Moving from New Zealand 2026: where a high earner keeps most

Moving from New Zealand, for a high earner.

Ranked on what $1,000,000 of income keeps over 10 years, with what New Zealand charges on the way out.

In short, current to October 2026

On the Patrician.ch board, the address that leaves a $1,000,000 earner leaving New Zealand with the most after 10 years is Dubai, UAE, at $10M kept against an effective 0%.
Within 5 hours of New Zealand, the address that keeps the most is Sydney, Australia, at $5.5M over 10 years.
On the way out of New Zealand: No general exit tax and no general capital gains tax. You stop being resident after more than 325 days away in any 12 months with no permanent home in New Zealand. After that New Zealand taxes only New Zealand source income, the foreign investment fund rules stop applying, and New Zealand residential property sold within 2 years of purchase is still caught by the bright line test. The exception: if you elected the revenue account method for unlisted foreign shares held before arrival, open to migrants and returning New Zealanders, leaving deems those shares sold at market value, and the gain is taxed, 70% of it at your marginal rate, on shares you actually sell within 3 years of leaving.
Deferral: For revenue account method shares, the departure gain is taxed only on a sale within 3 years of leaving.
Figures are current to October 2026 and modeled on indicative 2026 headline brackets for a single filer. Confirm with counsel before relying on any of them.

Each address on this page was last checked against its official sources between 14 October 2026 and 30 October 2026. The sources for each are named on its page.

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 47 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to October 2026. Updated 5 November 2026. Cite as: Patrician.ch, Moving from New Zealand 2026: where a high earner keeps most, patrician.ch/answers/moving-from-new-zealand/, October 2026.

Ranked

Leaving New Zealand: where $1,000,000 goes furthest.

Ordered by what a single filer keeps over 10 years after income tax, on Patrician.ch's 2026 model, with the flight time from New Zealand. The engine reorders this on your own income, liquidity event, passports and household.

Dubai 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 17h 10m nonstop from New Zealand

$10M

Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪 UAE0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 19h 25m with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

Punta del Este 🇺🇾 Uruguay0% effective on $1M, foreign gains untaxed 11 years by qualifying election, 14h 25m with 1 stop from New Zealand, special regime for arrivals

$10M

Anguilla 🇦🇮 Anguilla0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 22h with 2 stops from New Zealand

$10M

Monaco 🇲🇨 Monaco0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 25h 25m with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

Christophe Harbour 🇰🇳 St Kitts and Nevis0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 21h 40m with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

George Town 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 18h with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

St John's 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 21h 45m with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

Providenciales 🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 18h 50m with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

Nassau 🇧🇸 Bahamas0% effective on $1M, no capital gains tax, 18h with 1 stop from New Zealand

$10M

Within 5 hours of New Zealand.

The same ranking, kept to addresses a direct flight of 5 hours or less from New Zealand.

Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia45% effective on $1M, 24% on gains, 3h 40m nonstop from New Zealand

$5.5M

Model note. Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Where a place is modeled on a regime for new arrivals, its city page says so. Flight times are scheduled gate to gate times on the fastest routing, from airline schedules read October 17, 2026. The exit charge from New Zealand is modeled separately and is not netted into the figures above.

See these 2 places for your own income.Dubai and Abu Dhabi, side by side on your income, passports and family. Free, in the ranking of all 100. Then the Dossier: a written report in 10 chapters on the 3 places that rank first for you. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 November.

Compare them on my income →

Questions

The short answers.

Where should a high earner move from New Zealand?

On $1,000,000 of income, Dubai keeps the most over 10 years, $10M, followed by Abu Dhabi and Punta del Este.

Within 5 hours of New Zealand, Sydney keeps the most. The ranking changes with the passports held, the household and a liquidity event, all of which the engine takes as inputs.

Does New Zealand charge an exit tax?

No general exit tax and no general capital gains tax.

You stop being resident after more than 325 days away in any 12 months with no permanent home in New Zealand. After that New Zealand taxes only New Zealand source income, the foreign investment fund rules stop applying, and New Zealand residential property sold within 2 years of purchase is still caught by the bright line test. The exception: if you elected the revenue account method for unlisted foreign shares held before arrival, open to migrants and returning New Zealanders, leaving deems those shares sold at market value, and the gain is taxed, 70% of it at your marginal rate, on shares you actually sell within 3 years of leaving.

Can the exit tax on leaving New Zealand be deferred?

For revenue account method shares, the departure gain is taxed only on a sale within 3 years of leaving.

Which addresses on the board levy no capital gains tax?

39 of the 100 addresses on the board levy no personal capital gains tax on listed securities, among them Abu Dhabi, Andorra la Vella, Anguilla, Athens, Bora Bora, Christophe Harbour.

The Dossier: your top 3, on your numbers.A written report on the 3 places that rank first for you, compared line by line on your income, a sale, your passports and your family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay. Every tax figure carries its official source and the date it was last checked. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 30 November. Refunded in full within 7 days of delivery, no reason needed.

Read chapters 1 to 3, free →

Free for your site

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The income tax of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Punta del Este, Anguilla, Monaco and Christophe Harbour, side by side on 2026 rates. Your readers type their own salary and the places reorder. Free on any site, with the credit line under it.

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Moving from New Zealand, for a high earner.

Leaving New Zealand: where $1,000,000 goes furthest.

Within 5 hours of New Zealand.

The short answers.

Where should a high earner move from New Zealand?

Does New Zealand charge an exit tax?

Can the exit tax on leaving New Zealand be deferred?

Which addresses on the board levy no capital gains tax?

Put these figures on your site.

This page is the general case. Your income and passports rank all 100 differently.

This research on your firm's site, as Patrician AI under your name.