Private ruling: Residency for tax purposes
Published: June 2012
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 2012 | Year ending 30 June 2013 | Year ending 30 June 2014 | Year ending 30 June 2015
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2011

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are an Australian citizen. You have been living and working for a number of years. You have an employment contract overseas and have been employed by the same organisation for a number of years. You intend to be overseas for a number of years. You have a long term lease on an apartment overseas. You return to Australia for holidays. The holidays are of short duration. When you are in Australia you either stay in hotels or with relatives. You do not have a permanent place to live in Australia. You have no dependents. You are not an employee of the Commonwealth Government of Australia.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1). | Income tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5. | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 995-1(1).

Reasons for decision: Summary: To understand your tax situation, you must first work out whether you are an Australian resident for tax purposes. Australian residents are generally taxed on their worldwide income and non-residents are generally taxed only on their Australian-sourced income. The definition of 'resident' within tax law 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 You do not meet any of the above tests and are not a resident of Australia for taxation purposes. The factsheet Residency - what you need to know provides details of the above residency tests and may be obtained from our website www.ato.gov.au .

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. If you have any concerns about this ruling you wish to discuss, you will find our contact details in the fact sheet.