Executive Summary
On 8 September 2026 the National Party announced a reset of how International Visitor Levy (IVL) revenue is allocated. The proposal would direct guaranteed funding to local councils and conservation instead of introducing a domestic bed tax, and would take effect from 1 July 2027 if National forms the next government after the 7 November 2026 election. Local government has broadly welcomed the certainty of a guaranteed funding stream, while continuing to argue the total pool falls short of what councils say they need. This briefing sets out the background to the levy, the detail of the proposed reset, and the current state of play for members to follow ahead of the election.
Background: The Levy Before The Reset
The International Visitor Levy was introduced in 2019 so that international visitors contribute directly to the infrastructure and conservation estate they use during their stay. On 1 October 2024 the government lifted the levy from 35 dollars to 100 dollars per person, which took total annual collection to about 146 million dollars for the year to 30 June 2025, up from 62.5 million dollars the year before. With visitor numbers continuing to recover, current estimates put annual collection at somewhere between 200 million and 229 million dollars.
Most of that revenue has gone to central government programmes rather than to the councils that host visitors day to day. Fast growing destinations, among them Auckland and Queenstown Lakes, had pushed for the ability to introduce their own local bed taxes to close funding gaps, a proposal the government ruled out under its commitment to introduce no new taxes. The IVL Reset is presented as the alternative: a redirection of existing levy revenue rather than a new charge on visitors or ratepayers.