Tax back & Superannuation Refunds
Tax back & Superannuation refunds
Why pay income tax on your earnings when you work abroad When you don’t have to?
If you have the opportunity to work while you are backpacking and decide to take it then assuming you have the correct VISA and are “on the books” then you will be paying income tax.
(If you work cash in hand then this would not apply)
This income tax would be charged on your earnings as if you were a resident of that country.
Can you claim your tax back?
Did you know that most people who work in a foreign country on a working VISA will be entitled to a refund of the tax they pay.
The amount you receive will vary depending on the following factors:
The size of your tax refund will depends on factors such as:
-
Your visa
Your earnings
How long you worked for
Any work-related expenses you incurred
The type of work
Where you worked (moved about or set up to live there)
Some of the countries that you able to claim your tax back / refund are as follows:
| Country | Tax Payment Document |
| Australia | PAYG |
| Austria | Lohnzettel |
| Belgium | Loonfiche 281.10/Fiche 281.10 |
| Canada | T4 |
| Denmark | Arsopgorelese/Oplysningssedel |
| Germany | Tax Card |
| Gibraltar | P7A |
| Guernsey | Tax Deduction Forms |
| Holland | Jaaropgaaf |
| Ireland | P45/P60 |
| Japan | Gensen Choshu-hyo |
| Luxembourg | Fiche de Salarie ou de person/Fiche de retenue d’Impot |
| New Zealand | Final Payslip/Certificate of earnings |
| Norway | Certificate of pay and tax deducted |
| UK | P45/P60 |
| USA | W2 |
My rebate
When I was working in Australia (although only briefly) I paid the standard income tax and Superannuation.
Superannuation in Australia is your contribution to the state pension fund. As you are probably not going to be living in Australia when you retirement you are not required to pay into a superannuation fund and therefore entitled to a refund.
When you add up the total Tax and Superannuation you have paid you can be looking to receive a fair few AUD$ in tax back and Superannuation after only a few months pay.
I returned home and decided to look into the possibility of claiming my tax back.
Not only did I find that I was entitled to apply for a refund I also found I was able to claim a refund of my Superannuation payments. Using my tax back specialist I successfully received a rebate for my tax and Superannuation payments.
Should I choose a tax back specialist?
Although you can probably do it for yourself for a small fee I applied through a company that specialised in dealing with traveller tax rebate claims who successfully organised a refund on my behalf.
Tax can be quite “taxing” so the advantage of using a specialist company is that they should have all the knowledge and experience to complete the claim, maximise your return and get you the money more quickly.
The disadvantage of using a third party specialist is the cost incurred.
There are loads of companies out there that offer a tax refund service but here is a link I used to get my refund to help you out.
