Frequently Asked Questions
Who are we?
Rental Coach is a product created by Learn Accounting NZ Limited. We are accountants who want to guide you and be your coach and empower you to do your own tax return relating to your rental property. If you need to email us or request a renewal our normal hours of work are 9am – 4pm Monday to Friday.
What is the Rental Coach Service?
The Service we are providing is called “Rental Coach” (www.rentalcoach.co.nz). This is an on-line training program to help you understand your tax obligations relating to rental properties and complete your annual tax return “Rental Income Schedule – IR3R” and box 23 (rental income) on your IR3 individual tax return. If you are a tax resident in New Zealand, this is for you.
This course will help with the Rental Income part of your IR3. However, you are responsible for identifying all the other income to be included in your tax return.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for rental properties owned in your own name or jointly with other people. This course does not cover rental properties that are owned by a company, trusts, clubs, Maori authorities, or anything to do with overseas or foreign interests. This course may help as some aspects are the same, but there are many tax fish-hooks with these ownership structures. If you are filling out an IR3 for a tax resident individual, this course is right for you.
If your rental property falls outside of this category, you can still purchase this course to learn about the general tax rules relating to the income and expenses of a rental property, but you will still need an accountant or tax advisor to help with the specific tax rules relating to these other ownership structures.
This course also only covers rental properties that are in New Zealand. If you have a rental property outside of New Zealand (such as Australia), then you will need an accountant to guide you through the requirements.
I currently have an accountant doing my tax return. Do I need Rental Coach?
This course will give you the skills to be able to file your own tax return for your rental property. However, if you don't want to fire your current accountant - no problems. This course will give you the additional skills you need to help interpret the numbers the accountant prepares. In future years, you could do some of the preparation work and save on your accounting fees!
I have brought or sold a rental property this year. Does the Rental Coach course cover this?
The main Rental Coach course covers all you need to do to do your tax return. However, it doesn't include what to do when you purchase or sell a rental property. We are developing 2 new add-on courses that will be released that will cover how to handle the purchase or sale of a rental property.
For the time being, you will need to get an accountant or tax advisor to help with the recording of this one-off information. From there, the Rental Coach courses covers how to handle the day-to-day running of the rental property.
What are the fees to get the course?
The current fees are:
New Sign-up Fees
$49 for the Lite Version
$99 for the Standard Version
$199 for the Full Version
The Lite and Standard Version have an access period of 12 months.
The Full Version has an access period of up until the 31st of March. This is because we make significant changes to this course on the 1st of April. So, if you need the next tax year's content and worksheets, you need to pay for a renewal.
Renewal Fees (optional)
$20 for the Lite Version
$40 for the Standard Version
$80 for the Full Version
A renewal for the Lite or the Standard Version has an additional access to the course for another 12 months. A renewal of the Full Version will get you access until the 31st of March (up to 12 months depending on the date of purchase).
Renewals can be done at any point after the expiration of the course subscription.
This fee is payable via the secure checkout using a Credit Card, PayPal, Direct Credit, or by Cheque. If you pay via PayPal, they have their own terms of service you have to agree to. We will give you a New Zealand Tax Invoice when you pay the subscription fee to keep on file for your tax return. The course fee, or renewal fee, will be a deductible expense in the tax year in which you pay it.
Once you have paid, you will have access to the service for a 12 month period (or until the 31st of March for the Full Version). You can renew after that point at any time. The fees may change in the future. There may also be discounts that you can apply when signing up.
Are credit card transactions secure?
Yes they are. We use Stripe.com to process credit card purchases (Stripe.com is one of the largest payment companies in the world - competitor to PayPal). We do not store any credit card details on our servers - these are securely processed at the Stripe server where the payment is authorised. A process called tokenisation happens in the background which means your credit card details are not actually sent over the internet - just a unique token back and forth to get the approval done. All our webpages are encrypted with SSL (that's the https part) so all your data that you enter when you login is secure.
What computer and software will I need?
You can use either a desktop computer or a tablet computer (android or apple iPad). You can use a smartphone, but the screen size may be too small.
You need to have an internet browser and a broadband internet connection.
More specifically, the minimum requirements are:
- Screen Size: We recommend that the screen is at least 10 inches or more (iPad or larger). We wouldn't recommend this program for a smartphone if you only have a 6 inch screen.
- The minimum screen resolution should be at least 1200 x 768.
- A broadband internet connection - such as ADSL, VSDL, or Fibre. You need to have the connection active while viewing the course.
- An up-to-date browser (such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Edge).
- Software to open PDF files such as Adobe Reader.
- Software to open and edit Excel spreadsheet files (.xlsx). This could be Microsoft Office or a free alternative such as XPS Office or Open Office.
If you have a slow computer or tablet and/or a slow internet connection, this will impact on how the course will display. Some animations and interactive features may take longer to load as a result.
Can me and my partner share a login?
Yes - you or your partner are allowed to login using your login name. If someone else wants to do the course, they need their own login (but tell us if a friend signs up – we will give you a discount for a successful referral).
Will the course be available all the time?
We will aim to have the course available throughout your subscription period. Sometimes though, there will be situations outside of our control that will prevent access (such as an upgrade on a server). We will do all we can to let you know if the service will be unavailable via our website or via email.
Will you keep the course up to date?
We aim to ensure all our training material is correct and follow standard accounting practice in New Zealand - there are no additional charges for any updates. However, there will be times that Inland Revenue will change their interpretation of the law. We will update our course as soon as we can, but we won’t be liable for anything that you rely on in this situation.
We do have links to other websites for further reading. We don’t endorse any of these websites. Sometimes these links will change. We will check them regularly and we will update the links as soon as we are made aware of any broken links.
Can I copy or share the course?
No - We hold the intellectual property of the material in the course. You are not allowed to copy it, screenshot it, print it, or sell it in any way. You aren’t allowed to hold a group training session with this material – it’s just for you. If you do want to offer it as a group session, then talk to us directly for approval.
If you do anything that we haven’t allowed you to do (such as copying the material), then we will suspend your account and consider options for rectifying the situation.
Where are you based?
In New Zealand (New Plymouth to be exact!). We will comply with all New Zealand laws in providing this service to you. We have lots of New Zealand experience to make sure what we tell you is applicable to what Inland Revenue requires for your tax return.
What about my private details?
We will not sell your personal details to any marketing companies. We will use your details to run the service and send you updates of the course (of which you can always opt-out).
We will keep your details safe. The course is hosted on Amazon data servers which means your details will be on servers located outside of New Zealand. We use TalentLMS.com to host our online training. For further details, read our full Privacy Policy here.
So, will you file my tax return for me?
No - We will not file your tax returns for you – we will guide you through the process so you can do this yourself. If you still need more help, then you can talk to a tax agent for more help.
What happens if I get audited?
If you have an audit from Inland Revenue in the future which looks at your tax returns, then we recommend getting an accountant to help you negotiate on your behalf. The material in this course is the standard accounting practice and accountants will be able to guide you through what is needed in an audit.
Are you financial advisors?
No, we are not financial advisors. The information that we are giving you is in relation to the accounting of your rental property, tax return preparation, and your tax obligations. If you are unclear how the information applies to your situation, then we would recommend you consulting with a tax advisor or an accountant. You should seek professional investment or financial advice before making any decisions involving the sale and purchase of a property or any investment decisions.
How do I give you feedback?
If you have any feedback, comments, or any areas you would like to improve, please do get in contact with us. Write us an email at info@rentalcoach.co.nz.
What does it look like?
See below! Here are a few screenshots from the course to give you an idea of what it looks like.
It is interactive, interesting, and jargon free!