The Australian tax year ends June 30th and individual tax returns are due by October 31st. Most income should be listed on the PAYG statements from current and previous tax years, however Australian residents should also include:
- Rental income if not included on PAYG statements
- Superannuation withdrawals
- Tuition payments to eligible University (eligible universities in Australia can be searched at https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch?locale=en_EN)
- Child care expense (Provider name, address, ID number, amount paid)
- For salaried income, please also submit all monthly pay slips from January to December.
FBAR and FATCA
All Australian accounts must be included on FBAR and FATCA. These include:
- Bank accounts – checking, savings, other
- Superannuation accounts – only if taxpayer has ability to withdraw funds
- Other accounts – such as pension, provident, life insurance, etc
HOW TO TREAT AUSTRALIAN SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME
Australia and the United States have a Totalization Agreement. In other words, self-employed U.S. citizens living and working in Australia are not subject to U.S. Social Security taxes on such income when filing a U.S. tax return.
SUPERANNUATION
Superannuation is a form of long term saving to provide Australians with a pension or lump sum upon retirement. Australia’s superannuation rules are quite complex, but as a brief summary:
- Similar to a 401k
- Employee contributions are voluntary, employer contributions are mandatory 9%
- Contributions are tax-deductible for Australian tax but not U.S. tax
- Must reach certain age to access
AUSTRALIA TAX RATES
The following rates are as of 2012-2013 Australian tax year:
| Tax % | Income (AUD) |
| 0% | 0 – 18,200 |
| 0 – 9.7% | 18,201 – 37,000 |
| 9.7 – 21.9% | 37,001 – 80,000 |
| 21.9 – 30.3% | 80,001 – 180,000 |
| 30.3 – 44.9% | 180,001 + |
Australia has an additional 1.5% Medicare levy in addition to the rates above