glynnieandy

Can anyone give me advise on this one. We arrive in perth on the 2nd Sept. I am an ozzy citizen and my husband is on a partner visa. I understand the money you take with you will not be taxed. My husband has a gratuity which he gets in Dec which is after we have entered Australia. Does that money get taxed. Is there another alternative to avoid paying tax.

JAJ

Possibly, if it is income. Depends on circumstances.
One alternative is to get it paid before you leave.

glynnieandy

It has to be paid on a certain date. I suppose we could postpone coming to Oz until Dec but its not ideal. Do you know anything about transferring it into a super annu in Oz but not sure if that would dodge the tax.

Jensen Healey

So what's the score with money from UK endowments/savings/house sale etc? Is tax payable on that when moving it to Oz?

JAJ

It's taxable if it's income or capital gains.

If it's just transferring your own money from one place to another, it's not taxable.

Jensen Healey

Thanks JAJ, I presume that if it's from the sale of our main residence it doesn't count for CGT, same as domestic UK tax?

JAJ

Never presume that Australian CGT rules are the same as the UK. There is releif for sale of main residence, but you need to check at http://www.ato.gov.au

Also, for Australian purposes, only gains since becoming tax resident are assessable. Any gains before you leave the UK may be assessed for UK CGT purposes.

glynnieandy

Even if its brought in to the country 3mths after we get there? That would be a relief!

JAJ

Why should a transfer of your own money ever be taxable? There is income tax and capital gains tax, but no such thing as capital transfer tax?

Fardell

I think you have to be a bit careful here. There are some gratuities in the UK that are non-taxable, or used to be, (if I remember properly) like the service payments provided to armed forces memebers at the end of a tour. If you are paid this gratuity when tax resident in Australia my assumption is that you would have to convince the ATO that it related to an earlier period which was pre-residency. If the earning period included time in Australia you might have to apportion it. Sorry, sounds complicated .. probably worth contacting the ATO as suggested, and then (depending) using a tax agent

glynnieandy

Yes it is an armed forces gratuity and can you believe it gets paid on the 21st dec and we have to be in the country no later than the 21st dec so it is just bad timing. I think we will have to contact a tax spec and pay him a grand to give us advice. Thanks for getting back to me.

JAJ

Bear in mind that neither the ATO helpline, nor the majority of tax agents, are trained to handle a lot of complex questions.

It may be necessary to engage a CA with a specialist tax practice.