FIF and Stake: building your FIF figures from US dollar records

Stake holds your US shares in US dollars. Its New Zealand tax help page, as we read it on 12 November 2026, points you to a third party, Sharesight, for tax reports and says nothing about FIF. So if your foreign shares cost more than $50,000 on any day of the year, the job of turning Stake's records into FIF income is yours. It is not hard once you know which four or five numbers you need, and the currency step is where most people go wrong.

What Stake says it gives you

Stake's NZ help page on taxes and forms (undated, read 12 November 2026) says: "Stake customers can use Sharesight to track portfolios and generate tax reports". It lists "Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reports", "Taxable income summaries" and "Unrealised capital gains calculations", and says Sharesight "integrates seamlessly with Stake by using your trade confirmation files". The same menu lists pages on the W-8BEN form, withholding tax and "Tax paperwork assistance". We found no Stake page describing a FIF report. That is a single source and Stake may add one, so check the current help centre.

Sharesight's own help pages describe a FIF report for NZ tax residency portfolios on its higher plans. We saw that only in search summaries, so it is UNVERIFIED, and we do not recommend any product. You can also do the calculation yourself with our FIF calculator, which is free and keeps everything in your browser.

The numbers you need for FIF

Whatever the platform, FIF needs the same inputs (IR461 pp11 and 14):

• Cost, to test the $50,000 threshold on every day of the year, across every platform (IR461 p9). Cost is generally what you paid, including fees.
• The value of each holding at 1 April, for FDR (5% of opening value) and CV.
• The value at 31 March, for CV.
• Every buy and sale in the year, with dates, share numbers and amounts, for CV and for the FDR quick sale adjustment.
• Dividends and the US tax withheld, for CV and for the foreign tax credit.

Stake's tax page does not say which statement shows holdings at a given date. Use whatever record shows your share numbers and prices at those two dates, and keep a copy. Trade confirmations cover buys and sales. Your dividend records cover the rest.

The currency step

Everything Stake shows is in US dollars, but FIF income is calculated in NZ dollars. Inland Revenue allows one of these methods, applied to every holding, every year (IR461 p13; TIB 31/11 p2):

1. the actual rate on the day of each amount, where Inland Revenue accepts its published mid-month rate as an actual rate for that month (IR461 p13 note);
2. the rolling 12-month average rate for the year. Once you start using it you must keep using it (IRD currency page, 4 November 2026).

Inland Revenue quotes rates as foreign currency per NZ$1, so you divide the US dollar amount by the rate (TIB 31/11 p2). Our exchange rates tool holds every published rate back to the 2021 year. The FX rate a platform charged when you converted money is a different thing: it is what your trade cost, not a valuation rate for 1 April or 31 March.

Worked example: a Stake portfolio in 2025/26

Say your Stake shares cost more than $50,000 (NZ dollar cost) and you made no trades in the 2025/26 year. They were worth US$40,000 at 1 April 2025 and US$44,000 at 31 March 2026. You received US$600 of dividends in September 2025, and US$90 (15%) was withheld because you had lodged a W-8BEN. We use Inland Revenue's published rates under the actual rate method.

FDR: 5% x $70,052.54 = $3,502.63.
CV: $76,869.32 + $1,006.37 minus $70,052.54 = $7,823.15.

FDR is lower, so an individual would return $3,502.63 in box 17B. With $90,000 of other income, the extra tax is $1,155.66 at 33%. The US tax of $150.96 is creditable in full here: it is within the 15% treaty rate on the dividend and well under the NZ tax on this company's FIF income ($776.67 at your average rate, which is how our calculator works out the cap). Tax to pay on the FIF income after the credit: $1,004.70.

If you have more than one holding, the credit cap applies company by company (IR461 p20). With trades in the year, add them in the FDR calculator so any quick sale adjustment is included.

W-8BEN and US withholding

Stake's help page on automated W-8BEN forms says US dividends are withheld at 30% without a W-8BEN, which matches the IRS instructions for the form. With one, NZ residents have 15% withheld: the NZ and US treaty, as amended by the 2008 protocol, caps US tax on dividends at 15% (Article 10(2); 5% for a company holding 10% or more of the voting power). The NZ credit is capped at the treaty rate, so tax withheld above 15% is not creditable in New Zealand and would have to be reclaimed from the US (IR461 p20 sets out the same principle with a Swiss example). See our W-8BEN guide.

Stake plus other platforms

Many Stake users also hold shares on an NZ platform. The rules do not care where the shares sit. Your $50,000 test adds the NZ dollar cost on every platform, on the same day (IR461 p9). And an individual must use the same method, FDR or CV, for every FIF interest in the year (IR461 p14). So work out FDR and CV for your Stake holdings as above, add them to the FDR and CV totals from your other platforms, and use the lower total. If the other platform's report already shows NZ dollar figures, check which exchange rate method it used, so that the two halves of your portfolio are converted the same way. Our Sharesies and Hatch guides show the combining step with worked figures.

Putting it on the IR3

Total FIF income (with any other overseas income) goes in box 17B, and your foreign tax credit in box 17A, with an IR1261 overseas income summary (IR3G pp19 and 22). Keep proof of the US tax paid (IR3G p22). FIF income can be grouped under "overseas" if you keep a supporting report (IRD, Reporting your overseas income, 29 May 2026); the printed summary from our calculator, with your Stake records behind it, is one way to do that. Question 40 covers foreign interests, and many people using FDR or CV in a treaty country are covered by the annual disclosure exemption (IR461 p21). Details are in our IR3 guide.

If you are under $50,000, none of the FIF arithmetic applies: your US dividends are ordinary income, taxed at your rate with a credit for US tax. See dividends under $50,000.

This guide is general information, not tax advice; check with your accountant if you hold shares in more than one name or through a trust. Rules checked 12 November 2026.

Records to keep from Stake

• Trade confirmations for every buy and sale (Stake's tax page says these are what Sharesight imports).
• A record of share numbers and prices at 1 April and 31 March each year.
• Dividend records showing the gross amount and the US tax withheld.
• A note of the exchange rate method you used, because it must be applied consistently (IR461 p13).
• A running total of NZ dollar cost, to show you were under or over $50,000 on every day.

See FIF record keeping for the full list.

Questions

Does Stake produce a FIF report?

Its NZ tax help page, as read on 12 November 2026, names Sharesight for tax reports and does not mention a FIF report. Check Stake's current help centre, as this can change.

Which exchange rate should I use for my Stake holdings?

One Inland Revenue accepted method for every holding: actual rates (IRD mid-month and end-of-month rates count) or the rolling 12-month average, which you must keep using once started.

Do I count my Stake cost in US dollars or NZ dollars for the $50,000 test?

NZ dollars. The threshold is NZ$50,000 of cost, so convert what you paid at the time of each purchase.

Is the 30% US withholding without a W-8BEN all creditable?

No. The NZ credit is limited to the treaty rate, and to the NZ tax on that company's FIF income. Any excess has to be recovered from the US, if at all.