Money: Look before you ask: four steps to getting a refund

Before you rush off to ask for your Personal Tax Summary, there's just one catch.

If it reveals you have more tax to pay, rather than the hoped-for refund, you will be expected to pay - even if you weren't obliged to ask for a summary in the first place.

To avoid that risk, the safest approach is to follow a four-step plan.

ONE: Make sure you have all the details - your income, interest received, any dividends, tax paid and so on.

If you don't have that information, call the IRD on 0800 227 775 and ask for a Summary of Earnings. Better still, ask for a worksheet to use in calculating your tax (officially, it's an IR 746), which comes with a Summary of Earnings.

TWO: Using the worksheet, calculate whether you're due a refund.

If you have internet access, at least two online services will do the calculations. Try TaxWebNZ: www.taxweb.co.nz (click on "freecalc") or Pebesoft: www.pebesoft.co.nz (click on "Tax checkers").

If your calculations show you have more to pay you can let sleeping dogs lie (assuming you're not not obliged to request a summary, and haven't misled Inland Revenue.) THREE: If your calculations reveal that you're in line for a refund, ask for a Personal Tax Summary.

FOUR: Make any changes, by returning the revised summary to the IRD or over the phone, and wait for your refund.

One last thing: remember your rebates

While we're on the subject of tax and claims, don't forget that - as well as any refund - you could also be entitled to a rebate of up to $810 for donations to charity, the cost of childcare or housekeeping.

Claiming those rebates is no longer part of the tax-return process, so you'll have to use a separate rebate claim form, also known as an IR526.

If you claimed last year, you should have already received one of those forms in the post. If not, you can request one by calling the IRD on 0800 257 773 (have your tax number handy).

You can claim a third of your donations (including "donations" to state schools), to a maximum claim of $500.

You can also claim a third of childcare and/or housekeeping costs in some circumstances, to a maximum claim of $310.

For most people, the deadline for claiming is the end of September.