Will I need to declare US income in Aus if I work temporarily in Aus as a dual citizen?

 Author: BlakeATO(Community Support)Community Support

21 Mar 2022

Hi @Aflissinger

If you're an Australian citizen, you won't be a temporary resident. Temporary residents hold temporary visas. You'll either be a resident or a foreign resident, and because you've decided you won't meet any of the residency tests, you'll be a foreign resident for tax purposes.

When you're a foreign resident, you only need to declare your Australian-sourced income. This means you'll only need to declare the income you earn in Australia on your tax return. You won't need to declare any of your US income here, either while you're here or once you go back to the US. When you leave, if you don't intend to come back, it's a good idea to tell us you don't need to lodge in future. This way we don't expect you to lodge them.

If you later move to Australia, it doesn't change the intention you had while you are here now, and doesn't change how you're taxed now.

If you move to Australia permanently later, you'd become an Australian tax resident. When this happens, you need to declare your worldwide income, including any US income. If you tell us you don't need to lodge in the future when you leave, you can change this if you come back.

You can read about the tax implications for foreign residents on our website.