigger and better tax refund. If you’re daunted by the task, get in touch with Kiwi Tax Refund, and we can do the hard work for you.