Your ATO tax residency status determines everything — from whether you pay tax on foreign income to what happens to your super. Navigate residency tests, HECS debt abroad, CGT, and 30 free tools built for Aussies overseas.
From planning your departure to eventually returning — find the right tool for your situation.
Before you go — understand residency tests, tax implications, and what changes when you leave
🔑 Key insight: Australia uses a 4-factor residency test — not a simple day count. If you fail even one test, you may still be an AU tax resident. Non-residents lose the $18,200 tax-free threshold and the 50% CGT discount.
Compare resident vs non-resident tax on your income. Side-by-side breakdown of take-home pay under both scenarios.
Calculate AU tax →Score yourself against the ATO's 4 residency tests: resides, domicile, 183-day, and super fund. Interactive assessment.
Check your residency →19-step checklist covering ATO notification, super, Medicare, Centrelink, bank accounts, and CGT events on departure.
Start your checklist →Compare Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane against 18 international cities. Category breakdown: rent, food, transport, healthcare.
Compare cities →Country-specific visa options for Aussies — WHV agreements, skilled worker visas, digital nomad options, and tax implications.
Explore visas →Deep dive into the domicile test — what constitutes "permanent place of abode" overseas and how to establish it.
Assess domicile →Which payments continue overseas? Portability rules for Age Pension, DSP, Carer Payment, and temporary departure limits.
Check payments →Day-to-day compliance, super management, HECS obligations, and making the most of your tax position overseas
🔑 Key insight: Even as a non-resident, you still owe tax on Australian-source income (wages, rent, dividends, interest). HECS/HELP debt must be repaid from worldwide income once you earn above threshold — even abroad.
What happens to your super overseas? Employer obligations, preservation rules, voluntary contributions, and insurance cover.
Manage your super →Calculate your FITO credit for tax paid overseas. Offset limit formula, country-by-country allocation, and DTA interaction.
Calculate FITO →Worldwide income threshold ($54,435 for 2024–25), mandatory overseas reporting, repayment calculator by income band.
Calculate repayment →2% Medicare levy, surcharge for high earners without PHI, exemptions for non-residents, and OSHC/travel insurance options.
Check your levy →Departing Australia Super Payment for temp visa holders. Tax withheld (35%/65%), eligibility, and how to claim after departure.
Calculate DASP →Step-by-step guide to lodging from abroad — myTax access, agent deadlines, foreign income reporting, and required schedules.
Filing guide →All key dates for Australian expats — lodgement, activity statements, PAYG, super guarantee, and HECS overseas assessment.
View deadlines →Your TFN still matters overseas — withholding on dividends, interest, and super. How to update your details from abroad.
Manage your TFN →Does salary sacrifice still work when you're posted overseas? Concessional contributions cap, FBT implications.
Explore options →Flat 15% up to $45k for WHM visa holders. Employer registration, DASP at 65%, and common compliance traps.
Check WHM tax →CGT, rental property, dividends, crypto, foreign spouse treatment, and cross-border family benefits
🔑 Key insight: Non-residents lose the 50% CGT discount on assets acquired after 8 May 2012. Franking credits become non-refundable. Foreign spouse treatment affects Family Tax Benefit eligibility.
When do non-residents lose the CGT discount? Transitional rules, foreign asset reporting, and main residence exemption changes.
Calculate CGT →Non-resident withholding (12.5%), deductions, depreciation, foreign resident CGT withholding on sale, FIRB rules.
Manage property →Does negative gearing still offset income for non-residents? Rental loss rules, travel deduction restrictions, and planning.
Check gearing →Non-residents can't get franking credit refunds. Withholding rates, unfranked dividend tax, and DTA reduced rates.
Check dividends →Spouse income test for tax offsets, Medicare levy surcharge, super splitting, and Family Tax Benefit Part A/B impact.
Check implications →FTB Part A/B eligibility when abroad, portability limits (6 weeks / 56 weeks), immunisation requirements, and income tests.
Check FTB →CGT on crypto disposals, personal use exemption ($10k), staking as income, DeFi tax treatment, and non-resident rules.
Calculate crypto tax →40+ country DTA database — treaty rates for dividends, interest, royalties, pensions, and tie-breaker rules for residency.
Check your DTA →Coming home, transferring foreign pensions, Age Pension abroad, and re-establishing AU tax residency
🔑 Key insight: Returning to Australia triggers CGT Event I1 — you're deemed to have acquired foreign assets at market value on arrival. Age Pension portability rules depend on how long you've lived in Australia.
Tax transition, Centrelink reassessment, Medicare waiting period, re-establishing residency, and bringing money home.
Plan your return →Find ATO-held super, consolidate multiple accounts, fee erosion calculator, and MyGov access from abroad.
Find your super →Portability rules, proportional pension for overseas residents, income/assets tests, and international social security agreements.
Check eligibility →Transferring UK pension, NZ KiwiSaver, or other foreign retirement funds into Australian super. Tax treatment, caps, and rules.
Transfer options →Deemed acquisition of foreign assets at market value when you return. Cost base reset, timing strategies, and exemptions.
Calculate impact →Quick summaries of the six biggest AU expat tax issues — click through to the full tool for each.
Unlike the UK's Statutory Residence Test, Australia has no automatic day-count rule. The ATO considers the "resides" test (ordinary concepts), domicile, 183-day presence, and super fund membership. You can be an AU resident even if you haven't been in Australia for a year.
Residency Test →Your super stays preserved until age 60. "Living abroad" is not a condition of release. Temporary visa holders can claim DASP after departing (35% tax). Permanent residents and citizens cannot access super early just because they've moved.
Super Guide →Since 2017, HECS/HELP debt must be repaid based on worldwide income — not just Australian income. If you earn above $54,435 (2024–25) anywhere in the world, you must lodge an overseas HELP assessment. Failure to report risks penalties.
HECS Calculator →Non-residents don't get the 50% CGT discount on assets acquired after 8 May 2012. The main residence CGT exemption is also lost for properties not used as your main residence while you're abroad (after 30 June 2020 changes).
CGT Calculator →Non-residents are exempt from the 2% Medicare levy but lose access to Medicare. If you're still an AU resident for tax purposes, you pay the levy. The surcharge (1-1.5%) applies to high earners without private health insurance — even abroad.
Medicare Levy →Australia's DTAs determine which country taxes what. Treaty reduced rates apply to dividends (often 15%), interest (10%), and royalties. Pensions have varying treatment — UK/NZ pensions have special provisions. UAE has no DTA with Australia.
DTA Checker →