Smudger82

Hi all,

Does anyone know how much of my tax I may be able to claim for in my tax return? I have heard that most people get a tax refund at the end of the financial year. I was on a working holiday visa from July 09 to Feb 10 and a Temporary Spouse Visa from Feb 10 to present. Will the money earned as a 'working holiday' worker be all completely lost?

Cheers

lonndongeek

The value of any advice you get from an Internet forum is worth exactly the same amount as you pay for it.

Go speak to an accountant.

Cheers

Steve

jothefw

I agree but I have heard that if you're leaving the country (ie to go back to the UK) you can claim all your tax back .... but it's only rumour so get some proper advice!

Smudger82

Sorry....thought that was the point of this forum?

I am obviously going to seek professional advice further down the line, I just thought someone here might have been in the same situation and could give me a heads up on what to expect.

elice_in_oz

AFAIK, whether you're on a temporary (WHV) visa or a permanent one you are considered a resident for tax purposes and will not get any back (unless your overall income is lower that what you paid tax on during the year).

Not sure if this makes sense, but you can only claim all the tax back from your income while on a WHV if you leave the country, but I'm guessing you are still here, just on a different visa? If soo, no tax back, except for whatever adjustment the ATO will sort out for you when you lodge the tax return, I'm afraid.

roaringmouse

On a WHV you can be considered either resident or non-resident for tax purposes, depending on your movements. For those who stayed in one location for most of their time they will probably be considered resident for tax purposes - but for those who travelled around quite a lot then they will probably be non-resident for tax purposes.

Bermudashorts

Not studied Australian tax case law on this, but applying some basic tax principles, I think it is extremely unlikely in the circumstances described that Smudger would be considered non resident.

He is still in Australia, presumably planning to stay, would love to see the argument that he is not tax resident.

bcworld

I would say someone who was taxed as non-resident, which he may have been on the WHV...who subsequently meets the residence test when filling in a tax return would almost certainly be due a refund.

Taxed as non-resident means they paid 29% on ALL earnings without any tax free allowance...therefore some recalculation would be necessary = probable refund.

However the statement that 'you can claim all your tax back' is almost certainly false...but would depend on being taxed as non resident, subsequently being defined as a resident and quite a low income....probably.

Bermudashorts

Ah ok. I will rewrite that then, was just trying to say that I am sure he would be considered resident throughout, regardless of whether that means there is a refund or otherwise.

elice_in_oz

Didn't mean to mislead anyone with that statement, it was probably the wrong way to phrase it. I just know that a lot of my friends who left oz after being here on a WHV got back most of the tax they paid.

That was also what I was trying to put across. It sounded to me that the OP was asking a question that related more to whether he would be considered as resident for tax purposes even while on a WHV. Sounds like a yes any way we look at it. As to whether he will get a refund, filing a tax return will be the best way to find out.