The Complete Guide to NZ Trading Tax Deductions in 2026

The short version

• Deductions come off your net trading income before IRD applies your marginal rate.
• You can claim brokerage, platform fees, data, VPS, education and part of your home office.
• Equipment (computer, monitors) is depreciated over time, not claimed in one hit.
• Every deduction needs a receipt — IRD can ask for records up to 7 years back.
• At the 33% bracket, a $1,000 deduction saves you exactly $330.

---

If you're declaring trading income to IRD, you're entitled to take off the genuine costs of running that activity before your tax is worked out. It's one of the most underused advantages NZ traders have — and one of the easiest to get slightly wrong. This is the full rundown: what you can claim, how to handle the partial ones, and the mistakes that draw attention.

The one rule everything hangs on

IRD only allows expenses with a real connection to your income-earning activity. For a trader, that means the cost has to be part of trading, not just a general interest in markets.

A Bloomberg subscription you use to research trades — deductible. The same subscription you keep to follow the news for fun — not. For most trading costs the line is obvious. Where it gets murky is shared costs (a laptop you also use personally) and education (which has to relate to the way you actually trade, not just markets in general).

---

Fully deductible

Brokerage and commissions. Any commission your broker charges on execution — per-trade commissions (common with ECN/STP brokers), swap/rollover fees on overnight positions, and broker platform fees. One note: for most spread-based MT4/MT5 brokers the spread is already in your P&L — it's reduced your profit on each trade, so you don't deduct it again.

Platform and software. Anything you use directly to trade — MT4/MT5 add-ons or licenses, TradingView (any tier), NinjaTrader, TradeStation, your TradeLog NZ subscription (yes, that's deductible), and tax software for your trading return.

VPS hosting. If you run an EA or automated strategy on a VPS, the monthly cost is fully deductible — AWS, DigitalOcean, ForexVPS, whoever.

Market data. Subscription data you use to trade — real-time forex feeds, options data if you trade derivatives, economic calendars, premium news like Refinitiv or Bloomberg Terminal (though at Terminal prices, expect a few questions if you're audited).

Accounting and tax prep. Fees for an accountant, tax agent or bookkeeper helping with your trading return — annual prep, trading-related tax advice, and bookkeeping for your trading records.

Trading-specific education. This is the one people get wrong most. Education is deductible only if it relates to trading you're already doing — improving skills you use to earn income, not setting up a brand-new income stream.

• Deductible: an advanced technical-analysis course when you already trade on TA; a forex-strategy book that applies to your current approach; a risk-management webinar for active traders; mentorship in your specific market.
• Not deductible: a general "how to start trading" course (foundational, not maintenance); buy-and-hold investing books when you're an active trader; a course in an instrument you've never traded.

The test: could you reasonably argue this helped you earn income you've already declared?

Margin interest. Interest you pay your broker on borrowed funds is deductible — CFD overnight financing, margin loan interest, rollover financing on leveraged positions. Keep these records separately, as they usually show up on broker statements rather than in trade exports.

---

Partly deductible

Home office. Trade from home with a dedicated space and you can claim the share of household costs that matches it:

1. Measure your trading space (m²)
2. Divide by total home floor area
3. Apply that percentage to eligible costs — rent (or mortgage interest, not principal), power and gas, the trading-use share of internet, home insurance if renting, rates if you own.

Example: 120m² home, 12m² trading room = 10% business use. $2,400 rent → $240/month; $200 power → $20/month.

If you don't have a dedicated space — you trade from the kitchen table — a home office claim is much harder to justify and can draw scrutiny. A room used only for trading is the strongest position.

Internet and phone. Both are usually partly deductible if you trade actively from home — a reasonable split between personal and trading use. Many traders claim 50–80% of internet depending on usage. Be consistent and don't get greedy: claiming 100% of a family household's internet won't survive an audit. Same logic for your phone if you get broker alerts or manage positions on it.

---

Equipment: depreciation, not a lump sum

Computers, monitors, keyboards and the like are capital expenditure — you don't write off the full cost in the year you buy. Instead you depreciate them over their useful life at IRD's rates. For computing gear, the diminishing-value rate is typically 40–60% depending on the item.

Diminishing value example: $3,000 computer at 50% DV — year 1 deduction $1,500, year 2 $750, year 3 $375, and so on until written down. Partly personal? Apply your business-use percentage first, then depreciate the business share.

Low-value asset rule: items under $1,000 (GST exclusive) can be written off in full in the year of purchase rather than depreciated — so a $200 keyboard or a $500 second monitor goes through in one hit.

---

What you can't claim

• Personal expenses — anything not genuinely tied to trading income
• Fines and penalties — including IRD late-payment penalties
• Losses on individual trades — these reduce your gross P&L, they're not a separate deduction
• Meals and entertainment — hard to justify for a solo trader
• Clothing — even if you're at the desk all day

---

Keeping records

IRD can look back 7 years from the end of the tax year you claimed in. Keep receipts or invoices for every deduction, bank statements showing the payment, and for home office a floor plan or measurements plus evidence of the household costs. For digital subscriptions (TradingView, VPS), the confirmation and invoice emails in your inbox are usually enough. If you pay an annual subscription in one lump that spans two tax years, you may need to split the deduction across them.

---

How deductions feed the tax calc

Deductions reduce your net trading income before tax:

Gross trading P&L
- Deductible expenses
= Net trading income

Net trading income
+ Other income (salary, interest, etc.)
- Prior year loss carry-forward
= Combined taxable income

Tax = marginal brackets on combined taxable income

So deductions are worth the most at the top of your bracket. At 33%, every extra dollar of deduction saves 33c; at 39%, 39c.

---

The mistakes that come up most

1. Claiming nothing. Some traders assume they can't, or never track it. A few thousand in legitimate deductions at 33% is real money back.
2. Claiming personal stuff as business. The classic audit trigger — find personal purchases mixed in and IRD can disallow the lot and add a shortfall penalty.
3. No receipts. A card payment proves you paid something, not what for. Keep the email receipts for subscriptions.
4. Claiming 100% of a part-personal asset. A computer used 70% for trading gets 70% depreciated, not 100%.
5. Forgetting prior-year expenses. Missed something and still inside the window? You can amend a return to claim it.

---

Tracking it in TradeLog NZ

There's a built-in expenses tracker under Expenses. Log each one with category, date, amount and description; attach the receipt; flag whether GST is included (relevant if you've got GST-registered income); and the total flows straight into your tax estimate. Export your annual summary and the deductions are itemised the way your accountant wants them — or the way you need them for your IR3.

---

Getting it right, practically

1. Use a separate card or account for trading costs — makes splitting trivial
2. Save receipts to a folder as you go, rather than hunting in April
3. Log expenses in TradeLog NZ when they happen — two minutes now beats reconstructing a year later
4. Review annually with your accountant — especially home office and depreciation, where the numbers vary

---

This is general information, not tax advice. Everyone's situation differs and the rules change. Talk to a qualified NZ accountant before filing. TradeLog NZ takes no responsibility for errors in your return.

Links: IRD on business deductions | IRD depreciation rates | TradeLog NZ