Quick answer
Accommodation is deductible when you stay away from your normal workplace overnight for business, because it is a work cost additional to your normal household costs. New Zealand accommodation carries 15% GST you can claim with taxable supply information. The stay must be genuine work travel, and any private or holiday nights are apportioned out.
Is work accommodation tax deductible in New Zealand?
Yes, when the overnight stay results from genuine work travel. If a project, client, or conference requires you to stay temporarily away from your normal workplace, the accommodation is deductible because it is additional to your ordinary household costs. It follows the same logic as business travel. Where a stay mixes business with a holiday, you apportion the cost between the work nights and the private nights.
New Zealand accommodation carries 15% GST, so a work stay is one of the travel costs where there is GST to claim, provided you hold taxable supply information. Meals charged to the room follow the meal rules rather than the accommodation rules. See the New Zealand expense rules for the wider picture.
How much can you claim?
You claim the actual, reasonable cost of the accommodation, with any private nights removed.
| Item | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Accommodation in New Zealand | Actual cost, 15% GST claimable with taxable supply information |
| Mixed business and private stay | Apportion between work nights and private nights |
| Meals charged to the room | Follow the meal rules |
| Longer postings or relocation | Different rules apply; not ordinary travel |
Worked example. An engineer stays two nights in Wellington for a temporary project. The accommodation is $207 per night including $27 GST, totalling $414 with $54 of claimable GST. Because both nights are for work, the full $414 is deductible and the $54 GST is claimable with the taxable supply information. A third, private night added before flying home would be apportioned out.
Record-keeping requirements
Keep the taxable supply information from the accommodation provider, not just the card receipt, because you need it to claim the GST. For stays over $200 it must show the supplier’s GST number and the GST amount, and over $1,000 your name and address as well. Note the business purpose and the dates, and keep enough detail to apportion any private nights. Business records must be kept for seven years.
How to claim, step by step
- Confirm the stay results from genuine work travel away from your normal workplace.
- Obtain taxable supply information from the accommodation provider.
- Code the room cost to travel or accommodation and claim the 15% GST.
- Treat any meals charged to the room under the meal rules.
- Apportion out any private or holiday nights.
- Keep records for seven years.
Common mistakes
- Keeping only the card receipt, which is not enough to claim the GST.
- Claiming a relocation or long-term posting as ordinary deductible travel.
- Failing to apportion private nights added to a work trip.
- Lumping room-service meals into the accommodation cost instead of applying the meal rules.
- Missing the supplier GST number on stays over $200, which blocks the GST claim.
Software that helps
Hotel folios bundle the room, the GST, and any meals on one document, so the value is in splitting them correctly at capture.
- TravelPerk itemises booked stays and separates accommodation from extras.
- ExpenseFlow reads the accommodation folio, separates the room cost from the meals and incidentals, applies the 15% GST treatment to each line, and syncs the coded stay to Xero.
- Hnry records accommodation claims for sole traders alongside their tax.
FAQ
See the answered questions above for deductibility, GST on hotels, mixed stays, employer-provided accommodation, and the taxable supply information you need.