(NEW ZEALAND FOREIGN TRUSTS & INTERNATIONAL WEALTH STRUCTURING)
New Zealand Trust
Governed by New Zealand law, a New Zealand Foreign Trust is run for you by professional administrators. Offshore Broker handles the moving parts – trustee onboarding, drafting the deed, Inland Revenue registration and, if you want it, company or banking support. Pricing is quoted on application.
Specialist jurisdiction
Offshore Broker · New Zealand Trust
Asia Pacific
New Zealand
Latitude
00.0000° S
Longitude
000.0000° E
(A LOOK AT THE NEW ZEALAND TRUST)
A trust that is both credible and compliant for looking after wealth across borders
A New Zealand Foreign Trust falls under the Trusts Act 2019 and must have at least one New Zealand-resident trustee. What sets it apart is the combination of a respected OECD jurisdiction, professional administration and New Zealand’s settlor-based tax framework.
When the relevant conditions and disclosure obligations are met, qualifying foreign-sourced income may be exempt from New Zealand income tax. To get there, the trust has to be registered with Inland Revenue and backed by annual returns, financial statements and accurate connected-person records.
New Zealand was not designed as an adversarial asset-protection jurisdiction. It suits clients who value institutional credibility, succession planning, professional governance and a compliant Asia-Pacific structure above all else.
Statute
Trusts Act 2019
Trustee
It needs at least one New Zealand-resident trustee
Registration
IRD registration is needed to claim the foreign-source exemption
Annual compliance
An annual return plus financial statements
Duration
A maximum life of 125 years
Tax basis
Settlor-based treatment, with qualifying foreign-source income potentially exempt
This is a general summary only. Eligibility, tax treatment and reporting all turn on the settlor, the beneficiaries, the assets, the trustee arrangements and each relevant home jurisdiction.
(WHAT YOUR FEE COVERS)
Everything you need to form a New Zealand Foreign Trust
Pick only the structure and support you genuinely need
We quote on application because professional trustee fees, deed complexity, the assets involved and annual compliance needs differ from client to client. Some people want only the core New Zealand Foreign Trust; others add a New Zealand company to hold approved investments or operating assets.
Where the ownership structure and the provider’s requirements line up, we can also arrange banking and brokerage introductions. Before any work starts, the written proposal spells out the trustee, formation, registration, company and account-opening scope.
New Zealand Foreign Trust
On application
Final scope is confirmed once the trustee reviews it
A standalone trust, governed by New Zealand law, run by a New Zealand-resident trustee and registered with Inland Revenue.
Coordinating professional trustee onboarding and due diligence
A trust deed and formation documents that meet New Zealand requirements
IRD registration and first-year compliance covered
A trust that owns a New Zealand company
On application
Scope confirmed after trustee review
Here the trust owns a New Zealand company, which can hold approved bank, brokerage, investment or operating assets.
New Zealand Foreign Trust formation
Underlying New Zealand company
Trust and company ownership documents, coordinated together
A trust combined with company and banking support
On application
Scope confirmed after trustee review
A single coordinated structure that brings together the trust, a New Zealand company and, where appropriate, help opening accounts.
New Zealand Foreign Trust
New Zealand company
Coordination for a bank or brokerage account
Before formation begins, the written proposal and the trustee’s acceptance confirm exactly what is in scope, what it costs and what ongoing obligations apply.
(A GUIDE TO THE NEW ZEALAND TRUST)
Making sense of the New Zealand Foreign Trust
Non-New Zealand settlor
The structure is built for a settlor who has not been a New Zealand tax resident. If the settlor's residence later changes, get specialist advice straight away.
New Zealand-resident trustee
It needs at least one New Zealand-resident trustee administers the trust, holds legal title to trust property and must comply with the trust deed and statutory duties.
IRD registration
The foreign trust has to be registered with Inland Revenue, and the trustee has to keep the information the foreign-trust disclosure regime requires.
Foreign-source exemption
Qualifying foreign-sourced income may be exempt from New Zealand income tax. That exemption does not reach New Zealand-source income or your home-country tax rules.
Annual returns and records
Inland Revenue may need to be given annual returns, financial statements and details of relevant settlements, distributions and connected persons.
Professional administration
The trust has to be run as a genuine trust. Trustee decisions, records, asset ownership and beneficiary information should be kept current and properly documented.
Important: a New Zealand Foreign Trust stays transparent to relevant tax and law-enforcement authorities, and it is no substitute for legal or tax advice in your home country.
(WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE US)
New Zealand Trust coordination, with a view across jurisdictions
Offshore Broker works across international trusts, companies and banking structures. We manage the New Zealand trustee and formation process, and we compare the jurisdiction honestly against purpose-built asset-protection alternatives. That way clients choose New Zealand for the right reasons: institutional credibility, professional administration and a compliant settlor-based tax framework.
Direct relationships with New Zealand professional trustee companies
Before we recommend New Zealand, we compare it with purpose-built trust jurisdictions, so institutional credibility is never mistaken for adversarial asset protection.
Fixed-fee pricing, with no hidden costs or surprise add-ons
We handle the application, due diligence, deed drafting and registration with established New Zealand professional trustee providers.
An honest comparison — we'll tell you when the Cook Islands or Nevis is the stronger choice for adversarial protection
The formation scope and fees are agreed before any work starts, and we explain trustee charges, third-party costs and ongoing administration clearly during onboarding.
We work across 20+ jurisdictions — among them New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Nevis, Guernsey and Mauritius
If your trust also calls for an underlying company, banking, brokerage or another jurisdiction, we pull the wider structure together for you through a single point of contact.
Optional legal and tax advice to keep you fully compliant at home
Where you need it, we can bring in optional legal and tax coordination, so the structure is weighed against your home-country reporting and compliance obligations.
(WHO MIGHT A NEW ZEALAND TRUST SUIT?)
A good fit when credibility counts for more than aggressive protection
A New Zealand Foreign Trust can work well for internationally mobile families, Asia-Pacific entrepreneurs and investors who want a trust in a respected OECD jurisdiction. It fits best where the goals are succession, family governance, investment holding and institutional credibility. It is not built to copy the specialist creditor barriers of the Cook Islands or Nevis, and it should never be sold as an anonymity structure.
International planning led by credibility
New Zealand is at its most compelling for clients who value a respected OECD jurisdiction, English common law and professional administration.
Asia-Pacific families and entrepreneurs who move between countries
Holding foreign investments behind a clean institutional profile
Succession, estate planning and governance for the family
Clients who are comfortable with IRD registration and information exchange
This is not a purpose-built protection jurisdiction
New Zealand offers the ordinary separation of trust law, but it does not reproduce the specialist creditor barriers that Cook Islands or Nevis trusts carry.
No fixed statutory limitation period for creditors and no mandatory creditor bond
Trust information is kept off the public record, though relevant details are reported to Inland Revenue
Transfers made to defeat creditors can still be challenged
Moving to New Zealand later on can materially change the tax position
Offshore Broker should only recommend New Zealand where its credibility, tax framework and administration genuinely match what the client is trying to achieve.
(OPTIONAL SUPPORT FOR YOUR STRUCTURE)
New Zealand Trust, Company & Bank Accounts
Where it makes sense, a New Zealand Foreign Trust can sit alongside an underlying New Zealand company and support with bank or brokerage accounts. The company gives you a practical vehicle for holding approved assets, while the trustee keeps the trust’s ownership and governance layer.
- New Zealand trustee application coordinated from start to finish
- Trustee, registration and third-party costs itemised in the written quote
- New Zealand-compliant trust deed and supporting ownership documents prepared
- Structure registered and prepared to receive trustee-approved assets
(EXPERTISE IN INTERNATIONAL TRUSTS)
The international trust specialists you’ll be working with
John Evans
Forbes Business Council Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
More than two decades of experience across offshore banking, asset protection, international companies and trusts.
Melanie Tetuaiteroi
Sales Assistant
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Supports client onboarding, communications, documentation and operational coordination, backed by fiduciary administration experience.
(HOW WE SET IT UP)
01
Reviewing your goals and residency
We look at your objectives, your current and likely future tax residence, the assets and beneficiaries involved, and whether New Zealand is genuinely the right jurisdiction for you.
02
Working through our straightforward onboarding
We liaise with a New Zealand professional trustee and work out whether a standalone trust, an underlying company or account support is the right call.
03
Due diligence, drafting and registering
While you complete the trustee’s due diligence, we prepare the deed, the beneficiary arrangements, the ownership documents and the Inland Revenue registration.
04
Forming, funding and running it year to year
Once the trust is accepted and registered, trustee-approved assets or company interests are transferred, and the annual return and recordkeeping cycle gets under way.
(NEW ZEALAND TRUST PERSPECTIVES)
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(NEW ZEALAND TRUSTS EXPLAINED)
What is a New Zealand Foreign Trust?
A New Zealand Foreign Trust runs under New Zealand law and is administered by at least one New Zealand-resident trustee, on behalf of a settlor who has not been a New Zealand tax resident. The trustee holds the trust property under a deed that sets out the beneficiaries, powers, distributions and succession arrangements.
Where the applicable conditions and disclosure requirements are satisfied, qualifying foreign-sourced income may be exempt from New Zealand tax. The trust registers with Inland Revenue, files annual returns and provides the required financial and connected-person information. The register itself is not public, yet the structure remains transparent to relevant tax and law-enforcement authorities.
New Zealand gives you the ordinary separation of trust law and a clean institutional profile. What it does not give you are the fixed creditor limitation periods, mandatory bonds or specialist statutory barriers you’ll find in purpose-built jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands or Nevis.
(NEW ZEALAND TRUST FAQS)
Questions people often ask about New Zealand Foreign Trusts
A New Zealand Foreign Trust runs under New Zealand law and has at least one New Zealand-resident trustee, while its settlor has not been a New Zealand tax resident. People commonly use it for legitimate international investment holding, succession and estate planning.
Pricing is quoted on application. What you pay depends on the professional trustee, how complex the deed is, the assets involved, the annual compliance scope and whether a New Zealand company or banking support is part of it.
Qualifying foreign-sourced income may be exempt once the foreign-trust conditions and disclosure requirements are met. New Zealand-source income, and the home-country obligations of the settlor or beneficiaries, still fall under the relevant tax rules.
Yes. The New Zealand-resident contact trustee has to register the foreign trust and keep up with the ongoing disclosure and annual-return requirements to hold on to the foreign-source income exemption.
The foreign-trust register is not open to the public. That said, Inland Revenue does receive information about the trust and may pass reportable information to relevant New Zealand agencies and overseas tax authorities under the applicable exchange arrangements.
It gives you the ordinary legal separation that a properly established, independently administered trust provides. New Zealand is not a purpose-built adversarial asset-protection jurisdiction, so it does not offer the fixed claim periods, creditor bonds or specialist statutory barriers you'll find in some offshore trust jurisdictions.
Under the Trusts Act 2019 the usual maximum duration is 125 years, though the trust deed can set a shorter one.
The tax classification and treatment can change significantly. Anyone who might move to New Zealand should get specialist New Zealand tax advice before formation, and again before any change of residency.
Yes, provided the trustee accepts it and the provider's due diligence is satisfied. An underlying company can hold approved bank, brokerage, investment or operating assets, while opening the account still rests on the institution's own independent approval.
Usually not, if aggressive or adversarial creditor protection is your main goal. In that case, Offshore Broker should weigh purpose-built jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands or Nevis before recommending New Zealand.
(CONTACT US)
Speak to a specialist. Let’s build your structure.
Book a confidential, no-obligation consultation with a senior member of our team to discuss your objectives and the services we have available.
