This is not tax advice. Cross-border outcomes turn on facts this page cannot know: your visa category, your income mix, where your employer is incorporated, what you own and when you bought it. Use this to ask a qualified cross-border accountant better questions, and verify every figure against Australia's tax authority and, for the US side, the IRS guidance for citizens abroad.
Your position in Australia
Australia taxes residents on worldwide income. Residency turns on whether you 'reside' here, backed by three statutory tests: domicile, presence for 183 days or more, and Commonwealth superannuation membership. Sign a multi-year contract and bring your family and you are a resident from arrival.
Resident rates for 2026-27 are nil to A$18,200, 15% to A$45,000, 30% to A$135,000, 37% to A$190,000 and 45% above that, plus a 2% Medicare levy, so the effective top rate is 47%. GST is 10% and is already inside the shelf price.
One rule works in your favour. If you hold a temporary visa such as a 482 and qualify as a temporary resident for tax, Australia generally taxes only your Australian-source income and leaves most foreign investment income alone. That exemption ends the day your permanent visa is granted.
You still file a US return every year. The 1982 treaty, in force since 31 October 1983 and amended by the 2001 protocol, prevents most double taxation, and the foreign tax credit normally wipes out US liability because Australian rates are higher. The foreign earned income exclusion caps at $132,900 for 2026. The social security agreement in force since 1 October 2002 exempts self-employed Americans in Australia from US self-employment tax.
The unresolved problem is superannuation. Your employer must pay 12% of salary into a super fund, and the IRS has never settled whether that fund is a foreign grantor trust triggering Forms 3520 and 3520-A. Budget for a cross-border accountant.
The United States does not stop taxing you
The US taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Moving to Australia adds a second tax system; it does not remove the first one. Most Americans abroad end up owing little or nothing to the IRS, but that outcome is produced by filing correctly, not by leaving.
Two mechanisms produce that result. The foreign earned income exclusion removes foreign wages and self-employment profit up to an annually indexed cap, but reaches earned income only and does nothing about self-employment tax. The foreign tax credit offsets US tax dollar-for-dollar with income tax actually paid to Australia, reaches passive income the exclusion cannot, and can leave credits to carry forward. You cannot apply both to the same dollar. Separately, FBAR and FATCA reporting is triggered by account balances rather than by tax owed, and carries penalties out of all proportion to the tax at stake.
The full mechanics are the same wherever you move, so they live in one place: US taxes when you live abroad covers the exclusion tests, the credit, treaties and the saving clause, FBAR and FATCA thresholds, self-employment tax and state residency. The rest of this page is what Australia specifically changes.
Which mechanism fits Australia
Australia's top rate of 45% sits at or above the US federal top rate of 37%. Local tax is doing the heavy lifting, so the foreign tax credit is the mechanism worth modelling first: it usually eliminates the US liability outright and leaves excess credits to carry forward.
Self-employment in Australia
A totalization agreement covers Australia, so a self-employed American here can normally be assigned to one social security system and exempted from the other, evidenced by a certificate of coverage. Arrange it at the start of the engagement, not at filing time.
US-side official references: FEIE ·Foreign tax credit ·FBAR ·FATCA reporting ·Totalization agreements
Which relief mechanism reaches which income
The most common planning error is assuming the exclusion covers everything. It covers one category. This table maps each kind of income against the mechanisms available to you, with the last column set to Australia's recorded agreement status.
| Income type | Foreign earned income exclusion | Foreign tax credit | Treaty position for Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wages earned while living in Australia | Yes, up to the annual cap, if you pass the residence or presence test | Yes, on anything above the cap or not excluded | The employment income article assigns the primary taxing right |
| Self-employment profit | Income tax only. Self-employment tax survives the exclusion | Yes, against income tax on the same profit | Totalization decides which social security system you pay into |
| Dividends and interest | No. It reaches earned income only | Yes, for foreign tax actually paid on it | Dividend and interest articles usually cap withholding |
| Capital gains on investments | No | Yes, where a foreign tax is paid on the same gain | A gains article assigns the taxing right by asset type |
| Rental income from property | No | Yes, for foreign tax charged on foreign property | Immovable property is normally taxed where it sits |
| Pensions and retirement account withdrawals | No | Yes, where foreign tax is charged on the withdrawal | The pension article decides. Read it before you draw |
| US Social Security benefits | No | Depends which country is entitled to tax them | Many treaties assign them to one country only |
Read the rows against your own income mix. Someone on a local salary and nothing else uses one row of this table. Someone with a brokerage account, a rental at home and vesting equity uses five, and each one can land in a different country.
What Australia's agreements with the US actually change
The general mechanics above apply to every American abroad. What differs country by country is which of them Australia has an agreement to soften. Of the 15 countries covered on this site, 15 have a US income tax treaty, 12 have a totalization agreement and 12 have both. Australia is the case below.
| Issue | Status for Australia | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Double tax on employment income | Treaty in force | A US–Australia income tax treaty exists, so each type of income has an assigned taxing country and there is a defined route to relief rather than an argument. You still file both returns; the treaty decides who taxes what first. |
| Being treated as resident by both countries | Tie-breaker available | Treaties carry a residence tie-breaker: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then nationality. It gives you a defensible answer in the year you move, when both countries can plausibly claim you. |
| Social security and payroll contributions | Totalization in force | A totalization agreement covers the US and Australia, so the same earnings are not charged to both social security systems. It also lets contribution periods in each country count toward qualifying for a benefit in the other. |
| Self-employment and freelancing | Certificate of coverage route | Where an agreement applies, a certificate of coverage from the system you do pay into is what you show the other one. Get it before the first invoice, not after the first assessment. |
| Pensions, retirement accounts and investment income | Treaty articles apply | Treaty articles usually address pensions, dividends, interest and capital gains separately from wages. Read the specific articles: a treaty that solves your salary can leave your brokerage account taxed in a way you did not expect. |
Treaty and totalization status is recorded from the sources listed at the foot of this page. Agreements are amended and protocols enter force on their own timetable, so check the current text before taking a position on a return.
Two numbers worth running before you move
Consumption tax, which nobody models
Income tax gets the attention. Consumption tax takes its slice every month without appearing on any return. A US household spending the national average net salary of $4,230 a month would need roughly $4,230 a month in Australia for the same basket, at Australia's overall price level. Of that, the VAT embedded in the prices is up to about $385 a month, against roughly $295 in embedded sales tax at home.
| Measure | United States | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Headline consumption tax rate | 7.5% | 10% |
| Equivalent monthly basket | $4,230 | $4,230 |
| Tax inside that basket, per month | $295 | $385 |
| Per year | $3,540 | $4,620 |
A ceiling, not a bill. It assumes the whole net salary is spent, and in practice rent sits outside VAT in most systems while food, medicine, books and transport often carry reduced or zero rates, so real exposure lands below this line. The direction of the gap is the useful part: about $90 more per month than at home, before any reduced rate applies.
Marginal rate, read honestly
Australia's top personal rate is 45% against a US federal top rate of 37%, a gap of +8 points. That comparison is weaker than it looks in both directions. The US figure excludes state income tax, which can add several points on top. The Australian figure bites at its own threshold, which may be far lower or far higher in income terms than the US bracket it is being compared to. Top rates tell you the shape of a system, not your bill. Model your actual income against the brackets on the official site before you decide anything.
How Australia compares on tax across our dataset
Australia ranks 5 of 15 on headline top personal rate, lowest first, with 9 countries charging a higher top rate. Every row links to that country's own tax page.
| Country | Top rate | VAT | US treaty | Totalization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States (baseline) | 37% | 7.5% | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Mexico | 35% | 16% | Yes | No |
| Thailand | 35% | 7% | Yes | No |
| New Zealand | 39% | 15% | Yes | No |
| Italy | 43% | 22% | Yes | Yes |
| Australia · this page | 45% | 10% | Yes | Yes |
| United Kingdom | 45% | 20% | Yes | Yes |
| Spain | 47% | 21% | Yes | Yes |
| Norway | 47.4% | 25% | Yes | Yes |
| Germany | 47.5% | 19% | Yes | Yes |
| Portugal | 48% | 23% | Yes | Yes |
| Netherlands | 49.5% | 21% | Yes | Yes |
| Ireland | 52% | 23% | Yes | Yes |
| Sweden | 52.4% | 25% | Yes | Yes |
| Canada | 53.5% | 5% | Yes | Yes |
| Japan | 55.9% | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Headline rates only. They ignore social contributions, local surtaxes, wealth and inheritance taxes, and the very different incomes at which each top rate starts. A country with a high top rate that begins at a high threshold can cost a middle earner less than one with a lower rate that begins early.
The sequence of tax events in your move year
The move year is the messy one: part-year residence in two systems, two calendars, and deadlines that do not line up. This is the order things generally happen in.
- Before you leaveFix the date you stop being a US state resident and the date you land, because almost every later question is answered by those two dates. Take a snapshot of account balances, unrealised gains and any equity vesting schedule. Selling before you become Australia tax resident is a different transaction from selling after.
- The day you arriveRecord the arrival date against something durable, such as a boarding pass, a lease or a registration receipt, because you may have to evidence it years later. It is the day the clock starts on the rule that decides your Australian tax residency: Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Residency is decided by the ordinary 'resides' test plus three statutory tests: domicile (unless your permanent place of abode is outside Australia), presence in Australia for 183 days or more in an income year, and membership of a Commonwealth superannuation scheme. Citizenship is irrelevant. Someone arriving on a multi-year employment contract with their family is normally a resident from the date of arrival. Holders of temporary visas who qualify as 'temporary residents' for tax are generally taxed only on Australian-source income, with most foreign investment income exempt.
- Weeks 1 to 8: register locallyA local tax number is usually a precondition for a bank account, a lease and a payroll run, so it happens early whether or not you feel like a taxpayer yet. Registering does not by itself make you resident; the residency rule above does.
- First local filingYour first Australian return covers only the part of the year you were resident, in most systems, and it is the return where split-year treatment is claimed if the country offers it. Deadlines rarely match the US calendar.
- First US filing from abroadTaxpayers whose tax home is abroad get an automatic extension beyond the April deadline, and a further extension on request. The extension is for filing, not for paying: interest runs from the original date.
- The same season: information returnsThe FBAR and, above higher thresholds, Form 8938 are filed on their own schedules and carry their own penalties. They report balances, not income, so people who owe nothing still miss them and still get penalised.
- Month 12 onwardThe bona fide residence test needs an uninterrupted tax year abroad, so the first full calendar year is often the first year you can use it. Until then the physical presence test, 330 full days abroad in a 12-month window, is usually the only route to the exclusion.
State residency: the bill people do not expect
Federal filing is the obligation everyone knows about. The one that catches people is the state they left. States set their own residency rules, and several test domicile, meaning your permanent home in intent, rather than where you physically are. Under a domicile test you can spend a full year in Australia and still be assessed as a resident of your old state, on your worldwide income, with none of the federal relief above available against it. The FEIE and the foreign tax credit are federal mechanisms, and a state is not required to follow them.
What severing residency usually rests on, and what to be able to evidence:
- Ending the lease or selling the home, rather than keeping it available to you.
- Surrendering the state driver's licence and voter registration.
- Moving vehicle registration, professional licences and mailing address out of state.
- Where dependants live and where school-age children are enrolled.
- Day counts, kept contemporaneously. A calendar reconstructed three years later convinces nobody.
- Filing a final part-year return for the state, which is what formally closes the file.
Check your specific state's rule before you leave, not after. It is easier to establish that you left cleanly on the way out than to argue it from Canberra two years later.
What to keep, from day one
- A day-count log with arrival and departure dates for every trip, including trips back to the US. Both the physical presence test and Australia's own residency rule are decided on days.
- Local payslips and the annual Australian tax assessment, which is the evidence of foreign tax paid that a credit claim rests on.
- Year-end statements for every non-US account, plus the maximum balance during the year, which is what the FBAR asks for and what banks rarely show by default.
- Cost basis and acquisition dates for anything you owned before you moved, in USD at the time.
- Your certificate of coverage, if a totalization agreement applies to you.
- The exchange rates you used, and the source of them, applied consistently across the year.
Tax questions about Australia
Do I still pay US taxes if I live in Australia?
You still file every year, but you rarely owe. The 1982 treaty and the foreign tax credit normally eliminate US liability because Australian rates are higher, and the foreign earned income exclusion covers up to $132,900 for 2026. You will also have FBAR and FATCA reporting. The genuinely unresolved area is superannuation, where the IRS has not settled whether Forms 3520 and 3520-A apply.
Sources and review
The Australia-specific figures on this page, meaning the residency rule, treaty and totalization status, rates and notes, come from the sources below. The general US mechanics are described from published IRS, FinCEN and SSA guidance, linked inline above.
What these numbers are. The headline figures were re-derived from primary sources during review. Some category indices could not be matched to a published statistic and are reasoned estimates, marked as such in the list below. Where a source entry says a value is derived, estimated or crowd-sourced, that is exactly what it is: no international body publishes a like-for-like index for every category, and private insurance premiums are not published at all in most countries. Rent figures are national market averages, so a capital city will run above them. How the dataset is built.
- OECD, Monthly comparative price levels (SDMX dataflow DSD_PPP_M@DF_PP_CPL_M). Direct query for Australia returns AUS, counterpart area USA, July 2026, observation value 100 on a United States = 100 basis. This is the source for col_index_vs_us. — accessed September 4, 2026
- OECD, PPP detailed results, price level indices with base reference area = United States, 2024: actual individual consumption 92.7; food and non-alcoholic beverages 101; alcoholic beverages and tobacco 201; clothing and footwear 69.5; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 91.8; health 86.9; transport 99.3; information and communication 80.8; education 64.2; restaurants and accommodation 115. groceries_index_vs_us (109), transport_index_vs_us (107) and dining_index_vs_us (124) are these 2024 values rescaled by 100/92.7 so they sit on the same July 2026 headline base of 100. rent_index_vs_us (99) is the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels line (91.8) rescaled the same way, 91.8 x 100/92.7 = 99.0. The OECD publishes no separate actual-rentals price level for Australia in this dataflow, so this COICOP 04 aggregate - which is dominated by actual and imputed rentals but also contains utilities - is the closest permitted comparative measure; it is an approximation for rent alone. utilities_index_vs_us is NOT taken from this series; it is rebuilt from ABS household bill data, see the ABS entries below. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Reserve Bank of Australia, Exchange rates: 1 AUD = 0.7210 USD on 4 September 2026 (rate used for every AUD to USD conversion on this page). The RBA renders its daily rate table in JavaScript and blocks automated download of the F11 CSV, so the value was cross-checked against the US Federal Reserve H.10 release below. — accessed September 4, 2026
- US Federal Reserve, H.10 Foreign Exchange Rates weekly release dated 31 August 2026: the Australian dollar, quoted in US dollars per unit, at 0.7151, 0.7160, 0.7169, 0.7198 and 0.7166 for 24 to 28 August 2026. Cross-check on the 0.7210 rate used for AUD to USD conversion throughout this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, table G02 Selected medians and averages (ABS Data API dataflow C21_G02_SA2, item 'Median rent ($/weekly)'), SA4 level. Inner-city SA4 medians used as the city-centre base: Sydney - City and Inner South A$550, Melbourne - Inner A$401, Brisbane Inner City A$425, Perth - Inner A$400, Adelaide - Central and Hills A$355; unweighted mean A$426 a week. See the companion GCCSA query for the outside-centre base. IMPORTANT LIMITATION: the ABS publishes no rent series by number of bedrooms, so these medians cover rented dwellings of every size and structure. They are used as a proxy for rent_1bed_center_usd and will normally sit ABOVE a true one-bedroom flat. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, table G02 Selected medians and averages, Greater Capital City (GCCSA) level. Median weekly rent: Greater Sydney A$470, Greater Melbourne A$390, Greater Brisbane A$380, Greater Perth A$350, Greater Adelaide A$320; unweighted mean A$382 a week. This whole-of-metro median is the base for rent_1bed_outside_usd. Australia-wide median weekly rent on the same table is A$375. Same bedroom-count limitation as the SA4 entry: the metro-wide median is dominated by larger dwellings, so it reads high for a one-bedroom flat. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Rents index numbers, Australia, original (ABS Data API dataflow CPI, index 115522): September quarter 2021 = 81.32, June quarter 2026 = 102.29, a rise of 25.79%. DERIVATION OF THE RENT FIELDS: the 2021 Census medians above are escalated by this factor and converted at the RBA rate of 0.7210. City centre A$426.2 x 1.25787 = A$536.1 a week = A$2,323 a month = US$1,675 (rent_1bed_center_usd). Outside centre A$382.0 x 1.25787 = A$480.5 a week = A$2,082 a month = US$1,501 (rent_1bed_outside_usd). Both are honest estimates built only from official ABS series; because no ABS series is bedroom-specific they should be read as the upper end of a one-bedroom budget, not the middle. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Australia, July 2026 (released 26 August 2026): rents rose 3.6% in the 12 months to July 2026; electricity 6.1% over the year after the Commonwealth and state rebates ended; water and sewerage and gas also reported. Used as the currency check on the rent and utility escalations. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2015-16 (the most recent HES): average total goods and services expenditure A$1,425 a week per household; domestic fuel and power A$40.92 a week. The A$1,425 total is the level base for the utilities rebuild. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, CPI weighting pattern effective from the December quarter 2024 (ABS Data API dataflow CPI_WEIGHTS, Australia): electricity 1.8353% of household expenditure, gas and other household fuels 0.9616%, water and sewerage 0.8703%, utilities group 3.6672%, rents 6.6129%. These are 2023-24 actual household expenditure shares and supply the consumption side of the utilities calculation. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index index numbers, Australia, original (ABS Data API dataflow CPI): All groups (10001) 2015-16 average 75.21, 2023-24 average 95.07, June quarter 2026 102.31; Electricity (40055) 2023-24 average 99.28, 2026-Q2 114.73; Gas and other household fuels (115524) 2023-24 average 89.27, 2026-Q2 97.69; Water and sewerage (97558) 2023-24 average 94.74, 2026-Q2 104.21. DERIVATION OF utilities_index_vs_us ON THE MONTHLY-BILL BASIS: the HES 2015-16 household total of A$1,425 a week is revalued to 2023-24 with the All groups CPI (x 95.07/75.21 = A$1,801 a week), split with the 2023-24 CPI expenditure weights above to give electricity A$33.06, gas and other household fuels A$17.32 and water and sewerage A$15.68 a week, then repriced to the June quarter 2026 with each component's own CPI: electricity A$38.21, gas A$18.96, water and sewerage A$17.25, total A$74.41 a week = A$322 a month = US$232 at 0.7210. Against the dataset's US reference of about US$210 a month for the same basket that is an index of 111. CONSUMPTION ASSUMPTION: the actual national household consumption of electricity, gas and water embedded in the ABS's 2023-24 expenditure weights - an average household of 2.5 people across all dwelling types, including the roughly one household in three with rooftop solar - held constant and revalued at June quarter 2026 prices. This is unit price x real national household consumption, not a unit price per kWh. EXCLUSION: domestic waste collection is not in the figure. Australian councils charge it inside property rates paid by the owner rather than as a tenant utility, and the ABS CPI utilities group excludes it, so the Australian index is if anything slightly conservative against a US basket that includes refuse. Water and sewerage service charges are likewise usually the owner's, reaching renters through the rent; the full property-level total is indexed here for like-for-like comparison. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026 (released 13 August 2026): average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults A$2,083.70, seasonally adjusted. avg_net_salary_usd_month is derived from this: A$2,083.70 x 52 = A$108,352 gross a year; 2026-27 resident tax of A$23,026 plus 2% Medicare levy of A$2,167 leaves A$83,159 net, or A$6,930 a month, which is US$4,996 at 0.7210. Excludes superannuation, which is paid on top of salary. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, National, state and territory population: 27,801,023 people at 31 December 2025 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Visa Pricing Table: the Department's index of current visa application charges. The amounts on this page are rendered by the Visa Pricing Estimator service rather than served as static text, so the figures used here were read from that service directly - see the next entry. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Visa Pricing Estimator - the Department's own pricing service, queried 4 September 2026 for a lodgement date of 4 September 2026 with one main applicant, one dependant aged 18 or over and one child. Base application charge / additional applicant 18+ / additional applicant under 18: subclass 189 points-tested A$6,135 / A$3,070 / A$1,540; subclass 190 A$6,140 / A$3,070 / A$1,535; subclass 186 A$6,140 / A$3,070 / A$1,535; subclass 482 Core Skills A$4,015 / A$4,015 / A$1,005; subclass 858 A$6,235 / A$3,120 / A$1,560; subclass 820/801 partner A$11,710 / A$5,860 / A$2,935, with offshore 309/100 returning identical amounts; subclass 500 higher education sector A$2,500 / A$1,530 / A$500; subclass 601 ETA nil visa application charge. This is the source for every visa fee quoted on this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream: up to 4 years, CSOL occupation, 1 year relevant experience, pathway to permanent residence — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Salary requirements to nominate a worker: Core Skills Income Threshold A$79,423 and Specialist Skills Income Threshold A$146,576 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) points-tested stream: under 45 at invitation, minimum 65 points, skills assessment and SkillSelect invitation required — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) Temporary Residence Transition stream: normally 2 years full-time sponsored employment on a 457 or 482 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, National Innovation visa (subclass 858): permanent visa, invitation-only, nominator required, processed under Ministerial Direction No. 120 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Department of Home Affairs, Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601): United States of America listed as an ETA-eligible passport, AUD 20 app service charge, up to 3 months per entry — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Government, PBS Schedule fees and patient charges: general co-payment A$25.00 from 1 January 2026, concessional A$7.70, general safety net threshold A$1,748.20 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, MBS Online: the Medicare Benefits Schedule, described there as a listing of the Medicare services subsidised by the Australian Government and part of the wider Medicare Benefits Scheme managed by the Department. The Department is Australia's national health authority and this is the page behind healthcare.official_url. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Government MBS Online, item 23 (standard GP consultation): schedule fee A$45.05, benefit 100% of schedule fee, schedule fee updated 1 July 2026 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Government privatehealth.gov.au, Overseas Visitors and Overseas Students: temporary visa holders on a working visa including subclass 482 and 485 are required to take Overseas Visitors Health Cover, and student visa applicants must hold Overseas Student Health Cover. The eleven Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries listed are the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, Malta and Italy; the United States is not among them. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Government privatehealth.gov.au, Overseas Visitors Health Cover. NOTE ON typical_private_insurance_usd_month: no official body publishes a standard OVHC price, and this page states only that 'every OVHC policy will differ in costs, eligibility and benefits'. The US$130 a month figure (about A$180 at 0.7210) is an editorial mid-range estimate for single working-visa OVHC cover, not a sourced statistic, and is the least certain number on this page. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Taxation Office, Your tax residency (last updated 3 June 2026). Sets out the four residency tests used in taxes.residency_rule - the resides test as the primary test, plus the domicile, 183-day and Commonwealth superannuation statutory tests - and states that the ATO does not use Department of Home Affairs rules, so you can be an Australian resident for tax purposes without being a citizen or permanent resident. The ATO is Australia's tax authority and this is the page behind taxes.official_url. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Taxation Office, Tax rates - Australian residents. Resident rates 2026-27: nil to A$18,200; 15c per dollar over A$18,200 to A$45,000; A$4,020 plus 30c to A$135,000; A$31,020 plus 37c to A$190,000; A$51,370 plus 45c above A$190,000, exclusive of the 2% Medicare levy. Primary source for income_tax_top_rate (45) and for the tax step in the avg_net_salary_usd_month derivation: A$108,352 gross gives A$4,020 + 30% of A$63,352 = A$23,026. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Australian Treasury, Income tax treaties: Australia-United States DTA signed 6 August 1982, in force 31 October 1983; amending protocol signed 27 September 2001, in force 13 May 2003 — accessed September 4, 2026
- IRS, Australia tax treaty documents (1982 treaty, 2001 protocol and technical explanations) — accessed September 4, 2026
- IRS, Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion: maximum exclusion $130,000 for 2025 and $132,900 for 2026 — accessed September 4, 2026
- US Social Security Administration, Totalization Agreement with Australia: the agreement covers Superannuation Guarantee contributions employers must make for employees, and 'Self-employed U.S. citizens residing in Australia do not have to pay U.S. Social Security contributions on self-employment income' — accessed September 4, 2026
- US Social Security Administration, International Programs, status of totalization agreements: Australia entry into force 1 October 2002 — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia individual taxes on personal income: 2026-27 resident rates nil to A$18,200, 15% to A$45,000, 30% to A$135,000, 37% to A$190,000, 45% above; Medicare levy 2%; Medicare levy surcharge 1% to 1.5% for higher earners without private hospital cover. The 16% second-bracket rate fell to 15% from 1 July 2026 under the legislated personal tax cuts. The ATO entry above is the primary source for income_tax_top_rate; this entry corroborates it and is the source for the Medicare levy surcharge range of 1% to 1.5%. — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia corporate other taxes: GST levied at 10% (source for vat_rate), and superannuation guarantee permanently increased to 12% from 1 July 2025 — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Australia individual residence: resides test plus domicile, 183-day and superannuation statutory tests; temporary residents generally taxed only on Australian-source income — accessed September 4, 2026
- Foreign Investment Review Board (foreigninvestment.gov.au), Residential land guidance: from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 foreign investors are generally prohibited from purchasing established dwellings; annual vacancy fee applies to under-occupied foreign-owned property — accessed September 4, 2026
Your New Country publishes reference information, not tax advice. Tax positions are fact-specific and the penalties for getting a cross-border position wrong are heavier than the fees for getting it checked. Before you file, take advice from an accountant who works both systems, and confirm everything against Australia's tax authority and the IRS, which administers the US rules described here.