News | August 2009 | Tax Residency

Tax Residency

Are you a Resident for tax purposes?

A particularly interesting topic for people, from overseas, who are working in Australia while on holidays or even in Australia working on a 457 Business sponsored Visa. Qaccounts recently had the situation where the residency status of an individual required an assessment. The client in question was living in Australia on a working holiday and had the intention of leaving Australia back to their home country after being here for approximately 12 months. This raised the question of Tax Residency.

The main benefit of being assessed as a Resident for Taxation Purposes is the ability to utilise the Tax-free Threshold. Utilising the Tax-free Threshold has a significant effect on an individual’s marginal tax rate and tax liability.

In plain English: If you are assessed as a Resident for Tax Purposes you will pay the tax office less tax and possibly be entitled to a larger tax refund.

Based on a residency test set by the Australian Taxation Office Qaccounts assessed the individual as a Resident for Taxation Purposes. This changed the refund of the client from approximately $100.00 to $4,000.00.

To see if you can take advantage of your Tax Residency Status contact Qaccounts for an assessment when we prepare your Income Tax Return.

The information provided in this article should not be taken/understood/or misconstrued as taxation advice. The application of taxation advice varies from person to person. You should seek a specific professional assessment of your circumstances from a qualified and registered tax agent.

Qubek Pty Ltd is a registered tax agent.

04 August 2009