Private ruling: Residency
Date of advice: 20 February 2018
Published: June 2018
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2016 | Year ended 30 June 2017 | Year ended 30 June 2018 | Year ended 30 June 2019
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2015

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for income tax purposes? | A1: No

Relevant facts and circumstances: You left Australia in the 2015/16 financial year. You had no intentions of permanently leaving Australia. You returned briefly in the 2016/17 financial year. You returned to Australia again in the 2016/17 financial year and stayed for less than six months. Your intention to leave Australia permanently was formed in the 2016/17 financial year when you got married. You have supplied your marriage certificate. You were renting when you lived in Australia. You are currently a foreign resident. Your bank verified your address outside of Australia. You have supplied a 12 month lease agreement. You have no dependants. You do not have a return ticket to Australia. You had no assets overseas when you departed Australia. You have closed all of your Australian bank accounts as of the 2017/18 financial year. You no longer own vehicles, property or household items within Australia. You were the director of a business within Australia that is now in voluntary windup and 2018 tax returns have been submitted to show this. You are not receiving income from Australian sources. You have opened bank accounts and established businesses outside of Australia.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 995-1(1) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1)

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 995-1 of the Income tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) defines an Australian resident for tax purposes as a person who is a resident of Australia for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). The terms ‘resident’ and ‘resident of Australia’, in regard to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936. The definition provides four tests to ascertain whether a taxpayer is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. The tests are: ● the resides test, ● the domicile test, ● the 183 day test, and ● the superannuation test. If any one of these tests is met, an individual will be a resident of Australia for taxation purposes. Based on the facts you have provided, we can conclude that you will not satisfy any of the tests of residency. Accordingly you are not a resident of Australia for income tax purposes from when you departed Australia under section 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 and subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936.