FEDERAL BUDGET May 2021

PERSONAL TAXATION

Primary 183-day test for individual tax residency

The Government will replace the existing tests for the tax residency of individuals with a primary “bright line” test under which a person who is physically present in Australia for 183 days or more in any income year will be an Australian tax resident.

People who do not meet the primary test will be subject to secondary tests that depend on a combination of physical presence and measurable, objective criteria.

The new residency rules are based on recommendations made by the Board of Taxation in its 2019 report Reforming individual tax residency rules: a model for modernisation.