Australien - Tax back, oder nicht? Allgemein — geschrieben von anja @ 14:15

Da es bei uns nun auch soweit war und wir unsere Steuererklaerung fuer Australien machen mussten, haben wir uns mal umgehoert.

Nach langem Suchen und vielen Fehlinformationen sind wir auf gute Fallbeispiele gestossen. Die beiden unten Stehenden konnten uns dann doch verstaendlich machen, wie der Hase laeuft.

Da wir nette Menschen sind, haben wir uns gedacht, dass es fuer all diejenigen, die sich auch durch den australischen Steuerdschungel kaempfen muessen hilfreich sein koennte.

Es kommt nur drauf an, ob man den Status des "australian resident for tax purposes" erfuellt, oder ein "australian non-resident" bleibt, aber lest selber:

Below are two examples showing how the classification system works.

(i) Example of an Australian Tax Resident

Jennifer enters Australia on a working visa class 417 which is valid for 12 months. She intends to visit friends and family in Sydney for the majority of her trip and stays with her friends in Sydney for 10 months. Before leaving the UK, Jennifer resigned from her empoyment and ended her lease over an apartment in London.

While staying in Sydney, Jennifer worked as a waitress at several restaurants and earned a total of $15,000 in the income year. Because she told her employers she was on a working holiday visa, tax has been withheld at a rate of 29% from her salary and wages. She would therefore have paid a total of $4,350 in tax ($15,000 x 29%).

Even though Jennifer came to Australia on a working holiday visa 417, her main purpose for the trip was to visit family and friends. She spent more than six months in the one place within Australia and severed most of her ties in London before she arrived (eg employment, apartment lease etc). The combination of these factors means she will be classified as a resident for Australian tax purposes.

Jennifer's $15,000 income will then be taxed as follows:

Amount earned $   |  Effective tax rate  |  Tax $
0 to 6,000  |  0%  |  0
6,001 to 15,000  |  17%  |  $1,530


Because Jennifer has already paid $4,350 in tax during the year of income, she will be entitled to a refund of the difference between $4,350 and $1,530 (ie $2,820). This figure is assuming Jennifer has no tax deductions for the income year. Jennifer will not be subject to the medicare levy of 1.5% as she has not earned over $15,216. Also when Jennifer departs Australia, she will be entitled to a refund of her superannuation of approx $803.


(ii) Example of a Non-resident for Australian Tax Purposes

Jennifer enters Australia on a visa type 417. Her main purpose for coming to Australia is to holiday and see as many places in Australia as possible. She spends part of her year in Sydney (4 months), staying in several different backpacker hostels. The remaining 8 months were spent travelling around Australia and New Zealand.

While in Sydney, Jennifer found work in cafes and earned a total of $10,000. Because she told her employer she was a non-resident, tax was withheld from her wages at a rate of 29%.

Before leaving London, Jennifer resigned from her employment and ended her lease over an apartment in London. She intends to head back to London at the end of her stay in Australia.

Although Jennifer has spent the majority of the year in Australia, she will be classed as a non-resident. This classification is mainly due to holidaying being her predominate purpose for staying in Australia and the fact she has not spent greater than six months in one place in Australia. The amount of tax withheld from her wages is correct and she will be only entitled to a tax refund of around $80 - $100.

Viel Glueck bei Eurer Steuererklaerung in Down-Under wuenschen Anja und Tim