Photographer

Tax guide for New Zealand freelance photographers and videographers

Allowable Expenses

• Camera equipment & lenses — Cameras, lenses, flashes, tripods — business proportion
• Editing software — Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Capture One subscriptions
• Studio costs — Studio rental, backdrop, lighting equipment
• Vehicle expenses — Travel to shoots — km rate at NZ$1.04/km or logbook method
• Storage & backup — Hard drives, cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive)

Tax Tips

• Camera equipment over NZ$1,000 must be depreciated — typically over 3-5 years
• Mileage to and from shoot locations is deductible using the IR km rate
• Insurance for professional equipment is a deductible business expense

Frequently Asked Questions

How do NZ photographers depreciate camera equipment?

Cameras and lenses costing more than NZ$1,000 must be depreciated over their estimated useful life, typically 3-5 years. Use Inland Revenue's depreciation rate tables (available at ird.govt.nz) and claim only the business-use proportion.