Private ruling: Residency status
Date of advice: 14 January 2016
Published: March 2016
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Question and Answer: | Are you a resident of Australia for income tax purposes? | No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Australia and are a citizen of Australia. You are single with no dependants. You accepted a postdoctoral fellowship in County T. You departed Australia and moved to County T to undertake the postdoctoral fellowship. You entered County T on a visa that allowed you to remain in County T for an extended period. This visa was supplied by your employer. Your intentions were to return to Australia after completing your studies. While in County T you lived in a number of locations for extended periods. Prior to leaving Australia you were living in house-sitting arrangements. You did not hold any assets in Australia prior to your departure. During the time spent in County T, the assets that you held consisted of a bank account and a superannuation fund. All your household and personal items were stored at your parent's home in Australia prior to your departure. You did not maintain any social and sporting ties to Australia. Your social and sporting ties to County T consisted of a gym membership. Prior to your departure you informed the Australian Electoral Commission that you were departing Australia. While in County T you lodged income tax returns to the local authorities. You did not return to Australia during the relevant taxation year, nor did you earn any income in Australia during the relevant taxation year. You have never been employed by the Commonwealth of Australia or been a member of the CSS or PSS superannuation schemes. You have since returned to Australia.

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

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Residency: 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 (and permanent place of abode) test, • the 183 day test, and • the superannuation test. The first two tests are examined in detail in TAXATION RULING NO. IT 2650 INCOME TAX: Residency - Permanent Place Of Abode Outside Australia . The latter two tests are relatively self-explanatory as they require the individual to either be physical present in Australia for a period greater than 183 days or be eligible to contribute to the PSS or CSS superannuation schemes. An individual need only satisfy the conditions of one of the four tests to be deemed a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. Based on the facts you have provided, we can conclude that you did not satisfy any of the tests of residency. Significant in reaching this conclusion is that you lived and worked in County T for a considerable period of time and at no stage returned to Australia. You lived in long term accommodation for the most part and were single with no dependants. Further you have never been a member of either the CSS or PSS superannuation schemes. Accordingly, as you did not satisfy any of the tests for residency, you were not a resident of Australia for income tax purposes for the period that you were living and working in County T, under subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936 and subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997.