I am an Australian resident moving overseas but continuing to work for my Australian organisation from overseas. I will live overseas approximately 1-2 years and will be visiting Australia for holidays time to time (3-6 months). Would my employment income be PAYG tax exempt? I have been working for the employer since 2018.
Hi @Trug2023,
This will depend on your residency status while you're living overseas. If you become a non-resident and you're living and working overseas, then it doesn't matter who the payer is, your income would be deemed foreign-sourced and not reportable here. This means your employer won't have to pay you any super here or withhold any tax from your employment income. However, both you and your employer may have reporting obligations in the country where the work is being performed. You can also check the tax treaty for who has taxing rights over the income.
If you remain an Australian resident while working overseas, then your employer will continue to pay your super and withhold for PAYG. If you pay tax on the income overseas and still need to report it here, then you may be able to apply a foreign income tax offset. We've answered a similar post on our forum, you can view our response here.
All replies
Hi @Trug2023,
This will depend on your residency status while you're living overseas. If you become a non-resident and you're living and working overseas, then it doesn't matter who the payer is, your income would be deemed foreign-sourced and not reportable here. This means your employer won't have to pay you any super here or withhold any tax from your employment income. However, both you and your employer may have reporting obligations in the country where the work is being performed. You can also check the tax treaty for who has taxing rights over the income.
If you remain an Australian resident while working overseas, then your employer will continue to pay your super and withhold for PAYG. If you pay tax on the income overseas and still need to report it here, then you may be able to apply a foreign income tax offset. We've answered a similar post on our forum, you can view our response here.
Thank you, the staff fund are deposited to an Australian account and he gets it transferred overseas. Would that matter for the staff to be tax exempt? Thank you
Hi @Trug2023,
Where the staff is paid shouldn't impact their tax status. As mentioned previously, it'll be based on their tax residency as to if the income needs to be declared here or not.
Featured articles
20 June 2024 · 3 min read time
6 Feb 2026 · 4 min read time
15 Apr 2026 · 4 min read time