Pulling your Inland Revenue records from myIR for a loan

Tax is the debt lenders ask about most. Inland Revenue ranks high in any business’s list of creditors, and a lender wants to know whether there is a balance quietly growing in the background. The good news is that everything they need sits in myIR, and you can pull it in a few minutes without anyone else touching your login.

Which Inland Revenue records might a lender want?

Record	Where to find it in myIR	Why it matters
GST account balance and return history	GST account	Shows whether returns are filed and paid on time
PAYE / employer account	Employer deductions account	Unpaid PAYE is treated seriously by lenders
Income tax and provisional tax	Income tax account	Shows upcoming instalments and any residual tax
Instalment arrangement details	Arrangements or debt section	Proves an overdue balance is managed
Correspondence about debt	Messages / letters	Gives context if there is a dispute or relief request

You will not usually need all of these. Your specialist will tell you which matter for your request.

How do you download the records?

Log into myIR yourself. Open the relevant account, choose the period, and use the print or save option to create a PDF. Save each file with a clear name — “GST-account-summary-Sep-2026.pdf”, for example — and upload it through the secure portal. Our page on uploading documents securely covers the right way to send files.

Never give anyone your myIR username and password, and never let someone “log in for you” over a screen share. A legitimate lender has no need for that access. A request like that is a warning sign; read online loan scams in New Zealand for the others.

What if there is an IRD balance owing?

This is where honesty pays. Overdue GST, PAYE or income tax does not automatically rule you out. Many businesses borrow precisely to clear a tax bill and reset. What lenders struggle with is discovering a debt that was not mentioned.

Inland Revenue’s own guidance is to get in touch early if you are struggling to file or pay. It can work with you on options, including an instalment arrangement that you can request in myIR. When you apply, you choose a payment method (direct debit, card or internet banking), a frequency (weekly, fortnightly or monthly), an amount and a start date. Inland Revenue notes that interest on overdue amounts continues and is included in your instalments, and you must keep future returns and payments up to date.

If you already have an arrangement, show it. If you are thinking about using finance to clear the balance instead, read using a business loan for IRD debt — and tell us about it in the enquiry so the specialist can look at both routes.

How do provisional tax instalments affect a loan?

If your residual income tax in the previous year was over $5,000, you generally pay provisional tax in instalments during the year rather than one lump sum at the end. A lender looking at cash flow will factor those instalments in, because they are real money leaving the account on known dates. If a large instalment is due soon after you borrow, plan for it.

What does a lender see that you might not expect?

Bank statements often reveal tax payments, or their absence. If your statements show regular GST payments but your myIR account shows a balance, the lender will ask why. If your statements show no payments at all, they will ask the same question more firmly. Pulling the myIR records first lets you see what the lender will see.

Worked example (illustrative): a Tauranga electrical contractor has $27,000 of overdue GST after a large customer paid late. The owner downloads the GST account summary and a copy of the instalment arrangement from myIR, uploads both and explains the late payer on the call. The lender can see the balance, the plan and the cause in one go.

Do sole traders need to do this too?

Yes, the principle is the same. Sole traders’ income tax and any GST sit in their personal myIR, and a lender assessing a sole trader’s business will look at both.

Make the tax conversation a short one

A lender’s main tax questions are simple: is everything filed, is anything overdue, and is there a plan for it? Having those answers ready, from your own myIR, turns a potential stumbling block into a two-minute conversation.

How recent should the records be?

As recent as possible. A GST summary from three months ago does not tell a lender what has happened since, and a lot can change in a quarter. Download fresh copies on the day you upload, and again if your application runs over a filing date. If a return is due within the next fortnight, file it before you apply if you can. A lender will notice an approaching due date in the records, and a return filed on time is a quiet signal that the business keeps on top of its obligations even when cash is tight.

See what is possible

Start with the 60-second enquiry. It runs no credit check, it stays with one team rather than being blasted to a list, and a person reads it before calling. If there is an IRD balance, include it with the amount — the more accurate the picture, the better the match. Start your online enquiry.