NZ Tax Services for Australia Migrants and Expats

Australian expats and migrants who are tax residents need to return overseas sourced income except if they qualify for transitional residency status (i.e. four-year foreign income exemption – find more information here).

Foreign employment and foreign personal services income are, however, two exemptions to the transitional residency rule. This means, if the Australian expat/migrant continues to get Australian employment or personal services income after arriving in the country, they may still need to return this income in their income tax return.

Additionally, the income tax treatment for foreign-sourced income can be different to the income tax treatment of sourced income. The following are a few examples:

- Interest expense limitation on residential rental does not apply to Australian properties
- Australia superannuation withdrawal may be subject to the foreign superannuation withdrawal rules
- Foreign dividends may be taxed under the foreign investment fun...