Inland Revenue Department

Administers national tax functions in New Zealand and does not act as a direct grant maker.

Inland Revenue is New Zealand's tax department and a social-support administrator. In the R&D stack, its relevant role is the Research and Development Tax Incentive, which it administers with MBIE rather than as a grant program. The department also collects most government revenue and handles schemes such as KiwiSaver, child support, and paid parental leave.

The incentive gives a 15 percent tax credit on eligible R&D expenditure, with a minimum of NZD 50,000 and a maximum of NZD 120 million in eligible spend per year. It is continuous and income-year based, not a competitive call, and the broader New Zealand R&D Tax Incentive route is capped at NZD 5 million. MBIE owns policy, and customer-facing delivery moved from Callaghan Innovation to MBIE in the 2025 to 2026 transition.

Applicants use myIR and, depending on size and maturity, seek General Approval or Criteria and Methodologies approval. That workflow suits businesses that can document scientific or technological uncertainty and a systematic R&D approach, because IRD is deciding tax-credit claims rather than awarding project grants. The route is built for regular filers with qualifying R&D expenditure, not for one-off project competitions.