2023 Edition - Written by Head of Accounting Dean Crossingham

Expatriates encounter many complexities in managing their Australian taxation affairs.

Such complexities include managing tax residency, structuring real property and investment portfolios, dealing with foreign trust estates as well as making the best use of Australian superannuation, to name a few..

New ATO ruling affecting Australian expatriates.

What is the ATO’s new ruling on an individual’s tax residency status?

A newly published draft ruling should be favourably received by Australian expatriates as compared to any proposed statutory changes to Australia’s residency rules.

On 6 October 2022, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2022/D2 outlining the residency tests for individuals for tax purposes, including the Commissioner’s updated views on when the ATO considers a person will be a resident of Australia.

On Wednesday 24 August 2022, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones reminded us that the proposed changes to Australia’s tax residency rules are currently under review by the government, as is the controversial “45-day rule”.

Hong Kong borders closed until 20 April - how is my tax residency affected?

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has imposed a ban on flights arriving from a number of countries, including Australia, until 20 April 2022.

The principal residence CGT exemption & Australian expatriates. When the property is sold in Australia, the Captial Gain is calculated. The capital gain will be subject to Australian Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The capital gain is generally calculated as the sale price less the acquisition costs of that property and tax is paid thereon.

Moving overseas and selling your home during COVID? Watch out for tax!

A recent ruling has confirmed that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is unable to extend the main residence capital gains tax (CGT) exemption to expatriate Australians who have been unable to sell their Australian home due to COVID-19 restrictions.

What happens to my home when I move overseas? This common question is answered by The Expatriate Taxation specialist Dean Crossingham

Top 5 Tax Tips for Australian’s departing Australia to live abroad.

5 Tax Tips for Expatriates Returning to Australia. We know you have plenty of things to do when planning for your return back to life in Australia. Not least is to organise your Australian tax affairs. Australia’s tax system is complicated and can be costly for the unaware. After all, you don’t want to have tax regrets just because you didn’t get around to proper planning before arriving back in Australia.

The Expatriate has put together a short-cut guide to help you quickly understand the tax consequences of each change to your Australian residency status.