New Zealand 2026 election: property taxes, capital gains and first-home buyers

Your concern is a real policy issue: if house prices, rents and the deposit required to buy keep rising faster than your savings, simply having steady employment and saving consistently may not be enough to close the gap.

For your situation, the important distinction is between policies that:

1. Reduce the tax advantages of owning investment property.
2. Introduce or expand taxes on gains made when property or other assets are sold.
3. Reduce the cost of buying a first home.
4. Increase the supply of homes, potentially making deposits smaller relative to household incomes.

These policies can have quite different consequences for renters saving for their first deposit.

1. Which parties are proposing property or capital taxes?

The following reflects published policy announcements available as at 31 October 2026, rather than assumptions about what parties might negotiate after the election.

Labour Party

28% targeted capital gains tax

• A 28% tax on gains from residential investment properties and commercial property.
• Applies to gains accruing from 1 July 2027, when the property is eventually sold.
• The family home, farms, shares, KiwiSaver and businesses are excluded.
• Existing gains before 1 July 2027 are protected through an opening valuation.
• Labour has also committed to retaining mortgage interest deductibility for landlords.

First-home implication: You would not pay this tax on the gain when selling your own family home. However, investment-property owners would face a tax on future gains, potentially changing their appetite for buying rental properties.

Sources: Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

Green Party

Changes to investment-property taxation

• Restore a 10-year bright-line period for residential investment property.
• Remove mortgage interest deductibility for residential investment properties.
• Introduce a 2.5% annual wealth tax on individual net assets above $10 million, excluding the family home.
• Introduce a 33% Capital Acquisitions Tax on gifts and inheritances above $1 million, generally paid by the recipient, with family homes and family farms exempt.

First-home implication: The removal of interest deductions could make investment properties less attractive to some landlords. The Greens' wealth tax would not directly affect an ordinary first-home deposit saver, given its very high threshold.

Sources: Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionTax Tips: 2026 General Election

Te Pāti Māori

Multiple new property taxes

• A 5% stamp duty on residential property sales, with an exemption for first-home buyers purchasing homes under $1 million.
• A 33% land-banking tax.
• A 2% annual vacant-house tax on homes vacant for more than three months in a year.
• Removal of mortgage interest deductibility for residential investment properties.
• A progressive wealth tax: 1.5% above $2 million, 2% above $5 million and 2.5% above $10 million.

First-home implication: The proposed stamp-duty exemption could be particularly relevant to you. If you buy your first home for under $1 million, you would be exempt from that proposed transaction tax. Taxes on land banking and vacant homes are intended to discourage properties being held unused or unproductively.

Sources: The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upTax Tips: 2026 General Election

Opportunity Party

1.75% annual land value tax

• Introduce a 1.75% annual tax on urban land value.
• A 0.5% rate would apply to rural land.
• The tax is on land value, not the buildings or improvements.
• Some exemptions and deferrals would apply, including provisions for farmers and retirees.

First-home implication: This is a significant difference from a capital gains tax. Even if your home doesn't increase in value, its land could still attract an annual tax. It could also affect the price buyers are willing to pay for land.

Sources: Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

National Party

No new taxes commitment

• No new broad capital gains, land or wealth tax proposed.
• Its tax approach emphasises keeping taxes low.
• Proposes widening access to 5% deposit First Home Loans by lifting the income cap to $300,000.

First-home implication: The 5% deposit proposal could reduce the upfront savings barrier for eligible buyers. However, it does not itself reduce house prices or the amount you need to borrow.

Sources: 2026 Election PolicyThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

ACT New Zealand

No comparable new property tax

• No comparable new capital gains tax, wealth tax or land value tax in its announced package.
• Proposes abolishing rental-property loss ring-fencing, which currently restricts landlords from using residential rental losses against other income.

First-home implication: This could improve the after-tax position of some rental-property investors, potentially making investment property more attractive relative to owner-occupied housing.

Sources: Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

New Zealand First

No comparable property-tax proposal identified

• No major new residential capital gains, land value or wealth tax proposal identified in its published election package.
• Its announced tax changes have included a lower company tax rate for qualifying smaller businesses.

First-home implication: Its published tax package does not currently offer a direct change to the tax treatment of residential investment property comparable to Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori or Opportunity.

Source: Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionWhat the parties' tax proposals could mean for your business.

2. What might these taxes actually mean for your deposit?

This is where the differences become important. A tax on property investors does not automatically translate into cheaper homes for first-home buyers.

Policy change	Potential benefit	Potential downside
Capital gains tax	Could reduce speculative investment demand	Could discourage some investment in rental housing
Reduced interest deductions	Could make investment ownership less attractive	Some landlords may increase rents or sell
Land value tax	Could discourage holding valuable unused land	Adds an ongoing cost for landowners
Vacant-house tax	Could encourage unused homes to be rented or sold	Depends on definitions and enforcement
Stamp duty exemption	Protects eligible first-home buyers from the proposed tax	Other buyers could face higher transaction costs
No new property taxes	Greater continuity for existing property investors	Leaves existing tax incentives largely unchanged

There are several economic mechanisms worth understanding.

A. Could taxing investors make houses cheaper?

Potentially.

If investors receive lower after-tax returns, some may decide not to buy investment properties. That could reduce competition for homes, particularly in areas where investors are active.

But there is another side: if landlords sell properties, renters may face reduced rental supply. That could put upward pressure on rents, making it harder for you to save.

And if the number of homes being built doesn't increase, reducing investor demand alone might not solve the affordability problem.

B. Could a land tax reduce the deposit you need?

Potentially, yes, depending on how it is designed.

An annual land value tax creates a recurring cost of ownership. Buyers may therefore offer less for land to account for that future expense.

However, you could then face an annual tax bill after purchasing your home.

For example, under Opportunity's proposed 1.75% rate:

Illustrative land value tax

Assumes the full 1.75% rate applies, with no exemption or deferral.

$7,000/year

For a property with $400,000 of land value.

Annual cost

$7,000

Monthly equivalent

$583

Weekly equivalent

$135

That is why it matters to distinguish between a lower purchase price and a lower overall cost of owning a home.

C. What about capital gains tax?

Labour's proposed tax would be charged when an investment property is sold, rather than annually.

For example, suppose an investor buys a rental property and makes a taxable gain of $100,000 after the proposed starting date.

• Taxable gain: $100,000
• Proposed rate: 28%
• Illustrative tax: $28,000

That is the investor's potential tax, not a tax on your deposit or on your eventual gain from selling your family home.

The tax might influence investor behaviour, but it doesn't guarantee that the property will be sold for less.

Tax Tips: 2026 General ElectionSummary of 2026 election tax policies

3. Which policies directly address the first-home deposit problem?

It's worth separating tax reform from measures that help you actually get into a home.

Two particularly relevant proposals are:

• National: Extend access to First Home Loans with a 5% deposit by lifting the income cap to $300,000.
• Labour: Offer a 5% deposit pathway and introduce a rent-to-buy option.

These approaches aim to reduce the upfront deposit barrier rather than change the tax treatment of property investors. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

The distinction matters because a smaller deposit can help you buy sooner, but it can also mean a larger mortgage and greater interest costs.

4. What should you look at before deciding how to vote?

For a couple renting and saving from regular employment, I'd suggest examining five questions across the parties:

1. House prices: Is the policy likely to reduce the price of homes, or simply make it easier to borrow more?
2. Rental costs: Could the proposed changes affect your rent while you are saving?
3. Deposit assistance: Are there practical measures to help first-home buyers who have stable incomes but limited savings?
4. Housing supply: Will the policies encourage more homes to be built, particularly affordable homes?
5. Long-term ownership costs: Would you face new annual property taxes after buying?

One additional consideration is political feasibility. A party's proposed tax policy is not necessarily going to become law exactly as announced. Coalition negotiations, implementation dates, exemptions and transitional arrangements matter. KPMG specifically highlights the possibility of substantial changes through coalition negotiations. Summary of 2026 election tax policies

5. Where to compare the policies yourself

These are useful resources before casting your two votes:

• Policy.nz – 2026 election policy comparison: Compare housing policies across parties.
• PwC – 2026 election tax policy analysis: Detailed breakdown of capital gains, wealth, land and property taxes.
• KPMG – 2026 election tax policy summary: Independent tax-policy comparison.
• National's official policies.
• Labour's official policies.

My overall takeaway

There are two different approaches to the housing affordability problem in this election.

• One approach is to change the tax advantages associated with investment property, land ownership and accumulated wealth, with the aim of changing investment incentives and raising revenue.
• The other is to retain relatively favourable property investment tax settings and focus more on borrowing access, investment incentives and housing development.

Neither approach guarantees that first-home buyers will find houses more affordable.

For you and your partner, I'd pay particular attention to whether a policy improves the relationship between household income, rent, deposit savings and eventual mortgage repayments, rather than focusing solely on whether it introduces a capital gains tax.

A useful next step would be to compare the parties' policies against an actual first-home buying scenario, including how much deposit you would need and what your ongoing housing costs might look like. I can help you do that using a hypothetical New Zealand couple's finances, without needing to share your personal income.