For NZ business owners behind with IRD
Behind with IRD? Talk to a funder before you talk to a liquidator.
We're a private business funder, not an insolvency firm. We explain every IRD letter in plain English, show you the routes where we earn nothing, and where funding is the better path, we help you clear the debt and keep trading.
- A lender, not a liquidator
- No credit check to enquire
- Secured $20k – $5m · cash-flow $5k – $500k
Who we are
A safe pair of hands, with nothing to gain from your company failing
Lots of good New Zealand businesses fall behind with IRD. A customer pays late, provisional tax lands bigger than planned, or GST gets spent on wages to keep the doors open. We help owners through it with guidance and, where it makes sense, funding, and we've seen plenty of businesses that thought they couldn't be saved come out the other side still trading.
Our goal is the opposite of insolvency: keep the business running and you in control, without the professional fees a formal process can bring.
We are
- A private business lender
- Plain-English guides to every IRD letter
- Honest about when a loan is the wrong tool
- Funding to pay IRD in full, case by case
We're not
- An insolvency firm or liquidator
- A pre-insolvency or restructuring adviser
- A tax agent or debt negotiator
- Paid anything if a company is wound up
No credit check to enquire
Asking what's possible leaves your credit file untouched. A credit check only comes up once you choose to go ahead.
Not sprayed to lenders
We don't sell or broadcast your enquiry. One team looks at your IRD position and works on it directly.
A real person reads it
Someone who understands IRD's process calls you back. Honest answers on the form mean the first call is a useful one.
Start with what landed on your desk
Which IRD letter have you received?
Every step in IRD's process starts a clock. Find yours, see what it means, and what you can still do.
Overdue notices in myIR
Since 2026, two automated notices can satisfy IRD's reasonable-effort test for company credit reporting.
What to do → Best time to actCalls or a visit from IRD
IRD's path runs from calls to visits to bank deductions. A proposal now costs least.
What to do → No court order neededA bank deduction notice
Your bank must pay IRD from your account until the debt is cleared or formally arranged.
What to do → 30 daysA Notice of Intent
IRD's warning before a company's tax debt is shared with credit reporting agencies.
What to do → 15 working daysA statutory demand
Pay, settle or apply to set it aside, or the company is presumed insolvent.
What to do → 10 working daysA liquidation application
The shareholder window to appoint a liquidator. You can still pay in full before an order.
What to do →Signature tool
Where do you stand? Three questions, one calm answer.
Answer three quick questions for an instant read on urgency and your first step. The full IRD debt options checker goes further: nine questions, a ranked plan, credit-reporting risk and a myIR document checklist.
- No rates, no sign-up, nothing sent to us
- Deadlines first, PAYE first, honest about viability
- Built on IRD's own published rules, checked October 2026
The honest map
The routes where we earn nothing, and where funding fits
Being straight about the free options is what makes us worth trusting on the paid one.
Look at these first
- A formal IRD instalment arrangement, free to apply for in myIR. Penalties stop while you keep to it; interest continues.
- Hardship relief for individuals and sole traders (companies can't use it).
- Penalty remission where an event beyond your control caused the late payment.
- Tax pooling for provisional and terminal income tax timing.
- Your accountant, to test whether the business is viable without the old debt.
Where funding is the better path
- A statutory demand or liquidation application with a hard deadline.
- PAYE arrears, with repeating penalties and personal risk for directors.
- A plan IRD has declined, or one that has broken.
- A company debt nearing the 2026 credit-reporting thresholds.
- Larger or mixed debts, with property security or steady turnover.
Why talking to a funder is part of doing it properly
IRD's own relief and instalment-support form asks companies whether they "tried getting a loan to pay this debt".
Source: IRD, financial relief for companies, partnerships and trusts · checked October 2026
69%
of NZ liquidation applications were started by IRD in January 2026, up from 32% in 2021
Source: Centrix via interest.co.nz
Before you call anyone about tax debt
Many of the firms that rank for "tax debt help" are insolvency businesses
Licensed insolvency practitioners do essential work, and when a business can't continue, a good one is exactly who you need. But a liquidator's duties run to creditors, their fees are paid first, and personal guarantees and overdrawn current accounts survive liquidation. Check every option before you're steered into a formal process.
- Pressure to sign the same day
- "Liquidation makes the debt disappear", with no mention of guarantees
- Moving assets into a new company first
- No written fee estimate
- Advice to stop talking to IRD
- Check any practitioner on the Companies Office register
What happens next
Calm, quick, and nothing hidden
We move quickly because tax deadlines are real. Funding is possible in as little as 24 hours for property-secured loans, once documents are signed. Please answer the enquiry accurately, especially the amount owed and any letters, so the first call is about real options.
Start my 60-second enquiry →- 1
Tell us the shape of it (about 60 seconds)
What you owe, which taxes, any letters, and whether you own property. No credit check when you first enquire.
- 2
A real person calls you back
Someone who knows IRD's process reads your enquiry and talks it through, including the routes where we earn nothing.
- 3
An honest answer
Whether a loan clears it, an IRD arrangement fits better, or both. If funding won't help, we'll say so.
- 4
IRD paid, business kept
If you go ahead and are approved, funds can go straight to IRD, so the debt and the enforcement end together.
Explore by topic
Everything about IRD debt, in five places
Loans to clear IRD debt
How a private business loan can pay IRD in full, who it suits, what we look at, and when borrowing is the wrong answer.
Open this section →IRD letters and actions, explained
One page for each IRD letter or step: what it means, the clock it starts, and what you can still do about it.
Open this section →Your options for clearing IRD debt
Instalment arrangements, relief, remission, tax pooling and funding, side by side, including the routes where we earn nothing.
Open this section →Tax types, penalties and due dates
GST, PAYE, provisional and terminal tax, penalties and use-of-money interest, in plain English.
Open this section →Before you liquidate
Liquidation, administration and compromise explained by a lender with nothing to gain from an appointment, plus what to check about any adviser.
Open this section →Free tools
Options checker, statutory demand deadline counter, tax due dates, cost comparison and an adviser checklist.
See all tools →Cornerstone guides
The six guides worth reading first
IRD Debt in 2026: A Practical Guide for NZ Business Owners
Everything a business owner needs to understand IRD debt in 2026, from how it builds to a first-week plan.
Read the guide → DeadlinesIRD Statutory Demand or Liquidation Application: 15 Days
A calm, day-by-day plan for the most urgent IRD letters a company can receive.
Read the guide → Before you liquidateBefore You Liquidate: 10 Checks for Directors With IRD Debt
Ten things every director should check before agreeing to liquidate a company because of IRD debt.
Read the guide → Choosing a routeIRD Payment Plan, Tax Pooling or a Loan: How to Choose
A decision framework for the three main ways viable businesses clear IRD debt, without quoting any rates.
Read the guide → Credit and enforcementIRD Credit Reporting and Bank Deductions: What Changed
The two IRD tools that now hit businesses hardest, explained with thresholds, timelines and practical steps.
Read the guide → DirectorsAm I Personally Liable for My Company's Tax Debt? NZ Guide
A plain-English guide to the ways company tax debt can become a director's personal problem, and how to protect yourself.
Read the guide →Straight answers
Common questions
Can I get a loan to pay my IRD debt?
Often, yes. We consider businesses that owe IRD case by case. Property-secured loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000, and cash-flow options for trading businesses are typically $5,000 to $500,000. Business purposes only.
Are you an insolvency firm or liquidator?
No. We're a private business lender. We don't take liquidation or administration appointments, we're not pre-insolvency advisers or tax agents, and we earn nothing if a company is wound up.
Is it better to set up an IRD payment plan or borrow?
It depends on the size of the debt, your cash flow, any deadlines and whether you have security. Compare total dollars and risk. Our arrangement vs loan cost check does this without any rates.
Does enquiring affect my credit file?
No. There's no credit check when you first enquire. A credit check only comes up if you decide to apply.
How fast can funding happen?
Funding is possible in as little as 24 hours for property-secured loans, once documents are signed. We move quickly because tax deadlines are real, but it's never a promise.
IRD has applied to liquidate my company. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Until the court makes an order, paying the debt in full can end the application. Shareholders also have 10 working days from service to appoint their own liquidator. Talk to a lawyer and a funder straight away.
Can IRD write off my company's tax debt?
Only in narrow cases, such as when the debt is irrecoverable or after liquidation. Companies can't use serious hardship relief, which is for individuals.
Will my details be sent to lots of lenders?
No. Your enquiry stays with our team. A real person looks at your situation and works on it directly.
Clear the IRD debt. Keep the business.
Tell us what you owe and what you own in about 60 seconds. There's no credit check when you first enquire, and a real person calls you back before anything else happens.
No credit check to enquire
Not sprayed to lenders
A real person reads it