Read this before you sign anything
Before you liquidate
Liquidation, administration and compromise explained by a lender with nothing to gain from an appointment, plus what to check about any adviser.
Read this before you sign any appointment.
Liquidation, voluntary administration and creditor compromises explained in plain English by a lender with nothing to gain from any of them. Each page covers what the process costs you, what you lose, what directors stay liable for, and the alternative to look at first.
Licensed insolvency practitioners do essential work, and when a business genuinely can't continue, a good one is exactly who you need. The warning is narrower: don't be steered into a formal process before you've checked whether IRD can simply be paid, and always check a practitioner's licence and fees.
10 pages in this section
Alternatives to liquidation
Before you liquidate over IRD debt, check the alternatives: funding, an IRD arrangement, a creditor compromise or administration, and what each costs you.
Read more →What liquidation means
The IRD liquidation process explained: who the liquidator works for, the investigation, who gets paid first, and what directors can still owe afterwards.
Read more →Cost of liquidation
No reputable source publishes average NZ liquidation costs. How liquidator fees are paid, why they rank first, how courts review them and what to ask.
Read more →Director liability
Are NZ directors personally liable for company tax debt? PAYE prosecution risk, reckless trading, asset stripping, guarantees and current accounts explained.
Read more →Guarantees and current accounts
Liquidation doesn't erase personal guarantees, and liquidators can chase overdrawn current accounts. What directors still owe, plus the 2026 tax change.
Read more →Voluntary administration
Voluntary administration vs liquidation in NZ: who appoints the administrator, the watershed meeting, a deed of company arrangement, and where funding fits.
Read more →Creditor compromise
How a Part 14 creditor compromise works in NZ: who proposes it, the voting thresholds, when it suits a business with IRD debt, and how it compares.
Read more →Phoenix rules
Starting again after liquidation? NZ's phoenix company rules on reusing a name, the exceptions, the penalties, and why moving assets first is so risky.
Read more →Choosing an adviser
How to check a licensed insolvency practitioner in NZ, what licensing covers, where to complain about fees, and what to ask before you sign anything.
Read more →Warning signs checklist
A factual checklist of warning signs when anyone advises you on IRD debt or liquidation: same-day pressure, vague fees, moving assets, promised write-offs.
Read more →Clear the IRD debt. Keep the business.
Tell us what you owe and what you own in about 60 seconds. There's no credit check when you first enquire, and a real person calls you back before anything else happens.
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