A one-way ticket out of Australia doesn't automatically close your tax file. The year you leave for good is calculated differently from every other year: your tax-free threshold shrinks, your Medicare levy stops on a specific date, your super may be refundable, and — if you qualify — you can lodge before 30 June instead of waiting for the following July.
The short answer
If you're leaving Australia permanently partway through the year, four rules shape your final return:
- Early lodgment: you can lodge a paper return before 30 June — up to and including 15 June — if you're departing permanently and won't derive further Australian-sourced income afterwards (other than certain interest, dividends or royalties). myTax doesn't support this; it only opens 1 July.
- Part-year tax-free threshold: instead of the full $18,200, you get $13,464 plus $4,736 pro-rated by resident months. Six months of residency = a $15,832 threshold.
- A narrower tax base, plus a hidden CGT event: from the date residency ends, only Australian-sourced income is assessable, and ceasing residency also triggers a deemed disposal (CGT event I1) of most assets you're not selling.
- Superannuation: temporary visa holders can apply for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) once their visa ends and they've left — taxed at 35–65% by final withholding, not through the tax return.
When You Can Lodge Your Tax Return Before 30 June
Ordinarily you can't lodge until the financial year has ended — myTax opens 1 July, and pre-fill data isn't complete until later that month. Permanent departure is one of the few situations where the ATO (ATO guidelines) makes an exception.
Who qualifies for early lodgment
You can ask to lodge early, up to and including 15 June, if either applies:
- you're a foreign resident for tax purposes leaving permanently and won't derive any more Australian-sourced income (other than interest, dividends or royalties, typically handled through non-resident withholding tax instead), or
- you're an Australian resident leaving permanently, will cease Australian tax residency, and also won't derive further Australian-sourced income of that kind.
A 482 visa holder who resigns, ends their lease, and returns home for good with no Australian rental property or ongoing income left behind would typically qualify. If you'll keep receiving Australian income after you go — most commonly rent from a property you're keeping — you lodge the normal way instead, between 1 July and 31 October.
How to actually lodge it, and how long it takes
Early returns can only be lodged on a paper tax return — myTax and the usual electronic channels aren't built for in-year processing. A registered tax agent can prepare it and manage any ATO correspondence that follows, useful once you're already overseas. Paper returns generally take around 50 business days (about ten weeks) — noticeably longer than electronic lodgment after 30 June.
AusTax AI tip: Interest, dividends and royalties are carved out of the early-lodgment test because non-resident withholding tax usually covers them separately. Rental income, business income and ongoing salary don't get that carve-out, so check your full income picture before assuming you qualify.
When Your Tax Residency Ends — and What Changes the Moment It Does
There's no fixed day-count that ends your Australian tax residency the moment you board a flight. The ATO applies four tests set out in TR 2023/1 — the resides test, the domicile test, the 183-day test and the Commonwealth superannuation test — and satisfying any one keeps you a resident. See our guide to Australian tax residency for how those tests work. For someone leaving for good, the actual date usually comes down to a combination of facts: home sold or leased out, belongings shipped or sold, family relocated with you, bank accounts closed or converted, electoral roll updated, and a settled life overseas from a specific date.
Australian-sourced income only — plus a deemed disposal you might not expect
From the date residency ends, Australia only taxes your Australian-sourced income — salary from an Australian employer, Australian rental income, Australian business income. Foreign salary and other overseas earnings from that date onward sit outside the Australian tax system entirely.
What catches people out is that ceasing residency also triggers CGT event I1 — a deemed disposal. Most assets that aren't "taxable Australian property" (foreign shares, an overseas investment property, crypto on an overseas exchange) are treated as sold at market value on the date you stop being a resident, whether or not you actually sell them. You can choose to defer this — the gain or loss is disregarded and the asset is treated as taxable Australian property until you genuinely dispose of it or become a resident again — but the choice covers your entire non-Australian portfolio, not selected assets, and is made when you lodge that year's return. Australian real estate stays inside the CGT net regardless, so I1 mainly affects assets held outside Australia.
The Medicare levy stops — but you have to prove the days
Foreign residents don't pay the 2% Medicare levy. In the year you leave, you pay it only for the days you were still a resident, and claim an exemption for the rest by entering the exact number of non-resident days — matched to your residency cessation date, not a rounded estimate.
How Your Final Year's Tax Brackets Actually Work
A common misconception is that once you leave, your whole year's income is taxed at the flat foreign resident rates — 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000, 45% above that, no tax-free threshold. Those flat rates only apply if you're a foreign resident for the entire income year — typically the financial year after the one you leave in. In the year you depart partway through, you're a part-year resident: only your tax-free threshold is adjusted, and the $45,000 / $135,000 / $190,000 bracket cut-offs stay the same.
| Full-year Australian resident | Part-year resident (the year you leave) | Full-year foreign resident (later years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax-free threshold | $18,200 | Pro-rated: $13,464 + ($4,736 × resident months ÷ 12) | None |
| Income taxed | Worldwide income | Worldwide income while resident; Australian-sourced only once non-resident | Australian-sourced income only |
| Marginal rates | 16% / 30% / 37% / 45% | Same resident scale, applied to combined taxable income | Flat 30% / 37% / 45% — no 16% band |
| Medicare levy | 2%, full year | 2%, pro-rated to resident days only | Not payable |
The part-year tax-free threshold formula is a flat $13,464 plus $4,736 multiplied by the number of months you were an Australian resident during the year, divided by 12.
Worked example: Wei, a 482 visa holder from Shanghai working in Sydney, resigns and returns home for good on 31 December, six months into the financial year. His part-year threshold is $13,464 + ($4,736 × 6 ÷ 12) = $15,832. On $70,000 of Australian salary earned in that period, tax works out to roughly $4,667 (16% on the $29,168 between $15,832 and $45,000) plus $7,500 (30% on the remaining $25,000) — about $12,167 on the rate scale alone, before PAYG already withheld, offsets and the levy are factored in. Medicare levy applies only to his 184 resident days; he claims an exemption for the remaining 181.
Claiming Your Super Back: The Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP)
If you worked in Australia on a temporary visa, your super doesn't have to stay locked up here once you've gone. The Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) lets eligible temporary residents claim their super back after leaving.
You can apply once your visa has ceased (expired, cancelled, or otherwise ended) and you've left Australia — both conditions, not just one. Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens aren't eligible; NZ citizens instead have a separate pathway to transfer Australian super into a KiwiSaver scheme.
Apply through the ATO's DASP online application system or directly through your super fund. Miss the six-month window after leaving and your visa ending, and your fund must transfer your balance to the ATO as unclaimed money — not lost, but simpler to claim directly than chase down later.
| DASP component | Withholding tax rate |
|---|---|
| Tax-free component (your own after-tax contributions) | 0% |
| Taxed element of taxable component — most temporary visas (e.g. 482, 500, 485) | 35% |
| Taxed element attributable to a 417/462 working holiday maker visa | 65% |
| Untaxed element of taxable component (uncommon — some public-sector or untaxed funds) | 45% |
DASP is taxed by final withholding when paid, so it isn't assessable income on your Australian tax return — don't add it to your lodgment. If Wei's taxed super balance is $18,000 on his 482 visa, the 35% rate applies: he'd receive around $11,700 after $6,300 is withheld.
Records to Keep
- Departure evidence — flight itinerary, visa cancellation/cessation notice, employer termination letter
- Proof residency ties were cut — home sold/leased out, belongings shipped or sold, family relocated, bank accounts closed/converted, private health cover cancelled, electoral roll updated
- Final income statement or payment summary from each Australian employer, 1 July to departure date
- Market valuations at your residency-cessation date for shares, crypto or overseas property you're keeping — needed for CGT event I1, even if deferred
- DASP payment summary from your super fund, showing the amount paid and tax withheld
- Copies of any early-lodgment correspondence with the ATO, and your notice of assessment once issued
Quick Checklist
- Confirm the date your residency actually ends, based on evidence, not days spent overseas
- Check for any Australian-sourced income after departure — if so, lodge in the normal 1 July–31 October window instead
- If eligible, lodge a paper early return before 15 June
- Work out your part-year tax-free threshold and Medicare levy exemption days
- If on a temporary visa, apply for DASP within six months to avoid your super becoming ATO-held unclaimed money
- Get a market valuation of shares, crypto or overseas assets you're keeping, for CGT event I1
- Decide, with a registered tax agent, whether to defer CGT event I1 on assets outside Australia
Working out your departure date, the pro-rated threshold, and what still needs declaring is easy to get wrong from another country. A registered tax agent can prepare and lodge your final return — including an early return where you qualify — and handle any ATO follow-up after you've gone, while you use the time before departure to get your last set of receipts organised.
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*Disclaimer: This is general information only and does not constitute personal tax advice. Consult a registered tax agent for advice tailored to your specific situation. Always verify against the latest ATO guidelines at ato.gov.au.*
*Disclaimer: general information only — not personal tax advice.*