Tax Residency - returning from 5 years overseas as a Non-resident for tax in Australia

 Author: EthanATO(Community Support)Community Support

12 Dec 2024

Hi @Taxingme,

Welcome back to Australia (Almost)!

This is all going to depend on your tax residency status and where your income is sourced. I would definitely recommend reading through our tax residency page and looking at which tests apply to you. Start at the resides test, if it doesn't apply you can move onto the next.

If you work out that you're a tax resident once you return to Australia, you may need to lodge a return for the 2024-2025 period here. Although you may not meet the 183 days test, you may meet the Resides test. This is based on things like where you live, your intention, employment ties, etc. A big part of your tax residency is your intention. If you move to Australia and upon that arrival day intent to reside here, you'll likely be a tax resident. If you are a tax resident here, you'll need to report your worldwide income from the date you became a resident. If you remain a foreign resident, you may still be required to lodge, but would only be taxed on your Australian sourced income. You can use our 'Do I need to lodge?' tool to help work this out too.

As for your second question, you won't have a tax obligation here for any foreign sourced income you received prior to the date you become a tax resident.

Hope this helps!