Entity Formation in New Zealand

Ready for a permanent New Zealand presence? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including telling you when it is too early.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in New Zealand means

A Limited Company (Ltd), incorporated under the Companies Act 1993 and registered with the Companies Office, is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence. There is no minimum share capital requirement: many New Zealand companies incorporate with a single NZD 1 share. When you form one, you become the legal employer and operator in New Zealand, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the setup steps and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own New Zealand Limited Company makes you the legal employer and operator, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup is fast, but not instant

Incorporation itself can complete in days once your online application, name reservation, and director and shareholder consents are in place, but you cannot legally employ anyone until Companies Office registration completes. Timing the move still matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in New Zealand works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, then reserve your company name with the Companies Office and arrange your registered New Zealand office address and address for service.

02 — Consents & application

Every director and shareholder signs a consent form within 20 working days of name reservation. There is no minimum share capital requirement, so most companies incorporate with a single nominal share, commonly NZD 1.

03 — Register the company

The company is registered on the New Zealand Companies Register and issued a Certificate of Incorporation, then registered for an IRD number and for GST if turnover will exceed NZD 60,000, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in New Zealand costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. New Zealand’s formation cost is genuinely low; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

No minimum share capital: most companies incorporate with a single nominal share. Companies Office fees are NZD 11.50 (including GST) to reserve a name and NZD 136.55 (including GST) to incorporate, among the lowest formation costs of any jurisdiction we cover.

Corporate tax

Flat 28% standard rate on net profit, unchanged since 2011, with a reduced 17.5% rate for Maori authorities.

VAT

Standard GST is 15% flat, with no reduced rate. Registration is mandatory once turnover passes NZD 60,000 in any rolling 12-month period, and you must register within 21 days of crossing the threshold.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, payday payroll (PAYE, ACC levies, and KiwiSaver if you employ staff), GST and corporate tax filings, and an annual return with financial statements filed with the Companies Office, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your New Zealand company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in New Zealand through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

Company-registration, tax, and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, coordinated for you, so the process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The incorporation trap nobody flags

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper New Zealand company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not, yet. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Expectation: it is quick and just admin, since New Zealand’s incorporation process is famously fast. Reality: the online application itself can complete in days, but a registered office, an IRD number, and, if you employ staff, ACC and KiwiSaver registration all still apply, and you cannot legally employ anyone until those registrations are live. You also need at least one director who is genuinely resident in New Zealand, or resident in Australia and a director of an Australian company, which foreign parents commonly overlook.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: removing a company from the Register needs a formal process, and once it exists, the obligations do not stop: an annual return, financial statements for larger companies, corporate tax and GST returns, and payday PAYE and KiwiSaver filings if you employ staff. Missing a financial-statement filing can expose each director personally to a penalty, escalating to court prosecution. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the right partners already in place.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant New Zealand payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Payroll run on schedule, with PAYE, ACC levies, and KiwiSaver calculated, withheld, and filed every pay cycle.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick leave, and government-funded parental leave, alongside whatever notice and severance terms the employment agreement sets.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in New Zealand.

How long does it take to incorporate in New Zealand?

Often a matter of days once your name reservation, director and shareholder consents, and registered address are in place, since incorporation is entirely online through the Companies Office. You cannot legally employ anyone until registration completes, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

None. There is no minimum share capital requirement; most companies incorporate with a single nominal share. The Companies Office incorporation fee is NZD 136.55 including GST. The real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes for shareholders, with no residency requirement at all. Directors are different: at least one director must genuinely live in New Zealand, or live in Australia and also be a director of an Australian-incorporated company. A registered New Zealand office is required too, which we arrange.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

Accounting, payday payroll (PAYE, ACC levies, and KiwiSaver if you employ staff), corporate tax and GST filings, and an annual return with financial statements filed with the Companies Office (audited only above set size thresholds). We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your New Zealand company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in New Zealand?

Tell us your plans for New Zealand and we will tell you honestly whether now is the time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (Inland Revenue, ACC, the New Zealand Companies Office, Employment New Zealand). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.