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Edited version of your written advice
Authorisation Number: 1012895113174
Date of advice: 14 October 2015
Ruling
Subject: Residency for taxation purposes
Question and answer:
Were you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes during the period you spent overseas in the financial year ended 30 June 2015?
No.
This ruling applies for the following period:
1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015.
The scheme commenced on:
1 July 2014.
Relevant facts:
You were born in Australia.
You are an Australian citizen.
You do not have citizenship or permanent residency status in any other country.
You have a spouse and children (your family).
You left Australia with your family and travelled to country A where you had secured employment.
Prior to leaving Australia you resigned from your Australian employment.
You entered country A on a renewable work visa. The validity of this visa was dependant on your employment in country A.
You intended to remain in country A permanently. You sold some assets in Australia and took some possessions with you. You retained your Australian family home as an investment and rented it out.
You established a home in country A with your family.
Your employment in country A was terminated and you were forced to return to Australia because your work visa was dependant on your employment.
You are not, and you do not have a spouse who is, either:
• a member of the public sector superannuation scheme (PSS) established under the Superannuation Act 1990, or
• an eligible employee in respect of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) established under the Superannuation Act 1976.
Relevant legislative provisions:
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 995-1(1).
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1).
Reasons for decision
Residency for taxation purposes
Section 995-1 of the Income tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) defines an Australian resident for tax purposes as a person who is a resident of Australia for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).
The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', in regard to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936. The definition provides four tests to ascertain whether a taxpayer is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. The tests are:
• the resides test,
• the domicile (and permanent place of abode) test,
• the 183 day test, and
• the superannuation test.
If any one of these tests is met, an individual will be a resident of Australia for taxation purposes.
Based on the information you have provided, you did not satisfy any of the tests of residency for the period 1 July 2014 until the end of 2015. Accordingly, you were not a resident of Australia for taxation purposes during that time.