Compare · New Zealand vs Philippines
New Zealand vs Philippines for Australians leaving home
The regimes are genuinely different: New Zealand is a worldwide tax system while Philippines runs territorial tax, which of your income streams each one actually touches matters more than any headline rate.
Both have a tax treaty with Australia, so either way you get a tie-breaker if the ATO contests your departure, and capped withholding (15%/10% vs 15%/10% on unfranked dividends/interest).
Philippines is the cheaper place to live day to day, roughly 45% of Sydney's basket against New Zealand's 90% (indicative, ex-rent), which can outweigh a thinner tax saving over a full household budget.
Personalise this, enter your numbers once and every figure below becomes yours: “your estimated income tax: $14,200”, not “0, 22%”. Open the Country Comparison tool →
| 2 destinations | New ZealandNew Zealand | PhilippinesPhilippines |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | ||
| Regime | worldwide, taxes worldwide income | territorial, worldwide income not taxed |
| Income tax on salary | Progressive 10.5, 39%. No tax-free threshold at all (the first dollar is taxed) but effective rates at middle incomes land close to Australia's. | Progressive 0, 35% on Philippine-source compensation and business income; the 35% band starts at PHP 8m (~A$216k). |
| Capital gains | No general CGT: long-term share gains untaxed. Exceptions: traders, property inside the bright-line window, and the FIF deemed-return regime on non-ASX foreign shares over NZ$50k. (0% typical) | Foreign share gains: not taxed for resident aliens. Philippine listed shares: 0.6% stock transaction tax on gross sale. Unlisted Philippine shares: 15% CGT. (0% typical) |
| Dividends | Dividends taxed at marginal rates. NZ imputation works like franking; Australian franking credits are NOT usable in NZ, a long-standing trans-Tasman sore point. | Foreign dividends: outside the Philippine net for resident aliens. Philippine dividends: 10% final withholding. |
| Interest | Taxed locally around 33% | Generally untaxed locally |
| Crypto | No CGT does not mean crypto-free: IRD treats most crypto as bought with intent to sell, making gains taxable income at marginal rates. The onus of proving otherwise is on you. | No dedicated crypto tax rules: BIR guidance treats trading profits as taxable income when Philippine-source. Offshore-exchange gains of a resident alien are foreign-source and outside the net, but documentation matters. |
| Australia tax treaty | Yes, AU withholding capped at 15% dividends / 10% interest, tie-breaker available | Yes, AU withholding capped at 15% dividends / 10% interest, tie-breaker available |
| Social security | No social security tax; ACC earner levy (~1.6%) applies to employment income. KiwiSaver is opt-in for migrants. | SSS/PhilHealth apply to local employment; retirees and remote workers on their own income are outside them. |
| Visa | ||
| Best pathways |
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| Visa ease | 10/10 | 8/10 |
| Family on visas | Dependants covered on main pathways | Dependants covered on main pathways |
| Fastest timeline | ~0 months on the quickest pathway | ~0 months on the quickest pathway |
| Money | ||
| Rent (family home, monthly) | $3,300/mo | $2,000/mo |
| Rent (couple, monthly) | $2,300/mo | $1,100/mo |
| International school (per child/yr) | Free / local system viable | $14,000 |
| Health cover (family/yr) | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Cost of living vs Sydney | 90% of Sydney (ex-rent) | 45% of Sydney (ex-rent) |
| Relocation one-off | ~$12,000 | ~$12,000 |
| Flights home (return, pp) | $500 | $1,300 |
| Life | ||
| Timezone vs AEST | 2h ahead | 2h behind |
| Flight from Sydney | ~3 hours | ~8.5 hours |
| English | 10/10 | 9/10 |
| Safety | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| Healthcare | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Schooling | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Climate | Temperate maritime, Auckland is mild and wet; the South Island does real winters. | Tropical with a serious typhoon season (June, November); Manila is hot, humid and flood-prone. |
Costs, rates and visa figures are country-module data marked indicative until individually verified; FX and rental markets move constantly.
Honest downsides, side by side
Every destination hub on this site carries its downsides in the open. Here are both lists together, because the right question is rarely “which is better?” and usually “which set of problems would you rather live with?”
New Zealand
- The tax saving is thinner than it looks: no CGT is real, but income rates are Australia-like, there is no tax-free threshold, and salaries are 15, 25% lower for the same role.
- The ATO treats a hop to Auckland with scepticism, same time zone, 3-hour flights, easy return; your "permanent departure" evidence needs to be stronger, not weaker, than for Dubai.
- Auckland housing rivals Sydney for unaffordability, and the cost-of-living basket is not meaningfully cheaper.
- Earthquake and weather-event risk is priced into insurance, and the economy is small, career ceilings arrive quickly outside a few sectors.
Philippines
- Infrastructure is the weak point: Manila traffic is globally infamous, power and internet reliability vary, and healthcare outside top private hospitals is thin.
- Safety requires judgment, petty crime in cities, and entire regions (western Mindanao) under standing government travel warnings.
- Typhoons are not an abstraction: multiple significant hits per year, with flooding even in metro Manila.
- Foreigners cannot own land (condos yes, land no), long-term settling means leases or a Filipino spouse's title.
- The banking system is parochial: moving money in is easy, opening accounts and moving it out less so.
Make this comparison yours
The table above shows the general figures. Enter your income and family once and the tax rows become your numbers, “your estimated income tax in Auckland: $14,200”, not a range.