A Backpackers Guide to Tax, Medical Expenses and visas

[Guest The Pom Queen]

VISAS

 

A person holding a Working Holiday visa (class 417 or class 462) is generally referred to as a backpacker. He must be under the age of 30. He (or she) is legally entitled to work during his holiday in Australia. He is entitled to remain in Australia for 12 months, work for half of that time but must not stay at any one job for more than six months. While in Australia, he can apply to have his visa extended from 12 months to 24 months. Australia has reciprocal Working Holiday (class 417) visa arrangements with UK, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. Australia also has Working Holiday (class 462) visa arrangements with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Turkey, Chile and USA.

 

A backpacker can also apply for other temporary work visas or even a permanent visa while in Australia provided, of course, that he otherwise qualifies. The most popular visas applied for by backpackers whilst in Australia are a) permanent residency visas and b) employer-sponsored temporary work visas. If a backpacker applies for a permanent visa, then in judging his eligibility, he will be awarded extra points for having spent time on a working holiday in Australia. A backpacker who applies for permanent or temporary residence will stand a strong chance of obtaining it if a) he has professional or trade qualifications, b) he has some years work experience in his profession or trade and c) he speaks fluent English. It generally takes from 5 to 8 months between applying for a work visa and obtaining it.

 

Further information regarding obtaining permanent and temporary visas can be obtained at the Immigration Department's website. Applications can be made online.

 

MEDICAL EXPENSES

 

Australian residents carry a Medicare card. This entitles them to free or subsidised medical care. Non-residents are not entitled to subsidised medical care. But Australia has concluded reciprocal medical agreements with the following countries viz. UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, Malta, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia.

 

Residents of these countries, with the exceptions of New Zealand and Ireland, mostly have access to health care on the same basis as Australian residents i.e. they get free public hospital care, subsidised prescriptions and a refund of 85% of doctors' fees. The can also apply in person at at any Medicare office and obtain a Medicare card similar to the card carried by Australian residents. Many doctors charge only 85% of the set fee ( i.e. "bulk bill") so the patient has nothing further to pay in those cases. Residents of New Zealand and Ireland are also entitled to free public hospital care and subsidised prescriptions but not a refund of 85% of doctors' fees. However, they can have free access to a doctor by attending an out-patients' clinic at a public hospital. Backpackers who are not residents of any of the afore-mentioned countries will have to rely on their travel insurance to get a refund.

 

If a backpacker has paid medical expenses in Australia and he is entitled to a refund, he can obtain the refund by applying in person at any Medicare office or online. He should take his passport with him when claiming the refund and also when attending for medical treatment.

 

For example, assume Fiona, a UK backpacker, sees a doctor who "bulk bills" and pays her a $25 consultation fee. She obtains a prescription for "the pill" from her. Next she goes along to her nearest Medicare office, presents the doctor's receipt and her passport and then obtains a cash refund of the $25. Then, she goes along to her local pharmacist and pays him the standard prescription charge of $34.20 to have the prescription dispensed.

 

SUPERANNUATION

 

Non-residents are entitled to receive a refund of superannuation contributions paid by their ex-employers on their behalf. "Superannuation contributions" is the Australian term for "retirement pension contributions". All employers must contribute a compulsory 9% of wages to an approved superannuation (pension) fund. The backpacker is entitled to a refund of this when he has left the country. However, the refund is subject to a tax-deduction of 30% i.e. the taxpayer receives the refund less 30%. Application for the refund must be made from outside the country. However, it can be applied for online from outside the country. Some superannuation amounts will be held by the Tax Office. Other superannuation amounts will be held by the respective superannuation funds. Accordingly, details of superannuation funds that the backpacker has contributed to must be provided to the Tax Office. The Tax Office then will send details of your application to each of the Funds that you have nominated. They, in turn, will contact you directly and pay you the refund, normally within 28 days. The Tax Office maintains a register of lost superannuation accounts i.e. person for whom the superannuation funds have no longer a valid address. It is probable that a quite a few backpackers are on this register. The register may be consulted online at the Tax Office's SuperSeeker site.

 

Accordingly, before leaving Australia, a backpacker should 1) contact all of his former employers, 2) from each employer request a tax Payment Summary (Group Certificate) if he has not already received one and also ascertain from the employer a) the name of the superannuation fund to which the employer has contributed and b) the employee membership no.

 

Let us take an example of a typical backpacker superannuation refund. Fiona earned $5,000 as a fruit picker during her working holiday in Australia. Her employer contributed 9% of $5,000 i.e $450 in superannuation. Fiona will get back $315. i.e. 70% of $450.

TAXATION

 

Backpackers not holding a Working Holiday visa are generally not entitled to work under the terms of their visa. If they do in fact work, then they are subject to Australian tax in exactly the same way as Working Holiday visa holders.

 

Before starting work in Australia, a person must obtain an official Tax File No.; otherwise tax will be deducted from all wages received at the rate of 46.5%. When applying for the Tax File No, proof of identity must normally be supplied. An application form to obtain a Tax File No. can be obtained from any Post Office. However, a backpacker can now obtain a Tax File No. online from the Tax Office's website. This has the added advantage that under this arrangement proof of identity does not have to be supplied. If a backpacker expects to be self-employed during any part of his stay in Australia, then he should obtain an Australian Business No. (ABN) from the Tax Office. Otherwise tax will be deducted at 46.5% from his payments. The ABN can be obtained online. To sum up then, if you are going to Australia on a working holiday, be sure to apply for a Tax File No. ( and an ABN, if necessary) before seeking work. After obtaining a Tax File No. and before beginning work, an employee must complete an Employee Declaration form. This requires the person to state whether he is a tax-resident or not. If he is not a tax-resident, the employer must deduct tax at non-resident rates i.e. 29%. Later, when completing his Tax Return, a taxpayer must also state whether or not he is a resident.

 

The Australian financial year runs from the 1st July to the 30th June. Every backpacker should file an Australian Tax Return as soon as possible after the 30th June each year. If the backpacker is leaving Australia before the end of the financial year i.e prior to 30th June, then he can complete a Tax Return for the year in advance and lodge it with the Australian Taxation Office. A backpacker can now file his Tax Return online and, of course, from anywhere in the world. A backpacker does not need a tax clearance certificate from the Tax Office before leaving Australia.

 

When completing the Return, it should be noted that the deductible expenses available to Australian employees are more generous than for many overseas countries. For example, taxpayers can claim as deductions from income "all expenses incurred in earning income". This will include travel on duty, protective clothing and footwear, washing and laundry of protective clothing, cost of training courses, trade union fees, tools, business use of private phone, relevant books and publications, licences and registration fees, stationery used for work, bank charges re deposit of wages, tax agent fees, donations to charities etc. A backpacker cannot claim the cost of his living expenses in Australia as a living-away-from-home deduction or allowance. A taxpayer can claim up to $300 in work-related expenses before he will be required to provide receipts to the Tax Office if audited.

 

Most people in Australia engage a Tax Agent to lodge their Return. The Tax Office will send any refund to the Tax Agent if an agent has been engaged or to the overseas address of the taxpayer otherwise if the taxpayer has left Australia. Tax Returns can be lodged from an overseas location as well. In such a case, the best solution would be to contact an Australian-based Tax Agent through the Internet. As previously mentioned, a backpacker can also file his Tax Return online.

 

GST tax is the Australian equivalent of VAT tax. It is 10% added to the sale price. It should be noted that all persons leaving Australia are entitled to a refund of GST tax on goods taken out of the country. The goods must exceed $300 and must be carried as hand-luggage. The refund is obtained at the airport at departure time. For example, a week before departure from Australia, Fiona buys a laptop computer for $660. Later at departure, after clearing passport-control at the airport, she presents a) the invoice and b) the laptop to the Customs officer at the refund-booth. The Customs officer arranges to have a refund cheque of $60 sent to her home address (i.e. 1/11th of the purchase price).

 

How does the taxation of backpackers differ from the taxation of Australian workers in general?

 

First, it must be observed that, under the present interpretation of the law by the Tax Office, backpackers may or may not be deemed to be tax-residents of Australia. Tax-residency is quite distinct from immigration-status residency. The Tax Office now has a calculator on its website to determine whether a person is a tax-resident. You should use this to determine whether you are a tax-resident. You should keep a copy of its findings, if possible. Who is regarded as an Australian tax resident? This is a complex area of taxation law. But it can be summarised in a nutshell as follows: a) those who come to Australia solely to work, even for a short period, will be regarded as tax-residents; b) overseas students will be regarded as tax-residents; c) holiday-makers will not be regarded as tax-residents; e) those combining a holiday with work will sometimes be regarded as tax-residents and sometimes not. An example of the latter class is a person holding a Working Holiday visa. In general, travellers will not be regarded as tax-residents. But a backpacker who abandons his wandering ways and successfully applies to the Immigration Department for permanent residency or a temporary work visa will be regarded as a tax-resident from the date of his application. Further information regarding tax-residency can be found in the relevant tax Ruling at the ATO website and also at Residency.

 

For example, Fiona, a nurse, decides she does not want to go back to the UK but wants to remain permanently in Australia. On the 1st May, she applies to the Immigration Department for permanent residency status as a skilled migrant. She decides to settle permanently in Sydney and she rents a flat there. She obtains a job as a nurse with the promise of the position being made permanent when she obtains permanent residency status. Subsequently, Fiona hears from the Immigration Department that she has obtained permanent residency status. Fiona will be regarded as a tax-resident of Australia from the date she filed her application for permanent residency i.e. 1st May.

 

What difference does it make if one is not regarded as a tax-resident?

 

Residents are taxed on their world-wide income. Non-residents are taxed only on the income arising from Australia. Residents pay no tax on first $6,000 of annual taxable income and pay tax at 15% on the next $31,000. Non-residents, however, do not get the concession of a tax-free allowance and are taxed at a flat rate of 29% on the first $37,000 they earn in Australia. As they can only work for 6 months of their 12 months stay, they are therefore unlikely to earn more than $37,000, so as a general rule they are taxed at a flat rate of 29% on their earnings. Thus, a resident who earns $37,000 in a year will pay tax of $5,115 (including levy) but a non-resident backpacker will pay tax of $10,730 on the same income. In addition, non-residents are not entitled to Tax Offsets for dependents etc. e.g. maintaining a spouse, child etc.

 

Australia has concluded Double Taxation treaties with many countries. Most of these treaties provide that the following categories of persons are not subject to Australian tax but that they are subject to their home-country taxation regime. The categories are: a) self-employed professionals working in Australia for less than 183 days and who do not have their own office or branch in Australia, b) ordinary employees in Australia for less than 183 days and working for an overseas company that does not have a branch or office in Australia and c) teachers teaching in Australia for less than two years. Few backpackers will be able to avail themselves of these provisions.

 

What advantages do non-residents have, tax-wise?

 

1. They are exempt from the Medicare levy. The Medicare levy is 1.5% levy on income which all residents have to pay to cover medical costs.

 

2. They do not have to pay Australian tax on income arising outside Australia.

 

3. In most cases, they pay tax at 10% only (and not 29%) on interest derived from an Australian bank account. This arises from the provisions of the Double Taxation treaties.

 

Let us take an example of a typical backpacker income-tax refund. Let us continue with the previous example of Fiona who is regarded as a non-resident and who earned $5,000 as a fruit picker during her working holiday in Australia. Her employer deducted tax at the regulation 29% from her wages i.e. 29% on $5,000 =$1,450. Fiona has the following tax deductions viz. protective clothing and footwear $300; implements $100; sun-protection products $100; bag $50. Total deductions are $550. Fiona lodges her Tax Return after the end of the financial year and employs a Tax Agent to lodge it for her. His fee is $120. Fiona's refund is calculated as follows.

Fiona has a refund of $159 out of which the Tax Agent's fee of $120 comes, leaving Fiona with a net refund of $39. In effect, Fiona has received a refund at 29% on her deductions of $550 less the Tax Agent's fee. However, in most cases, work-related expenses would not exceed $300.

 

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