To understand your tax situation, the first thing you need to do is to work out whether you are an Australian resident for tax purposes. Australian residents are generally taxed on their worldwide income whereas non-residents are generally taxed only on their Australian-sourced income.
This page outlines the residency tests for individuals.
The residency tests the Tax office uses to determine your residency status for tax purposes are not the same as those used by other Australian agencies for other purposes such as immigration.
Generally, you are an Australian resident for tax purposes if you have:
always lived in Australia
moved to Australia and live here permanently
been in Australia continuously for six months or more and for most of the time you have been
in the one job, and
living in the same place
been in Australia for more than half of the financial year, unless
The following table shows your residency status in some common situations, though it may depend on whether the country you are going to or coming from has a tax treaty with Australia.
If you...
you are generally...
go overseas temporarily, and
do not set up a permanent home in another country
an Australian resident for tax purposes.
are an overseas student enrolled in a course at an Australian institution that is more than six months long
an Australian resident for tax purposes.
are visiting Australia for more than six months and for most of that time live at the same place and have or establish ties in the local community
an Australian resident for tax purposes.
are visiting Australia for more than six months and for most of that time you are travelling and working in various locations around Australia
not an Australian resident for tax purposes.
are holidaying in Australia, or
are visiting for less than six months
not an Australian resident for tax purposes.
migrate to Australia, and
intend to reside here permanently
an Australian resident for tax purposes.
leave Australia permanently
not treated as an Australian resident for tax purposes from the date of your departure.
hold a temporary visa granted under the Migration Act 1958
if both you and your spouse are not 'residents' within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991.
considered to be a ‘temporary resident’ of Australia (as of 1 July 2006) and will only be liable to Australian income tax on income sourced in Australia (although the ‘temporary resident’ may be assessable on worldwide income in limited cases, such as salary and wage income).
Statutory tests – if you don’t satisfy the resides test (the primary test) you may still be considered an Australian resident if one of the three statutory tests is satisfied.
The government is continually reviewing international tax arrangements. For information on how potential international legislative changes may affect you, see New legislation.
If you need help in applying this information to your own situation, contact us by phone.
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