Tax residency rule, Australia

NSW Land Tax Surcharge

Summary

New South Wales charges foreign persons who own residential land an extra land tax, called surcharge land tax, of 5% of the land value each year. A permanent resident of Australia is not a foreign person if they were in Australia for 200 days or more in the calendar year that ends on the taxing date, 31 December. A permanent resident with fewer than 200 days is treated as a foreign person for the next land tax year. Revenue NSW decides each case.

Goal
200 days or more in Australia
Period
The 12 months before the taxing date, midnight on 31 December
Where the days count
Anywhere in Australia, not only in New South Wales
Surcharge rate
5% of the land value from the 2025 land tax year, with no tax-free threshold
Law
Land Tax Act 1956 and Duties Act 1997, section 104J; Revenue Ruling G 009
Run by
Revenue NSW

Who it applies to

The rule

Surcharge land tax is charged on residential land in New South Wales that is owned by a foreign person at midnight on 31 December. That moment is called the taxing date, and it sets the tax for the land tax year that follows. The surcharge is charged on top of ordinary land tax. It has no tax-free threshold, so it applies from the first dollar of land value. The rate was 2% for the 2018 to 2022 land tax years, 4% for 2023 and 2024, and it is 5% from the 2025 land tax year.

Revenue Ruling G 009 explains who is a foreign person. The meaning comes from the Commonwealth Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, changed by section 104J of the Duties Act 1997. An Australian citizen is never a foreign person, even when the citizen lives abroad. A person who is not a citizen is a foreign person unless they are ordinarily resident in Australia.

A person who is not a citizen is ordinarily resident when two things are true. First, they were actually in Australia for 200 or more days in the 12 months before the taxing date. Second, their stay in Australia is not limited in time by law. Permanent residents meet the second part. The ruling treats holders of a partner (provisional) visa, subclass 309 or 820, in the same way as permanent residents. A New Zealand citizen who holds a special category visa is also treated as having no time limit. All of them still need the 200 days.

People on other temporary visas, such as work, student, visitor or bridging visas, are foreign persons however many days they spend in Australia, because their visa limits their stay. Companies and trusts can also be foreign persons when foreign persons hold a large enough interest in them.

Why it exists

New South Wales introduced the surcharge so that owners of residential land who do not live in Australia pay more towards the state budget, and to make housing less attractive as a pure investment for people based abroad. The 200-day test separates permanent residents who really live in Australia from those who hold a permanent visa but spend most of the year in another country.

Counting the days

You count the days you were actually in Australia in the 12 months before midnight on 31 December. This is the calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. This rule is a goal: you want to reach 200 days.

  1. Take the calendar year that ends on the taxing date, for example 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
  2. List every period you were in Australia in that year. Days in any state or territory count.
  3. Add the days together. They do not have to be in a row.
  4. If the total is 200 or more and you are a permanent resident, a partner (provisional) visa holder or a New Zealand citizen on a special category visa, you are not a foreign person for the land tax year that follows.
  5. If the total is under 200, tell Revenue NSW, because you are a foreign person for that land tax year and the surcharge applies.
How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were anywhere in Australia for any part of the day, from 1 January to 31 December, and shows your progress towards 200 days. It counts the day you arrive and the day you leave. Ruling G 009 says you must be actually in Australia for 200 or more days and does not explain how part days are treated, so keep a small margin above 200. The app cannot see your visa or your citizenship. Reaching 200 days helps only if your stay is not limited in time.

Track NSW Land Tax Surcharge on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

Download on the App Store

Examples

A permanent resident with one long trip

Chen is a permanent resident and owns a flat in Parramatta. In 2026 he is in Australia from 1 January to 9 February, which is 40 days, and again from 30 June to 31 December, which is 185 days. His total is 225 days. At the taxing date of 31 December 2026 he is ordinarily resident, so he is not a foreign person and pays no surcharge for the 2027 land tax year.

A permanent resident who works abroad

Sara is a permanent resident who works in Singapore and owns a house in Sydney with a land value of 800,000 Australian dollars. In 2026 she spends 150 days in Australia. That is under 200, so on 31 December 2026 she is a foreign person. For the 2027 land tax year the surcharge is 5% of 800,000 dollars, which is 40,000 dollars, on top of any ordinary land tax.

A full year in Australia on a temporary visa

Tom holds a temporary work visa and does not leave Australia at all in 2026, so he has 365 days. He is still a foreign person on 31 December 2026, because his visa limits how long he may stay. The 200-day test helps only people whose stay has no time limit. If Tom becomes a permanent resident in 2027 and spends 200 days or more in Australia that year, he is not a foreign person at the next taxing date.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“I am a permanent resident, so I am not a foreign person.”
A permanent visa is only half of the test. You must also be in Australia for 200 or more days in the 12 months before 31 December. A permanent resident who spends 165 days or more abroad in a normal year is a foreign person.
“Only days in New South Wales count.”
The test looks at days in Australia. Days in Queensland, Victoria or any other state or territory count in the same way as days in New South Wales.
“My home is exempt from land tax, so no surcharge applies.”
The ordinary exemption for a principal place of residence does not remove the surcharge. Revenue Ruling G 009 states that there is no tax-free threshold and no principal place of residence exemption for surcharge land tax. A separate exemption exists only when its own conditions are met.
“The 200 days must be one unbroken stay.”
Revenue NSW says the 200 days do not have to be consecutive. You add up all your days in Australia in the year.

Questions and answers

Which year do I count for the 2027 land tax year?

You count the calendar year 2026. The taxing date for the 2027 land tax year is midnight on 31 December 2026, and the test looks at the 12 months before that date.

What happens if I have 199 days?

You are a foreign person at the taxing date, and the surcharge applies for the whole land tax year that follows. There is no reduced rate for being close to 200. You can meet the test again at the next taxing date.

Is the 200-day test the same for surcharge purchaser duty?

The test is the same, but the date is different. For surcharge purchaser duty the 12 months are counted back from the date you buy the property. For surcharge land tax they are counted back from 31 December.

Do I have to tell Revenue NSW when my status changes?

Yes. Owners who are not Australian citizens must keep their foreign status up to date with Revenue NSW. You can do this in Land Tax Online, and Revenue NSW offers a Surcharge Assist Tool to check your status.

Does a leap year change the numbers?

The goal stays at 200 days in Australia. What changes is how long you can be away: 165 days in a normal year and 166 days in a leap year, according to Revenue NSW.

Is this the same as being an Australian tax resident?

No. Income tax residence is a federal test with its own rules and a year that runs from 1 July to 30 June. The surcharge test is a New South Wales test about land, with 200 days in the calendar year.

Sources

Read more: The 183-day rule: what it means and what it does not.

Other rules for Australia

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.