Oceania · Limited
Cost to register a company in New Zealand
New Zealand is one of the cheapest developed jurisdictions to incorporate in — but the headline government fee is not the number that matters for a non-resident. Online incorporation is just NZ$118.74 (plus GST), with a NZ$10 (plus GST) name reservation, no notary, and no minimum capital to lock up. The cost that dominates a foreign founder's budget is the resident-director requirement: if you cannot supply a qualifying NZ-resident (or Australian) director yourself, you must pay a professional resident-director service, and those fees dwarf every other line item. Add a modest registered-office/address service and an accountant, and you have the real annual picture.
- Country
- New Zealand
- Topic
- Cost breakdown
- Reviewed
- June 2026
By the Lanzamo Editorial Team · Reviewed June 2026 · How we research
| Item | One-time | Recurring | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name reservation | $6 | — | NZ$10 + GST to reserve the company name for 20 working days before incorporating. |
| Government incorporation fee | $85 | — | NZ$118.74 + GST (~NZ$136.55 incl GST) for online incorporation via the Companies Office. |
| Notary / apostille | — | — | Not required — New Zealand incorporation needs no notarial deed; everything is filed online. |
| Registered office / address for service | — | $100–$400 | Mandatory NZ registered office and address for service; an agent's address service typically costs a few hundred dollars a year. |
| Resident director / nominee service | — | $2,000–$8,000+ | Required if you have no qualifying NZ or Australian director. Fees vary widely by provider and risk; some quote far higher, and many require an indemnity/security deposit on top. |
| Annual return (Companies Office) | — | $35 | NZ$49.74 + GST (~NZ$57.20 incl GST) per year to confirm register details — a registry filing, not a tax return. |
| Accountant — IR4 + bookkeeping | — | $700–$2,500 | Annual IR4 income-tax return and bookkeeping for a small company; most small NZ companies are not required to file audited statements, which keeps this lower than peers. |
| GST registration & returns | — | $0–$600 | Registration is free; ongoing cost is the accountant's fee for periodic GST returns, only if you must register (turnover over NZ$60,000). |
| IRD number registration | — | — | Free — applied for during incorporation or directly with Inland Revenue afterwards. |
Realistic all-in first year
$250 – $12,000
The spread is enormous and it is driven almost entirely by one question: can you supply your own qualifying resident director? If you can (you live in NZ, or live in Australia with an Australian directorship), the company is one of the cheapest developed-world entities to run — roughly $150–$600 of fixed annual cost plus an accountant, call it $1,000–$3,000 a year, or $3,000–$9,000 over three years. If you must buy a professional resident-director service, that single line — commonly $2,000–$8,000+ per year, sometimes more, often with a security deposit — dominates everything and can push the three-year all-in well past $10,000–$25,000. Decide the director question before you decide whether New Zealand is cheap.
Frequently asked questions
What is the absolute minimum it costs to start a New Zealand company?
If you already have a qualifying resident director, the bare minimum is the NZ$10 + GST name reservation plus the NZ$118.74 + GST incorporation fee — roughly NZ$150 incl GST, or about US$90. The IRD number is free. Add a registered-office/address service and an accountant once trading, and the realistic figure rises from there.
Why is my first-year cost so much higher than the government fee?
Almost always the resident-director service. The Companies Office fee is trivial, but if you have no NZ or qualifying Australian director you must pay a professional to act as one — commonly a few thousand dollars a year, sometimes much more, frequently with a security deposit or indemnity. That single requirement, not the filing, is the dominant cost for most non-residents.
Do I need to deposit any share capital?
No. There is no minimum share capital in New Zealand — a single NZ$1 ordinary share is enough, and it is a nominal figure, not cash you must wire before incorporating. This keeps the entry barrier far lower than jurisdictions that require paid-up capital.
Are there hidden recurring fees I should expect?
The unavoidable recurring costs are the NZ$49.74 + GST annual return, your registered-office/address renewal, and — if you use one — the resident-director service. There is no franchise tax and no annual government 'licence' fee. The main variable beyond the director is accounting: the IR4 is mandatory, though most small companies avoid audit costs.
Sources
- NZ Companies Office — Incorporating a company (official)
- NZ Companies Office — Schedule of fees (official)
- Inland Revenue (IRD) — New Zealand tax resident companies
- Inland Revenue (IRD) — Non-resident withholding tax (NRWT)
- Inland Revenue (IRD) — Supplying remote services into New Zealand (GST)
- Inland Revenue (IRD) — Provisional tax
- PwC Tax Summaries — New Zealand corporate income tax (28%)
- PwC Tax Summaries — New Zealand withholding taxes (NRWT)
- PwC Tax Summaries — New Zealand corporate residence (s YD 2)
- RDTI — Research and Development Tax Incentive (15% credit)
More on New Zealand
Comparing New Zealand with other countries?
See New Zealand next to 12 other startup-friendly jurisdictions — fee, tax, capital and the resident-director catch — in one table.
The founder’s starting-a-US-company checklist
Get the free step-by-step checklist plus the occasional plain-English guide on formation, taxes, banking, and staying compliant. No spam, no hype. Unsubscribe anytime.