Do I need to lodge a tax return as non-resident if I earn interest on my Australian savings?

 Author: RachelATO(Community Moderator)Community Moderator

30 Oct 2025

Hi @TahneeC,

If you became a non-resident for tax purposes on 1 May 2025, you’ll still need to lodge a tax return for the 2024–25 financial year to report any income earned while you were an Australian resident. After that, whether you need to lodge future returns depends on the type of income you receive from Australia.

Since you’ve mentioned you’ll continue earning interest from Australian savings accounts, here’s how that works for non-residents:

• you’ll need to let your bank know you’re a non-resident for tax purposes
• they’ll withhold tax on the interest you earn at the applicable non-resident rate
• if this is done correctly, you won’t need to lodge a tax return just for that interest income.

Superannuation generally doesn’t require you to lodge a return unless you’re accessing it or earning assessable income from it.

So, if interest is your only Australian income going forward and your bank is withholding the correct non-resident tax, your FY25 return may be your final one. You can check more details on interest income for foreign residents.

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