A court has heard that the couple at the centre of a $1.2 million tax fraud case collected Working for Families credits during the alleged offending.
Fenglan Liu has pleaded not guilty, in the New Plymouth District Court, to 37 charges involving about $740,000.
Her co-accused, Jianbin Wang, yesterday pleaded guilty to 58 charges.
The IRD says from 2008 to 2011, the couple, who have two children, declared an income of about $31,000 annually and qualified for tax credits.
The IRD, however, says it is owed $1.184 million but Mr Wang disputes that amount.
He was sole director and shareholder of Top International Trading Limited, which had three stores in New Plymouth, Waitara and Whanganui.