Hi there,
My family and I are considering a long-term/permanent move to Indonesia, and should we go ahead with this move, would be looking at becoming non-tax residents of Australia. I believe that we meet all the criteria outlined in the ATO’s various tests, and we won’t be leaving a home or any other physical assets in Australia.
Our tax accountant has advised us that we should close most of our bank accounts, but has told us that it's okay to leave at least one account opened to facilitate transfers of money to our Wise accounts, which we understand will be better for everyday use in Indonesia.
We currently have a couple of everyday accounts, a couple of savings accounts, and a term deposit account open with different Australian banks.
Although we will be leaving Australia permanently, we would ideally like to keep one joint everyday account open for the reasons outlined above, along with one savings account and/or term deposit account, to hold our savings for the time being – mainly because we feel safer keeping our savings in an Australian account than in an Indonesian bank account.
I understand that if and when we leave Australia and lodge our final tax returns, we would also need to make our bank/s aware that we are intending to become non-tax residents, and that this may possibly involve a withholding of some interest on our accounts, and I'd be grateful for more information about this, along with any advice on which accounts we may be able to keep active if and when we move.
I’m also wondering whether, once we become non-tax residents, we would need to file future tax returns?
Thanks in advance!