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. Your spouse was a senior sales executive of a Company in Australia. Your spouse left Australia in the 20XX financial year to work for the same Company in an overseas company. You left Australia with your children a few months later to join your spouse. You entered the country as a dependent of your spouse. Your spouse's current visa is a Temporary work visa sponsored by another employer. Your spouse's employers did not provide accommodation. You intend to continue to live in the overseas country in the short to medium term. You made this decision soon after your spouse's first posting in the overseas country. You returned to Australia for 10 days for holidays. In the overseas country you purchased a home in 20XX. You sold this property in 20YY. You have purchased another property in the overseas country. In Australia you had a property. You sold this property in 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 members of a sporting club in the overseas country and your child has joined a specific sporting class. 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.