How to claim expenses as a small business
Feb 11, 2026
“Q: What expenses can I claim as a Kiwi small business? And what’s the financial advantage of claiming for business expenses?”
When you’re running a small business, there’s a multitude of operational costs and business expenses that you’ll incur in the everyday running of the company. But which of these costs are classed as business costs and are therefore tax-deductible at year-end?
“A: The short answer is that you can claim for any expenses which are wholly related to the day-to-day running of your business”
By claiming these expenses against tax, you can directly reduce your overall tax liability – and that means a smaller tax bill at year-end.
As the owner of the business, you can claim for:
- Vehicle expenses, transport costs and travel for business purposes
- Rent paid on business premises
- Depreciation on items like computers and office furniture
- Interest on borrowing money for the business
- Some insurance premiums
- Work-related journals and magazines
- Membership of professional associations
- Home office expenses
- Work-related mobile phones and phone bills
- Stationery
- Work uniforms
- Tax agent’s fees
Helping you claim all eligible business expenses
There’s more information about claiming expenses on the business.govt.nz website
If you are unsure about what you can and can't claim, our team is here to help. We are happy to walk you through eligible expenses and how to claim them correctly at tax time. We can also chat about simple ways to track these costs throughout the year, making both your GST and end of year process much easier.
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