Sunday, August 28, 2011

Expat Tax Australia - Working Outer Australia

By Robert Vail


Changes to Section 23AG have had a significant impact for expats in Australia and expats who are residents of Australia for tax purposes but working overseas.

Implications (assuming Australian tax residency maintained):

Foreign earnings will generally become/remain taxable in Australia PAYG obligation may apply for payer FBT will generally apply on assignment benefits

Where foreign employment earnings are taxable:

Individual will be required to report the earnings at the appropriate item number in their tax return For foreign taxes paid on the employment income assessable in Australia, a non-refundable Foreign Income Tax Offset may be available to help reduce taxes payable in Australia To the extent that foreign taxes have been paid on income that is not included in assessable income (e.g. fringebenefits), this tax is not eligible for the Foreign Income Tax Offset

Understanding your tax residency status in Australia, the double tax agreement(s) with the countries in which you are working and the impact of Section 23AG changes to your taxable income are extremely important.

Call Omega Partners Sydney on (02) 8211 0429 if you seeking expat tax advice in Australia. Omega Partners Accountants specialising in expat tax australia.

Choosing a home loan for a foreign resident is quite different to choosing a loan for someone residing in Australia. While professional package discounts are usually preferable for people living in Australia, for those overseas there is little benefit received from the additional loan features. In many cases expats prefer to choose basic loans which are easier to manage and have a competitive interest rate.

There is no point in choosing the best loan on the market if the lender you apply with does not accept applications from expats! The major banks and 2nd tier lenders are usually the best at dealing with Australians living overseas. On the other hand non-bank lenders and building societies rarely deal with these types of applications, and in many cases their lack of experience causes delays. Several even require the hard copy application form to be mailed to them for verification purposes!




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