Moving overseas - tax considerations

Call me crazy but we are moving overseas in the middle of a pandemic....

Im compiling a list of things to discuss with our accountant, have I missed anything? There is no reciprocal tax agreement with the country we are moving to which makes things tricky.

- what do we need to do / prove we have done to be a non-resident for tax purposes?
- how will our rental income be treated / taxed?
- how does the 6 year rule work with our PPOR?
- can I keep working for my Australian employer remotely if I’m a non-resident for tax purposes? If yes, how would my Australian employment income be taxed? [this is important as it will help me understand now if I need to find a new job]
- will we need to pay land tax (qld), and if so, how much? [we are under the limit now but if we include the land value of our PPOR (which will be rented out) i think we will be over].
- any ways to minimise income tax payable in Australia - eg can we still make concessional super contributions?

As I said, we are meeting with our account to explain the above in detail but I like to go prepared with a list of questions and not sure if there is anything else we should ask or consider?

Thanks.

Oh and what have others done with their Australian mobile plan when they moved overseas? I don’t want to lose my number but also don’t want to keep paying $70 a month. Can you just switch to a cheap $10 Aldi plan to hold the number for a few years?

 

Yes. To retain your Australian mobile phone number, just port it to the cheapest plan. And make sure it gets paid!

 

Look at boost for your mobile.

Also ask about 50% discount on property and what the tax rate will be on income.

Accountants are not licensed to give land tax advice. Look at the act and see if you will be an absentee. Perhaps you won't.

And how will u get the exit permission so you can leave? Don't you have long term visas for destination? If so it should be easy, if not they might not let you go

 

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Thank you, this is very helpful. I hadn’t heard of the 50% discount on property - I’ll add that to my list and also work out the lax land liability myself.
We will have employment and dependant visas for the country we are moving to so hopefully no issues getting permission to leave Aus.

 

You need to check if you have MyGov and turn OFF the mobile number link or you will be unable to access MyGov while offshore. Offshore access to MyGov is blocked through some clever security issues and the first of these is sms codes or MyGov ID. If you or partner have a help debt this must still be repaid while away. And if you already have MyGov it is the ONLY way to access tax notices and info.

You should get personal tax advice. Asking here is not tax advice. Conditional visa's may mean you retain Australian tax residency.

the QLD absentee land tax is a material issue as it the loss of any CGT discount.

Important issues
s118-192 appliying to your home ?
Costbase reset rules for non-prpoperty CGT assets and choices
Land tax absentee tax
CGT impacts on gains while absent
Understanding what occurs if you sell your former home while absent or if your return etc (ie past exemption is stripped away).
Overseas health cover may not be available = cost ?
Data and access to data while away eg cloud storage
Super - Failure to update address can mean the fund will rollover to the ATO
Wills and estate planning eg ASIC issues, etc