The 2025 New Zealand Budget has delivered a timely incentive for businesses looking to invest in new assets—offering a 20% lump sum depreciation in the first year under the new Investment Boost policy. This tax change is designed to stimulate business growth by supporting cashflow and encouraging investment in tools, technology, and equipment.
If you're using MYOB Acumatica, it's important to handle this depreciation correctly to stay compliant and accurately represent the value of your assets. Here’s a quick breakdown of the Investment Boost and how to manage it in MYOB Acumatica.
What Is the NZ Investment Boost?
Announced as part of the 2025 Budget, the Investment Boost allows businesses to:
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Immediately deduct 20% of the value of eligible new assets in the year they’re acquired.
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Continue applying normal depreciation on the remaining balance of the asset.
For example:
A qualifying $10,000 asset would allow a $2,000 immediate depreciation (20%).
The normal depreciation would then be calculated on the remaining $8,000.
So if the rate is 10%, that’s $800 depreciation in the first year, in addition to the $2,000.
For a full list of qualifying assets, refer to the IRD Investment Boost Information Sheet.
How to Record the Investment Boost in MYOB Acumatica
To ensure your asset register reflects this correctly, we recommend using the Bonus functionality provided in Acumatica's Fixed Assets module.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Set the Bonus flag
- Go to Fixed Asset Classes (FA201000).
- Access the Fixed Asset Classes the you need to apply the Investment Boost to and set the Bonus flag on the Deprecation tab.
- Define a Bonus for Investment Boost
- Go to Bonuses (FA208000).
- Create a bonus for Investment Boost adding a line with Start Date of 22/05/2025 and an end date a few years into the future with a Bonus % of 20.
- Create Asset
- Go to Fixed Assets (FA303000).
- Create Asset with an Acquisition Cost of $10,000 (i.e., the full cost of the asset).
- Set fields such as Useful Life, Business Use %, and Depreciation Method (e.g., NZ Straight-Line or NZ Diminishing Value).
- In the Balance tab, set the Percent per Year to your standard depreciation rate (e.g., 10%), set Bonus to BOOST bonus defined above and Bonus Rate to 20 this will set the Bonus Amount to 2,000 for the asset.
- Calculate Depreciation
- In the first month of depreciation, the system will take the full value of the Investment Boost (i.e. 2,000 in our example) and the monthly depreciation calculated for the remaining 80% of the asset value.
- Thereafter, the asset will continue to depreciate the remaining 80% of the asset value based on the depreciation parameters defined for the asset.
By following this method, your MYOB Acumatica system will accurately reflect both the immediate depreciation and ongoing depreciation in accordance with IRD guidelines.
Why It Matters
The Investment Boost is a valuable opportunity for businesses to invest in growth—especially in an environment where managing cashflow is crucial. MYOB Acumatica’s flexibility makes it easy to align your asset management with tax regulations while maintaining clean reporting and depreciation schedules.
For further context on what the 2025 Budget means for NZ businesses, check out MYOB’s Budget Wrap-Up.
Need Help?
If you’d like support implementing this in MYOB Acumatica or reviewing your fixed asset processes, the Avanza Solutions team is here to help. Get in touch for a one-on-one walkthrough or assistance with configuration.
