Private ruling: Residency
Published: December 2013
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2013
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2012

Ruling: Q1: Are you an Australian resident for taxation purposes for the financial year ended 30 June 2013? | A1: No

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are a citizen of Australia. You do not have permanent residency of any other country. You were a senior sales executive of a Company in Australia. You left Australia in 20XX to work for the same Company in an overseas country. Your spouse left Australia with your children in Month 20XX to join you. You entered the overseas country with a visa which effectively means your employer was continuing to sponsor you to work in the overseas country. Your current visa is a Temporary work visa sponsored by another employer. None of your employers provide you accommodation You intend to continue to live and work in the overseas country in the short to medium term. You made this decision soon after your first posting in the overseas country. You returned to Australia for 10 days for holidays. In the overseas country you purchased a home in month 20XX. You sold this property in XX 20YY. You have purchased another property in the overseas country In Australia you had a property. You sold this property in XX 20YY. You were unable to sell this property straightaway because you wanted to be sure you were comfortable living in the overseas country and obtained a less restrictive visa. You and your family are club members in the overseas country and your child has joined a sporting group. You suspended your health insurance. In the Australian immigration outgoing passenger card your reason for travel was business. You and your spouse were not employed by the Commonwealth of Australia


Reasons for decision: Summary: Generally where you are a resident of Australia for taxation purposes, your assessable income includes income gained from all sources, whether in or out of Australia. However, where you are a foreign resident, your assessable income includes only income derived from an Australian source. The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', in regard to an individual, are defined within the tax provisions and provides four tests to ascertain the residency status. Relevant to your situation are the first two tests which are examined in Taxation Ruling IT 2650 Income Tax: Residency - permanent place of abode outside Australia, a copy of which is available from www.ato.gov.au . Given regard to your circumstances as a whole and a consideration of the relevant residency tests, it is accepted that you are not a resident of Australia for tax purposes.