Private ruling: Residency
Published: April 2013
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2011 | Year ended 30 June 2012
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2010

Ruling: Q1: Were you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes for the period you were in the overseas country? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are a citizen of Australia and an overseas country. You were born in the overseas country. You have a an overseas passport. You were in the overseas country for a number of months. You went to the overseas country to live and work. You intended to live and work in the overseas country on a permanent basis. You rented an apartment for the duration of your stay in the overseas country. You furnished this apartment at your own expense. You had a bank account in the overseas country. You owned a home in Australia and rented this out while you were overseas. Your partner accompanied you to the overseas country and secured employment. You returned to Australia to take up a job offer. You did not return to Australia for any period while you were in the overseas country. Neither you nor your spouse are currently or have ever been Commonwealth Government employees. You are over the age of 16.

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

Reasons for decision: Summary: The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', in regard to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). The definition provides four tests to ascertain whether a taxpayer is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. These tests are: · the resides test · the domicile test · the 183 day test · The superannuation test. The first two tests are examined in detail in Taxation Ruling IT 2650. The primary test for deciding the residency status of an individual is whether the individual resides in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word resides. However, where an individual does not reside in Australia according to ordinary concepts, they may still be considered to be a resident of Australia for tax purposes if they meet the conditions of one of the other three tests. | Detailed Reasoning - The resides test: The resides test considers whether an individual is residing in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word 'reside'. The ordinary meaning of the word 'reside', according to the Macquarie Dictionary , 2001, rev. 3 rd edition, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, NSW, is 'to dwell permanently or for a considerable time; having one's abode for a time', and according to the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1987), is 'to dwell permanently, or for a considerable time, to have one's settled or usual abode, to live in or at a particular place'. You left to live and work in the overseas country. Your partner accompanied you to the overseas country. You lived in the one rental property for the duration of your stay in the overseas country. You did not return to Australia for any period during your stay in the overseas country. You were not residing in Australia according to ordinary concepts for the period you were in the overseas country as you were not living and working in Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - The domicile test: If a person is considered to have their domicile in Australia they will be considered an Australian resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied they have a permanent place of abode outside of Australia. In order to show that a new domicile of choice in a country outside Australia has been adopted, the person must be able to prove an intention to make his or her home indefinitely in that country. Your domicile of origin is the overseas country. Your domicile of choice is Australia. The expression 'place of abode' refers to a person's residence, where they live with their family and sleep at night. In essence, a person's place of abode is that person's dwelling place or the physical surroundings in which a person lives. A permanent place of abode does not have to be 'everlasting' or 'forever'. It does not mean an abode in which a person intends to live for the rest of his or her life. An intention to return to Australia in the foreseeable future to live does not prevent the taxpayer in the meantime setting up a permanent place of abode elsewhere. You went to the overseas country to live and work. You intended to live and work in the overseas country on a permanent basis as you had a work contract and you intended to extend the contract. You lived in the same rental property for the whole of your stay in the overseas country. Your partner accompanied you in the overseas country. You only returned to Australia for work. Based on these facts, it is therefore considered that you established a permanent place of abode overseas for the period you were in the overseas country. | Detailed Reasoning - The 183-day test: When a person is present in Australia for 183 days or more during the year of income the person will be a resident, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the person's usual place of abode is outside Australia and the person does not intend to take up residence in Australia. You did not make any trips back to Australia during your time in the overseas country so you will not be treated as a resident under this test. | Detailed Reasoning - The superannuation test: An individual is still considered to be a resident if that person is eligible to contribute to the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSS) or the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS), or that person is the spouse or child under 16 of such a person. Only current and former Commonwealth Government employees are eligible to contribute to the PSS and CSS. As you and your spouse are over the age of 16 and were not Commonwealth Government of Australia employees you will not be a resident under this test. | Detailed Reasoning - Your residency status: You were not a resident for tax purposes under any of the tests of residency outlined in subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936 for the period you were in the overseas country. Therefore, you were not considered to be an Australian resident for the period.