In recent years, IRD have been reasonably lenient to customers with overdue debt as part of the post COVID-19 relief measures. However, IRD have recently announced that this grace period is soon to be over, and customers with significant outstanding debt need to be actively engaging with them.
As of July 1, the way the IRD collect overdue debt for clients of tax agents has changed. They will be using direct contact campaigns including outbound calling and SMS messaging, for clients that have not engaged with them, and debt that is older than 6 months. Any client who has debt under current negotiations, debt in dispute or any Significant Enterprise customers will not be contacted at this time.
There are a range of options to assist those who are struggling with debt, but the key is to be actively engaged with the IRD and discuss these options to see what is available to you. The IRD have warned that if clients do not engage with them and continue to ignore their debt, they may be required to take stronger action including debt enforcement or insolvency proceedings.
This announcement comes at a time where a several other alterations in the tax landscape may affect customers. To see a summary of these July 1 changes, view our blog on Tax Changes on the Horizon: What’s Next?
If you require any assistance with engaging with IRD in relation to your debt, please get in touch with your client manager at YHPJ and we will be happy to assist.
