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Cross-Border Tax Accountants

Cross-Border Tax Accountants: directory of firms

Cross-border tax advice starts with one question: are you an Australian resident for tax purposes? The answer decides what Australia taxes, at what rates, and whether a treaty with another country limits either. It is a tax question, not an immigration one. The ATO does not use the Department of Home Affairs rules, so you can hold a visa and not be a tax resident, or be a tax resident without being a citizen or permanent resident.

Browse cross-border tax accountants by city, and see what to check before you hire.

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This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals. Ask for their licence or registration number before you share any details.

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The ATO applies a primary test and three statutory ones. The resides test looks at the ordinary meaning of residing here, weighing physical presence, intention and purpose, family, business or employment ties, where assets are kept, and social and living arrangements. If that test is not met, residency can still follow from the domicile test, the 183-day test or the Commonwealth superannuation test.

From there the work is practical: sorting out which country taxes what, claiming a foreign income tax offset where the same income has been taxed twice, obtaining a certificate of residency so another country reduces its withholding, and dealing with the part-year positions that arise when someone arrives or leaves partway through an income year.

Situations that need cross-border tax help

  • Moving to Australia to work and needing to know when Australian residency starts and what happens to income still coming from home.
  • Leaving Australia to work overseas while keeping a house, a family or investments here.
  • Holding foreign shares, pensions or bank accounts that are reported to the ATO under international exchange of information.
  • Being treated as a tax resident by two countries at once, where a treaty tie breaker has to be applied.
  • Owning Australian property as a non-resident, or selling it after leaving.
  • Running a business that employs people or has customers in more than one country.

The four residency tests the ATO applies

The resides test is the primary one. If you reside in Australia in the ordinary sense, you are a resident and the other tests do not need to be considered. The ATO weighs factors rather than applying a formula, which is why two people with similar travel patterns can end up in different positions.

If the resides test is not satisfied, three statutory tests remain. Under the domicile test you are a resident if your domicile is in Australia, unless the Commissioner is satisfied your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. The 183-day test looks at time spent here. The Commonwealth superannuation test covers certain Commonwealth public servants and their families. The ATO also publishes an online tool that works through the same questions.

Resident, foreign resident, temporary resident, dual resident

  • Australian residents are taxed under the resident rules and can be entitled to a foreign income tax offset where foreign tax has been paid on the same income.
  • Foreign residents are taxed on Australian sourced income under different rules and rates.
  • Temporary residents are Australian residents for tax purposes, but most of their foreign income is not taxed here, with work done overseas during the period treated separately.
  • Dual residents are residents of Australia and of another country under that country's law, and a treaty tie breaker usually decides which country may tax what.
  • Part-year residents get a reduced tax-free threshold, pro-rated according to the months of residency in the income year.

What a tax treaty does and does not do

Australia has income tax treaties with a long list of countries, and Treasury publishes the text and status of each one. A treaty allocates taxing rights between the two countries and contains tie breaker rules for people who are resident in both. It does not mean you pay tax only once by default; it means there is a rule for deciding who taxes what, which someone has to apply to your facts.

Relief is usually claimed rather than granted automatically. Where income comes from a treaty country, you can ask that country's tax authority to reduce or exempt its withholding, generally by providing a tax relief form or an ATO certificate of residency. Where foreign tax has already been paid, a foreign income tax offset may be available in the Australian return.

How a cross-border engagement is run

The accountant maps the year first: dates of arrival and departure, where you worked, where your family and home were, and what assets sat where. Residency is decided from that timeline, not from the passport, and it is common for the answer to change partway through the year.

Then the mechanics. Foreign income is converted and declared, offsets are calculated, certificates of residency are requested where another country needs one, and any part-year threshold is applied. Where two countries are involved, the Australian accountant usually needs to coordinate with an adviser in the other country rather than guess at its law.

Mistakes that cost the most

  • Assuming a visa or citizenship settles tax residency, when the ATO applies its own tests.
  • Treating foreign income as invisible because it never touched an Australian bank account.
  • Missing the foreign income tax offset entirely and paying tax twice on the same income.
  • Leaving a dual residency question unresolved instead of applying the relevant treaty tie breaker.
  • Forgetting that departing Australia has its own consequences for assets held here.
  • Claiming the full tax-free threshold in a part-year residency year.

Records to keep when your year crosses a border

Keep a dated movement record: entries, exits and the reason for each. Keep foreign payslips, tax assessments and withholding certificates, because a foreign income tax offset needs evidence of the foreign tax actually paid. Keep lease or ownership documents for homes in both countries.

The ATO's general record keeping rules still apply, including that records must be in English or easily convertible to English. Translations of foreign documents are worth obtaining while the documents are current rather than years later when a query arrives.

Cross-Border Tax Accountants: frequently asked questions

I am in Australia on a work visa. Am I a tax resident?

Possibly. The ATO decides residency with its own tests, starting with the resides test, and does not follow Home Affairs status. Many people on work visas are Australian residents for tax purposes and also temporary residents, which changes how their foreign income is treated.

Does spending 183 days here make me a resident?

The 183-day test is one of three statutory tests that apply if you do not satisfy the resides test. Time in Australia matters, but it is not the only factor, and the tests are applied in order rather than in isolation.

I paid tax overseas on the same income. Do I pay again?

Not necessarily. The ATO says foreign income may be taxed in both countries, and that tax paid in the other country may entitle you to an Australian foreign income tax offset. Keep the foreign assessment and evidence of payment, because the offset has to be substantiated.

What is a certificate of residency for?

It is issued by the ATO to show another country's tax authority that you are an Australian resident for tax purposes, so that treaty relief or a reduced withholding rate can be applied at the source rather than reclaimed later.

Can my regular accountant handle this?

Some can. Ask directly how often they deal with residency questions and treaties. Registration as a tax agent is a baseline requirement for paid work, but nothing on the TPB register tells you whether a practitioner has cross-border experience, so that question has to be asked.

Sources

  1. ATO - Your tax residency
  2. ATO - Australian resident for tax purposes
  3. Treasury - Income tax treaties
  4. ATO - Overview of record-keeping rules for business
  5. Tax Practitioners Board - TPB Register

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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Northern Territory

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What affects the fees cross-border tax accountants charge

Fees depend on the work involved and how the professional bills. We only publish fee ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the fee:

  • Scope and complexity of the work
  • How the professional bills: hourly, flat fee or retainer
  • Experience and seniority of the person doing the work
  • Deadlines and how urgent the work is
  • Third-party costs such as filing, registration or government fees

How to compare cross-border tax accountants before you hire

  • Check that they are licensed or registered for this work where you live, on the regulator’s public register.
  • Look for experience with matters like yours, and ask who will actually handle your file.
  • Ask how they charge before any work starts, and get the terms in writing.
  • Compare two or three professionals before you decide.
  • Be wary of anyone who guarantees a particular outcome.

Questions to ask cross-border tax accountants before you hire

  • Are you licensed or registered for this work, and with which body?
  • Have you handled matters like mine before?
  • Who will do the work, and who will I deal with day to day?
  • How do you charge: hourly, a flat fee or a retainer?
  • What is included in your fee, and what costs extra?
  • Will you confirm the scope and fees in a written engagement letter?
  • Do you carry professional liability insurance?

Licences and registration

This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals, and the rules depend on where you are. Ask which body they’re registered with, and check their status on that body’s public register before you hire.

Guides about cross-border tax

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