Question re Australian Taxation

Hi everyone,

It has been good reading through everyones responses. I have been offered a job in Doha and have the same tax questions. I will be looking to move to Doha for about 2 years but my family will most likely stay in Australia - I am separated from my wife but legally we are still married. Any ideas if this will affect my tax status?

Also, what things should I look to include in my contract/salaray? I've seen accommodation mentioned above but is there anything I else I should considered from anyones experience?

here - we have suspended our health funds also. Mine is HCF which I can suspend for two years and then longer if I write them a letter to say that I am still out of country, husband is with MBF they are one year.

Yeah mojo, same with us, with Medibank private..Gosh all this talk has made me miss Aus more, oh except the tax, definately dont miss that :-).

Good luck gerry with everything..

yes you are right as I remember it as 180 days...which is 6 months.

Thats the same with HBF...you can actually have that suspended and it gets activated again when you return to australia and stay more than 2 weeks.

By suspending you dont lose your ability to claim straight away...which is great.

mojo1981

Thanks nadt, but we do not have kids. I suppose the next issue will be to come on a British passport or an Australian one as I have dual nationality

gerry, if your allowance is 17k a mnth for accomodation, then you will have no problems. Just one thing you mentioned your wife, do you have kids? If you do try to include school allowance as again school fees are hefty here..

mojo, to be a non resident for tax purposes, its 6 months..If you retun to Australia within six months you will be taxed accordingly, otherwise, your exempt from tax.

The other thing which you can also mention in your contract is that you are allowed to change your sponsors in the future.

This means that when you want to move to another company say within qatar, the company you are starting with now would be able to provide a NOC (no objection certificate/letter), otherwise the go is that when a qatari contract terminates/expires and is not renewed the employee must go back to their country.

But with a NOC when you terminate a contract or it expires the company issues a letter mentioning that they have no objection to allowing you to change your sponsor/employer.

It just makes it that much easier...but this is all dependant on which company you deal with...and its not obligatory for them to do this...but generally everyone is nice.

mojo1981

Thanks Nadt and Mojo1981. The accomodation issue will be interesting as for the first six to nine moths I will be living single status as my wife cannot complete her current commitments until then. But my allowance of QR17K/mth will not change. I can structure the deal any way I choose so I am working on that one; although my employer would prefer a simple lump sum each month to include everything except medical and dental which is provided but does not count in the package.

However, I was made an offer with another company last night and they will provide the accomodation single/married.

I just need to decide who to go with

G

I too am an aussie working here for the past 3 years or so.

For me it was quite easy, spoke to my accountant back in WA and told him of new situation, thereafter he declared me as a non resident Australian to the ATO.

If I remember correctly there is a clause living abroad for a period of 3 months qualifies you as a non resident Australian.

Though a thing to remember any properties or business that originates in Aus, and any income generated in Aus will be liable to normal Aus taxation laws.

Other than that, the other tough issue I had to deal with was with the police clearance, its advisable to keep a recent police clearance with you, this is sometimes required when doing your Qatar's resident permit.

Nowadays its not too easy to obtain one as previously you simply rocked up to your police station paid an amount to generate the police certificate, I had a new one made in August, where I filled an application in AusPost, and it was delivered by mail after 10 working days.

mojo1981

gerry, make sure the offer you get includes accomodation, as its very expensive here, and if its not included any tax savings will go to rental.Good luck with your choice and move..

Thank you Kiwikitten and Nadt, I checked with my accountant this morning and if you are a none resident those Qatar earnings wont be taxed by the ATO.

I am new to this site as I am still in Brisbane trying to decide which job offer to go with. So I am trawling through the websites checking out accommodation etc. but I reckon I will arrive in Qatar in about 5 weeks

Thanks again

G

Also for Australian Citizens you need to declare yourself as a non resident for tax purposes(just need to write a letter to the ATO) you also need to be out of the country for at least 180 days in one tax year or else you will be taxed, and when you do go back on your immigration form you tick that you are there on business not holiday. This is all up to date info as we have left Oz only a few months ago and this is what we were told to do by our accountant. The ATO's website info is very confusing.

For Australian citizens, you dont need to pay for any earnings outside of Australia(thank god for that). You will only need to pay for taxes you earn in Australia, or earnings for investments you earn in Australia even if you are not living there ie : properties you rent out, shares in stck market etc..

Hi

I have been offered a position in Qatar and obviously the big consideration is income tax. I have a UK passport and was born there but I am also an Australian citizen living in Brisbane Australia.

I have gone through the ATO's web site regarding overseas income and it is certainly not clear.

I imagine there are many Australians with this query and some may hold UK passports.

I would value any comments

Thanks

Hi thereHave just been reading the tax info and was wondering if you have any further info on tax status for Aussies. Thanks 

HI GUYS

i do not wish to turn the topic but could

somebody advise if iam eligible for tax refund as i have been out of

Australia for more than 6 years. i was a student there and did not

claim my tax refund for 2 years.

cheers 

...The Oracle...

We found this info before we came quite helpful but still talk to accountant if you have investments as you still have to fill a tax return and pay tax even as a 'non resident for tax purposes' http://ias.deloitte.com.au/downloads/AustralianNatWorkingOverseas2004.pdf

Hi

I am new in Doha from Australia. Is there any aussie "association for Australian expat " living in Doha?

Thanks.

Regard

mssqr 

Thanks DavidB.

Was worth a shot (yes company is Aussie based).

I assume the company is based in Australia and therefore that this income of $9999 is sourced in Australia?

If that is the case you will be subject to non-resident income tax rates which for this amount will be 29 cents in the dollar.

(there is no tax - free threshold for non-residents).

Check this site out for rates:

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/12333.htm

The only way you will be able to reduce it is to have tax allowable deductions.

I'm also Australian and set to move there soon.

I have another question.

I will have no Australian income and will move permanently (as far as tax office is concerned).

EXCEPT

I am setting up a deal with an Australian company where they will pay me A$10000 pa.

Does this count as Australian income?

What if the company sends me a cheque for say A$9999 and I deposit it in my international account? Can this then be tax free or does it get taxed?

I understand the A$9999 amount is not subject to scrutiny?

Is this OK?

Being an accountant just ask for MONEY. You know what your time is worth and they are willing to pay you to save even more money from going to the government

Hmmm- which personality is coming out today?

but I am too shy to ask for cash on the side! always happy to help fellow aussies though.

I read through the posts here in detail a while ago and most of the information is correct (more or less) so I didnt put anything else up.

If you have any specific questions that havent been answered already feel free to post them here or email me.

Consult your local tax expert...there are even a few Australian Tax guru's in Doha to assist.

I can think of at least one person on this forum who would most likely be able to help you if she feels like making some cash on the side.....if she posts up and offers.

Hmmm- which personality is coming out today?

Thanks for the info, I'm looking to start work in Doha in Feb '07 too. I'm still planning on getting some advice from a tax professional here in Australia before I go, but I think I have a better impression of the tax situation now.

I've been in the Middle East now for over 2 years. I have investigated this issue pretty seriously - after all who wants to pay tax in income earned in Riyadh!!

If you are a non resident of Australia for Tax purposes (you can take an online test in the ATO's web site which will tell you if you are a resident or a non resident for taxation purposes). If you are a non resident by this test then you are NOT liable for tax on income earned outside the country. Most people will find that they are non residents as long as: 1) they are out of Austrlia for at least 6 continuous months and 2) they are not employed by an Australian government and are a member of the governement superannuation scheme.

eg: if you are an employee of the australian embassy or consulate and you are a member of the government super scheme - which means you were appointed in Australia and transferred here - then you pay tax. If you are a local hire in an embassy or consulate then you are not a resident and you pay no tax in Australia (even if you are a citizen).

The only down side is that you are still required to pay income tax on you earnings in OZ, and you don't qualify for the residents tax break (I think the first 9 or so thousand are zero taxed).

Hope this is clear and helps

Found this link on the ATO website. Hope it helps. It's a tool which will help you know if you are liable for tax or not.

http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/axos.asp?CONTEXT=&KBS=residency_leaving.XR4

Otherwise, the legislation can be found in the following link:

http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?docid=ITR/IT2650/NAT/ATO/00001

Point 23 & 27 on the above link is worth reading.

But then - just to confuse you.........

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/28908.htm

So - the way I understand it is: we are working >91 days in 'foreign service', therefore we are exempt from tax. However, for the purposes of the tax return we are still deemed to be and Australian Resident for tax purposes.

Is that how you all understand it?

Pix

* Life is not a dress rehearsal *

Hi there!

I'm really interested to hear more about this too. I was told at interview about some clause in the tax department law about working o/s for 12months or greater. Unfortunately I can't remember the number fifty-somthing?

Likewise, I will be looking at starting in around Feb 2007, which means it will spill into two financial years too.

I'm picking that speaking to your accountant may be the way to go. I've also got an investment property here I negative gear. So I'm also keen to hear how that would be affected.

Pix

Hi Kezza,

I am also considering moving over in 2007, however the tax implications do blur things. Here is some of what I know:-

To gain the tax free status you need to declare yourself a non-resident for tax purposes. You need to prove you are spending substantial time out of Australia and your permanent domicile is Qatar. I am not sure if 12 months is enough. If you are picking up you whole family and moving there, and will be there more than 12 months you are probably ok. The issues that seem to confuse things are how much time you spend in Qatar vs anywhere else, including a return to Australia. The other issue is that of your domicile. If you have family here and are sending money home then it certainly gets very murky. If you are going to rent out your home in Oz this will help greatly as it will prove you *permanent* domicile is Qatar.

I am considering coming over but the family may stay in Oz for up to 6 months before joining. I cannot get a clear ruling on what these means.

If I cannot get non-resident status then the money is not good enough. Let me know how you go?

Any more Australians out there? I wouldn't mind you experience in this matter.

Cheers

That all makes sense Loki. I better get on to my accountant ASAP.

Appreciate your input.

Cheers

Hi,

You are right in that while the money you receive in Qatar is technically not taxed *here* and is therefore "tax free", you DO do have to look at the tax implications in Australia, especially if you are here for less than a full financial year, or arrive mid-financial year.

Firstly, I am not an expert so please do follow up with your own financial advisor.

Australia does not have a double tax agreement with Qatar. If you declare yourself an Australian resident for tax purposes for any financial year in which you earned income in Qatar, technically you have to declare your Qatar income and pax tax on it back in Aus (sucks).

If you declare yourself "not a resident for tax purposes" on your tax return for any financial year, any income earned overseas during that financial year is not taxed by the Australian government. BUT if you do that, you may well incur tax implications such as: you might have to pay the highest tax level on any income earned in your home country; or there might be tax implications on selling property or shares.

Also remember that your travels might not coincide neatly with the financial year, so there might be two tax returns that are impacted. You make this choice (resident or non-resident for tax purposes) *once* for each complete financial year – so if you start a job here in, say, January, you have to chose whether to pay higher tax on your Australian income for the first six months (ie previous July till current Jan) or pay Australian tax on your Qatar income for those months until the new financial year (ie current Jan till next June).

Basically - you need to do the math on the two options, given your own situation, and work out which is financially more beneficial.

Does this make sense? Sorry if not, and please ask for clarification on the bits that I didn’t explain properly.

Cheers