Did the Financial Details Template change in 2025?
Yes. In 2024, the inaugural year of the GDSR, applicants submitted their financial documentation in a format of their choosing. From reviewing these submissions, we looked into ways to make it easier to accurately assess claims.
As a result, in 2025 we introduced a mandatory Financial Details Template. This template is designed to collect all the necessary information our financial assessors need in order to verify your claim and assess eligible expenditure, and ultimately streamline the assessment process.
On the Financial Details Template’s ‘expense summary’-tab, can we list a total amount per software or does each transaction need to be listed in a separate line?
We ask that you include a single line for each transaction, so that our financial assessors can confirm consistency with the data exported from your accounting system, and to break down those costs by transaction if needed. This means that a monthly subscription for a software-as-a-service would likely feature 12 individual lines for each monthly transaction.
Should ineligible expenses be included in the Financial Details Template?
Generally speaking, no. We only need eligible expenditure listed in the template. However, if you are unsure whether a cost is eligible, we recommend including it. Our assessors will review every line and consider any edge cases, so some items you are unsure about may still be accepted, even if you have flagged them as potentially ineligible.
As ACC levies are billed as a lump sum and not broken down by employee, how should they be reported in the Financial Details Template?
[TL1] To help assessors accurately determine which staffing costs relate to eligible game development work, ACC levies should be reported per employee as a percentage of the total ACC levy, based on each person’s eligibility for the GDSR.
For example, if you have five full-time employees and only four are eligible, then 80% of your total ACC levy is considered eligible expenditure. That 80% should be distributed across only the eligible employees—so each of the four would be assigned 20% of the total levy, while the ineligible employee would be assigned 0%.
If an employee is only partially eligible—say they spend 50% of their time on eligible game development—you would apply that percentage to their share. So, if their portion would have been 20%, you would include 10% in the template.
Even if ACC (or similar costs such as KiwiSaver contributions, bonuses or benefits) are calculated automatically through your payroll system, you’ll still need to manually enter the appropriate percentages per employee in the ‘Employee and Contractor Summary’ tab of the Financial Details Template as this helps our assessors review your claim more accurately.
How do we treat depreciation when it comes to development expenditure?
Depreciation or amortisation of game development software and hardware is considered eligible expenditure.
If you have capitalised payroll or contractor costs related to Research & Development (R&D), these are only eligible if the actual costs were incurred during the tax year relevant to the rebate claim. However, amortisation of these capitalised costs is not eligible.
For clarity, depreciation on assets other than game development software and hardware is not eligible expenditure.
What counts as Research & Development (R&D) compared to game development - and how do we split this out?
We don’t require a distinction between R&D and game development for the GDSR — both are considered eligible activities.
However, if you’ve received other government funding (such as the R&D Tax Incentive), you must exclude any costs covered by those programmes from your GDSR claim. This is to avoid ‘double dipping’ – claiming the same expenditure under multiple government programmes – which is not allowed.
To ensure compliance, make sure any overlapping costs are identified and removed from your GDSR claim.
What documentation could an applicant provide to prove their employees or contractors are tax residents of New Zealand?
We don’t require applicants to provide proof that employees or contractors are tax residents of New Zealand.
Instead, we ask that you identify any employees or contractors who are not domiciled in Aotearoa New Zealand in your application.
Please note, a more detailed review may be conducted if your business is selected for audit. Each year, we carry out a random audit of 20% of successful GDSR applicants. If selected, we’ll contact you directly to explain the audit process and any further documentation required.
If a Registered Business applies for the GDSR and other government grants such as the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI), Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE) or a NZ Film Commission (NZFC) grant at the same time, but the other grants have not yet been approved at the time the GDSR is approved, do they need to advise NZ On Air?
Yes. It’s important to let us know if you have applied for other government funding, even if it hasn’t been approved yet. You should provide details of the grant(s) and the amount applied for.
This allows us to understand that your GDSR application may be subject to change and ensures transparency about any potential adjustments.
Crucially, this only matters if the other grant(s) applies to the same cost base — i.e. the same expenses or eligibility period as your GDSR claim. The GDSR can only be claimed on eligible expenditure not already covered by another government grant, to avoid double dipping.
Does a Registered Business need to advise NZ On Air if they receive other government grants if the grant is unrelated to the GDSR, such as the Māori
Business Growth Support grant for example?
No, we only need to be advised if there is any crossover in relation to the eligible expenditure that is being claimed. If you are at all unsure, please get in touch with us (gamesrebate@nzonair.govt.nz) and we’ll be happy to help.
Is a Registered Business required to engage with a specific accounting firm for the audited accounts?
No, you don’t need to engage a specific accounting firm. If your application is selected for audit, NZ On Air will appoint an independent assurance provider to carry out the review. Our assurance provider will work directly with your finance team or your preferred accountant to complete the process. If your business is selected, we’ll get in touch to step you through what’s involved and answer any questions you might have.
What could a registered business expect from an audit if they are selected? Who will perform the audit and how are the audits selected?
Each year, NZ On Air selects a number of registered businesses for audit. This may happen in one of two ways: either through a spot audit at NZ On Air’s discretion, or as part of a 20% randomised selection process. In either case, the audit is conducted at NZ On Air’s cost.
If your business is selected, we will contact you—typically around August—to let you know and answer any questions you may have. We’ll also provide a timeframe for the audit, which is usually expected to be completed within three months.
We will then introduce you to an independent assurance provider who will work directly with your finance team or preferred accountant to agree on a suitable time to conduct the review within the three-month period.
To help ensure a smooth process, you’ll need to prepare supporting documentation for the eligible expenditure you claimed. This might include:
- Invoices for software expenses
- Employment agreements for your New Zealand-based employees and contractors
- Timesheets or project time-tracking records for certain roles not typically involved in game development, such as a CEO, if time has been claimed for game development activities.
The assurance provider may request further details as needed. NZ On Air will remain available throughout to help guide you through the process and ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Please note, having been audited previously does not exclude a business from being chosen for audit again in the following year(s).
How should a company apportion costs if their year-end is not 31 March (e.g. year-end is 1 Jan to 31 Dec)?
When you are registering for the GDSR, projections for expenditure based on rationale are acceptable. However, please note that in your GDSR application, figures provided must be based on actual expenditure for the eligibility period 1 April-31 March.
If a group has multiple entities in New Zealand, which entity should make the claim? i.e. the top holding company in New Zealand? The entity that holds the IP? The entity that incurs the salary costs? And what if the salary costs are re-charged to another entity?
The key consideration here is to ensure there is no double dipping in expenses across multiple applications and to direct the rebate to the businesses in line with the policy intent of the GDSR. Conceptually, this points to the claimant as a game development studio and not its contractors. It also points to the claimant as a self-standing studio with a Company Number and all other factors of eligibility, and not a holding company that has no eligible game development activity of its own. With that in mind, the entity which should make the claim would be the entity incurring the salary cost, which may also hold the IP.
