Time for home.....

[Vizzy]

Hi all

 

I've had a quick search for the answers but I have come up with nothing useful, so here goes:

 

I go home from a 1 year WHV in 2 days time. What's the best and most cost effective way to get my superannuation and tax back ?

 

I've heard that if you paid more than $300 for an item you can claim tax back in the airport ? ...... I've brought a laptop and phone which are both elligible. Is this true ? Is it easy to do?

 

They are simple questions, but google throws up too many suggested companies so I wanted to hear from people that have been through it.

 

I've had a great year, sadly its came to an end

 

Thank you

 

Vizzy

 

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

[hollyk]

Take the goods in your carry on baggage (not hold luggage) with the receipt showing the items purchased. This must be a tax invoice (it'll say on it whether it is or isn't in most cases). Present these to the customs officers at the airport TRS booths to claim a refund on the tax paid. You will only be able to claim a refund if you bought the items up to 30 days before leaving Oz - so if you bought them 6 months ago you're no longer eligible. http://www.ato.gov.au/businesses/PrintFriendly.aspx?ms=businesses&doc=/content/47516.htm

 

If you want to claim your tax and super back, you can do this online yourself, or you can pay a company to do it for you. Some businesses in Australia have told me they 'bend the rules so far they're nearly horizontal' but it's up to you whether you want to take this risk. You should get all of your super back, however you will only get some tax back if you were taxed at the higher rate (45% I think) in which case you would be entitled to refund of the difference between this and the normal foreigner's rate (32.5%) in most cases.

 

If you've been taxed at 32.5%, in order to get a refund you'd need to prove that you are an Oz resident for tax purposes (http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/64131.htm) to claim the difference between foreigner's rate and Aussie resident's rate. That is, if you're doing it yourself and are above board. As I said, you can pay a company to do it for you and you may get tax back using them even if you have been taxed correctly (i.e. at 32.5% and you can't prove you're an Aussie resident), but if the methods they use are dodgy, you may want to think twice.

 

Don't forget you can claim money back on items purchased for work ie suncream, uniform, tools etc up to $300 without receipts, and more if you've got receipts.