Non-resident vs resident joint account – who declares interest?

 Author: mparmpas(I'm new)I'm new

8 Apr 2026

Hi everyone,

I’d really appreciate some clarification regarding how interest from a joint account should be declared.

I am an Australian citizen but currently a non-resident for tax purposes, living permanently in Greece. My sister, on the other hand, is an Australian tax resident.

We have a joint savings account with Commonwealth Bank. However, all the funds in the account belong to me, and I am the only one contributing money to it.

For the last financial year:

• The total interest earned was about 1,680 AUD
• When lodging my tax return through the ATO system, I declared 100% of the interest under my name, stating that the funds are entirely mine
• I was taxed approximately 10% on the interest, which I understand may apply to non-residents

However, my sister’s accountant declared 50% of the interest under her name, and she was taxed on that portion as well.

So my questions are:

1. As a non-resident, was I correctly taxed at around 10% on the full amount of interest?
2. Is it acceptable for me to declare 100% of the interest, given that the funds are entirely mine, even though it’s a joint account?
3. Should my sister have declared 0% of the interest in this case?
4. If the interest has effectively been declared twice (by both of us), what is the correct way to fix this with the ATO?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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