Inland Revenue’s online services and phone lines will be closed this weekend as the transformation of the tax system continues.

From 5 p.m. Friday 26 February myIR and voice services (SPK2IR) will be unavailable and IR’s phone lines will be closed. Customers using the software will also be affected.

It also means applications for the Resurgence Support Payment can’t be made over the weekend because the application is through myIR.

All systems and services will resume by 8 a.m. on Monday 1 March.

Monthly and bi-monthly GST payments, returns, and provisional tax instalments are due by 28 February. This date falls on a Sunday, so as per the normal process, the deadline will be Monday 1 March to submit before late fees apply. Provisional tax instalments are also due Monday 1 March.

GST filing cannot be completed during this closure, but customers can file early before 5 p.m. on Friday or when our systems are back up and running on Monday morning.

Employment Information (EI) returns for Payday Filing that is due over the weekend closure can also be filed early. The days during the temporary shutdown will not count as working days for filing periods.

Customers can still pay their tax bill through their bank as normal and the IR website will remain available. Tax agents can still submit returns by E-File during this period – IR will process them when all systems are back online.

Working for Families payments won’t be affected. If a customer normally receives their weekly payment on a Tuesday, their next payment will be Tuesday 2 March. If the normal payment day is a Wednesday, the next payment will be Wednesday 3 March.

During the shutdown changes will be introduced to:

• paid parental leave for individuals

• New Zealand foreign trusts, and

• for unclaimed money

Even during the current COVID-19 alert levels, Inland Revenue will continue to implement transformational changes so it can continue to respond quickly to the flow-on effects of the pandemic.

For more information about tax relief and income assistance for people affected by COVID-19 visit www.ird.govt.nz/covid19