June Newsletter

Sasha Curin
1 day ago
2 min read

IRD Tax Scam Warning & Budget 2026 Summary

With tax scam emails continuing to circulate and Budget 2026 now released, there are a few important updates for business owners this month.

In this newsletter, we’re highlighting a current Inland Revenue scam to watch out for, summarising the key takeaways from Budget 2026, and sharing a few simple reminders to help keep your business records and reporting on track as we move through the financial year.

⚠️ Be Aware of Fake IRD Tax Refund Emails

We've recently seen a number of convincing fake emails claiming to be from Inland Revenue offering a tax refund.

While these emails can look genuine, they are designed to steal personal information, banking details, or login credentials.

Please do not click any links, open attachments, or enter any information if you receive an unexpected email claiming to be from IRD.

If you're unsure whether an email is legitimate, contact our office before taking any action. We'd much rather spend a few minutes checking it for you than have you deal with the consequences of a scam.

A good rule of thumb is:

Don't click links in unexpected emails
Access myIR directly through the official IRD website
Contact us if anything looks suspicious

Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so it's always worth double-checking.

Budget 2026: What Business Owners Need to Know

Budget 2026 has now been released and for most small businesses, there are no major tax changes that significantly impact day-to-day operations.

However, there are a few key points worth being aware of:

Some movement towards simplifying parts of the tax system, including changes being considered for FBT (company vehicles and benefits)
Updates to Research and Development (R&D) incentives, which may improve timing of support for eligible businesses
A continued focus from Inland Revenue on compliance and reviewing tax filings more closely

What this means in practice:

IRD is increasing data matching and checking across GST, payroll, and income tax
Businesses with good record-keeping and systems will not see major changes
Businesses that are behind on bookkeeping may face more scrutiny than before

Nothing in this Budget requires immediate action, but it does reinforce the importance of keeping your records accurate, up to date, and filed on time.