Every route, honestly
Your options for clearing IRD debt
Instalment arrangements, relief, remission, tax pooling and funding, side by side, including the routes where we earn nothing.
Every route for clearing IRD debt, including the ones where we earn nothing.
Many businesses can clear IRD debt with a formal instalment arrangement applied for in myIR, at no cost. Others need relief, penalty remission, tax pooling for income tax timing, or funding. Companies can't use serious hardship relief, and IRD writes off company tax only on narrow grounds, so it pays to know what's realistic before you choose.
IRD's own relief form asks companies whether they've tried getting a loan to pay the debt. Looking into funding is part of doing this properly, whichever route you end up taking.
11 pages in this section
IRD debt help: all routes
All the ways to deal with IRD debt in one place: pay, arrange, apply for relief, use tax pooling, borrow, or get insolvency advice. Who each route suits.
Read more →Instalment arrangement
Applying for an IRD payment plan? How instalment arrangements work in myIR, what IRD asks for, why interest keeps running, and what happens if one breaks.
Read more →Payment plan declined
IRD turned down your instalment arrangement? The usual reasons, what IRD now expects to see, how to strengthen a new proposal, and when funding is the answer.
Read more →Broken arrangement
Missed a payment on your IRD instalment arrangement? How cancellation works, why penalties can be charged back, the effect on future relief, and how to reset.
Read more →Relief and hardship
Applying for IRD hardship? Serious hardship relief is for individuals, not companies. What companies can ask for instead, what IRD asks, and how to apply.
Read more →IRD debt write-off
Hoping IRD will write off your tax debt? When write-offs happen, why companies rarely qualify, the effect on tax losses, and what to do instead.
Read more →Penalty remission
Penalties piling up on your IRD debt? When IRD can remit penalties for reasonable cause, what it won't consider, how to make a request, and what to include.
Read more →IR591 cash flow forecast
Asked for a cash flow forecast by IRD? How to fill in a 12-month IR591 forecast that's credible, the mistakes that sink payment plans, and what IRD looks for.
Read more →Tax pooling
How tax pooling works for provisional and terminal tax, the IRD pilot for old income tax debt that closed in October 2026, and when a loan fits better.
Read more →Payment plan vs loan
Should you take an IRD payment plan or borrow to pay IRD? A rate-free comparison in dollars, risk and enforcement, who suits each, and how to combine them.
Read more →Negotiating with IRD
How to negotiate with IRD over tax debt: what you can do yourself, what IRD can agree to, when to bring in an accountant or lawyer, and paid negotiators.
Read more →Clear the IRD debt. Keep the business.
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