We recently received a few phone calls and email questioned about emails received from IRD about the tax refund. We think it is a good time to give you some updates on how Inland Revenue would usually contact the taxpayers and some examples of scams.
If you receive an email from Inland Revenue, they will use your real name and real IRD number in the context, and they will not use 'dear citizen', 'fiscal activity', 'excess payment', 'NZ Govt Tax Refund', or 'IRD Customer Portal or IRD Revenue Portal' terms. Inland Revenue will never include dollar amounts in refund emails. If you get an email, phone call or text claiming that you will be fined or arrested if you do not respond, it is likely a scam.
If you get a suspicious call from someone claiming to be from Inland Revenue, ask for their name and number. Then call us on one of the numbers listed on our website, and confirm that the call you received was genuine before calling them back.
If you are unsure about your email, feel free to give us a call and we will check it for you.
