On a working holiday? Start with the usual position
Most WHV backpackers are foreign residents for tax purposes. If you are visiting Australia to travel, taking temporary jobs to fund your trip and have not established a life here beyond that working holiday, this is the usual position. It is not an automatic rule for everyone holding a WHV: different living circumstances can change the answer.
What should a typical WHV backpacker choose?
Choose “Foreign resident for tax purposes (all year)” if you were not an Australian tax resident at any point during 1 July–30 June. You can still have spent some or all of that year living and working in Australia. The calculator keeps your WHV visa selection and applies WHV tax rates to your WHV wages, not the ordinary foreign-resident wage rates.
Does a full year in Australia change that?
Not by itself. A working holiday lasting a whole financial year can still be a visit for tax purposes. “All year” describes your tax status throughout the financial year, not the length of your stay. Time in Australia matters, but the ATO also considers the nature of your stay.
Does arriving halfway through the year mean part-year resident?
No. Part-year resident means you became or stopped being an Australian tax resident during that year. For example, someone arriving in January who remains a travelling visitor until June may be a foreign resident throughout the financial year. They were here for part of the year, but were not a part-year Australian tax resident.
When your circumstances may differ
If your intentions and way of living have changed from visiting on a working holiday to establishing a settled life here, read the detailed guide before selecting your residency. Do not decide from a lease, a job, nationality or six months in Australia alone.
Studying or changing visa?
International students can have a different residency position from travelling WHV holders. A change of visa and a change of tax residency are separate events. If you became resident during the financial year, or earned income on different visa types, the simple calculator cannot yet calculate those periods separately.
Visa, tax residency and Medicare are different questions
A temporary visa determines your immigration permission. Tax residency determines which tax rules can apply. Medicare eligibility affects the levy. A working-holiday visa alone does not answer all three.
ATO: working holidays and part-year thresholds
ATO: overseas student residency
ATO: resident WHV holders and treaty countries
Back to the tax calculator