General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice. These are campaign promises, not law, and details can change. Please talk to your own accountant or lawyer before acting. We don't endorse any party; parties are listed alphabetically.

Why this one is personal for us

Like every owner reading this, we'll live with the result, and depending on who wins, the changes for us could be small or significant. That's why we've stuck to what each party has published, with sources, rather than what we think of it.

New Zealand votes on 7 November (Electoral Commission), and coalition talks are likely to decide what survives. A 1News Verian poll taken 8 to 12 October had neither main bloc projected to win a majority on its own (interest.co.nz). National has ruled out a capital gains tax (1News, 18 October) and any new taxes (1News, 8 September). Chris Hipkins has said Labour won't support Opportunity's tax policy or the Greens' wealth taxes, and Christopher Luxon has said National "wouldn't be working with" Opportunity (1News).

Where things stand today

Residential property sold within two years is taxed on the gain unless it's your main home, mortgage interest on rentals is fully deductible, and losses on a rental or full-time Airbnb that isn't your main home can't be offset against salary; part-time holiday homes have their own rules, below (Inland Revenue; Inland Revenue).

What each party has promised

  • ACT. New rental losses could be offset against other income again, which ACT says "levels the playing field" (ACT). No bed tax: councils would get $1 per commercial guest night instead, about $8.2 million a year for Auckland (ACT).
  • Green Party. Would "reverse Luxon's landlord tax cuts and the changes to the brightline test" (Green Party), undoing the restored interest deductions (1News) and returning to a 10-year bright-line test, plus a 2.5% wealth tax above $10 million (1News). Councils could charge a bed levy, with a higher rate for Airbnbs and a national register; Chlöe Swarbrick says mayors want "the tools to fund the infrastructure tourism requires" (RNZ via ODT).
  • Labour. A 28% capital gains tax on investment property, counting only value gained after 1 July 2027, with the family home exempt and the revenue going to health (Labour). No change to interest deductibility (1News), and the GST registration threshold would rise from $60,000 to $80,000 from July 2028 (interest.co.nz). On a bed levy: "If councils want to drive this, then we're open to having that conversation," said Barbara Edmonds (RNZ).
  • National. No new taxes, including no capital gains tax or bed tax (see above). Councils would share the International Visitor Levy instead, about $19.1 million for Auckland in the first year (1News). "We don't think it's viable to make every Kiwi pay more for their holiday," said Nicola Willis (RNZ).
  • NZ First. We couldn't find a property tax policy for this election. It supports a bed levy for tourists, not New Zealanders; Winston Peters says regions need one "so they can build the infrastructure" (1News).
  • Opportunity. An annual tax on unimproved land value of 1.75% a year for urban land and 0.5% for rural land (The Conversation, via 1News), alongside a tax-free citizen's income of $19,400 a year. The party says it would bring house prices down (1News).
  • Te Pāti Māori. A 5% stamp duty on residential sales (first-home buyers of homes under $1 million exempt), a 2% vacant-house tax it says would free up 11,700 empty homes, and a wealth tax from $2 million (interest.co.nz).

What's different for short-term rentals

Most of these promises treat a long-term rental, an Airbnb and a bach alike. Three don't.

A bed levy. It's the one debate where short-term rentals are named. Auckland's mayor, Wayne Brown, has proposed a 2.5% bed-night levy on visitors in commercial accommodation (1News). It isn't clear whether that would include Airbnb-style stays. If a 2.5% levy did apply, a $250 night would carry $6.25.

GST. Short stays carry GST; long-term residential rent doesn't (Inland Revenue), so Labour's higher threshold matters mainly to hosts. A host whose only taxable turnover is $60,000 to $80,000 of bookings a year would no longer have to register, though platforms would still collect GST on bookings and pass unregistered hosts an 8.5% flat-rate credit (Inland Revenue). Our GST explainer covers how that works.

Holiday homes. A bach you use yourself and also rent out, and that sits unused for 62 days or more a year, falls under separate mixed-use rules (Inland Revenue). ACT's announcement doesn't mention them, while 1News reports that Labour's capital gains tax would cover baches (1News).

Two examples, worked through

Example 1: Labour's capital gains tax. Labour's starting value is the higher of what you paid and the value on 1 July 2027 (by default the rateable value, or a registered valuation). Say that's $1,200,000 for a bach or Airbnb, you spend $30,000 on improvements without claiming depreciation on them, and you sell in 2032 for $1,380,000. The taxable gain is $150,000, and tax at 28% is $42,000, which Labour says would go to health. Selling costs aren't included, because Labour's policy page doesn't say how they'd be treated. Under today's rules this sale would generally not be taxed: it's past the two-year bright-line period, and we've assumed it wasn't bought to resell (Inland Revenue).

Example 2: ACT's change to rental losses. Say a whole-home Airbnb with no private use makes a tax loss of $8,000, and the owner's salary is taxed at 33%. Under ACT's policy the loss could reduce that year's tax by about $2,640, rather than carrying forward. The property has still made a loss. ACT's release doesn't mention short stays; we've assumed they'd be covered, as they are today.

Both use made-up round numbers to show the mechanics. They aren't forecasts.

How we're thinking about it

Our general view is that none of this is a reason to buy or sell on the strength of a poll. Records of what was paid and every improvement are worth keeping, as they would count under Labour's plan. And if a short-term rental only makes sense under one party's settings, we'd treat that as a warning sign. Location, demand and running costs should carry it, as we set out in what your Airbnb actually earns.

We don't give tax advice. What we can do is give you a free appraisal with a realistic revenue range for your property as a short-term rental, so you and your accountant can test it against whatever the next government decides. If short-term letting doesn't suit your property, we'll say so.

We plan to update this article once a government is formed and its tax plans are confirmed.

Important. This article is general information only, current at 19 October 2026. It summarises published party policies, news reports and Inland Revenue guidance, isn't financial, tax or legal advice, and doesn't take your circumstances into account. Policies may change or never become law. We've taken care with accuracy, but it's a summary and may contain errors. To the extent the law allows, Heron Living accepts no responsibility for decisions made in reliance on it; please get independent professional advice before acting. Heron Living manages short-term rentals for a fee, and the two people who run it also own an investment property they run as a short-term rental. We don't endorse any party or candidate.

Sources

Electoral Commission, 2026 General Election. interest.co.nz, report on the 1News Verian poll (fieldwork 8–12 October), 13 October 2026.

Inland Revenue: property rules (bright-line test and interest deductions); buying intending to resell; ring-fencing of rental losses; mixed-use asset rules for holiday homes; exempt supplies; GST for accommodation hosts.

ACT, “ACT to abolish another of Labour's renters' taxes”, 14 October 2026, and Local Tourism Dividend.

Green Party, tax policy announcement, 21 June 2026. 1News, “Greens propose wealth, inheritance taxes to fund income tax changes”, 21 June 2026. RNZ, report on the Greens' bed levy, via the Otago Daily Times, 14 October 2026.

Labour, Capital Gains Tax policy page. Justin Hu, “Labour's capital gains tax explained – what is it and who will pay?”, 1News, 18 October 2026. Justin Hu, “Labour rules out interest deductibility changes for landlords”, 1News, 21 September 2026. Mandy Te, report on Labour's small business policy, interest.co.nz, 6 August 2026. Russell Palmer, RNZ report including Labour's comments on a bed levy, 26 August 2026.

Justin Hu, “National wants to give councils cut of visitor levy after bed tax rule-out”, 1News, 8 September 2026. Giles Dexter, RNZ report on the bed levy and the city deals, 25 August 2026.

1News, “What are the Opportunity party's land tax and ‘citizen's income’?”, 15 August 2026. Michael Fletcher, analysis of Opportunity's tax plan, The Conversation, republished by 1News, 21 September 2026.

Mandy Te, report on Te Pāti Māori's tax policy, interest.co.nz, 26 August 2026.