Destinations · Indonesia
Bali
Six hours from Sydney and half the cost, but the legal tax story is 35% worldwide.
Tax regime
Australia treaty
Flight from Sydney
Timezone
How Bali taxes youindicative
Indonesia taxes residents (183+ days, or present with intent to reside) on worldwide income at progressive rates up to 35%. There is no separate CGT regime, gains are ordinary income, with final-tax carve-outs (0.1% of proceeds on Indonesian-listed share sales, 10% final on domestic dividends unless reinvested, crypto transaction taxes). A limited four-year concession can exempt some foreign-skilled new residents from tax on foreign income. The Australia treaty provides a tie-breaker. The gap between the law and what the Canggu nomad crowd actually pays is enormous, plan on the law, not the vibe.
- Salary
- Progressive 5, 35%. An A$120k income maps to roughly 27% effective, Indonesia is not a low-tax residence on paper.
- Capital gains
- No concessional CGT: foreign gains are ordinary income up to 35%. Indonesian-listed share sales instead pay a 0.1% final tax on proceeds.
- Dividends & interest
- Domestic dividends: 10% final (0% if reinvested in Indonesia under conditions). Foreign dividends: progressive rates unless the reinvestment exemption applies.
- Crypto
- Crypto traded on Indonesian platforms carries small final transaction taxes (income tax of ~0.1% of value plus VAT). Gains realised offshore by a resident are, strictly, worldwide income at progressive rates.
- Social security
- BPJS health and employment schemes apply to formal employees; foreign remote workers typically fall outside them.
Australia has a tax treaty with Indonesia
A treaty gives you two things that matter. First, a tie-breaker: if both countries claim you as a resident, the treaty cascade (permanent home → vital interests → habitual abode → nationality) decides who wins. You can’t simply be fully taxed twice on the same income. Second, reduced withholding on Australian-source income you keep: unfranked dividends at 15% and interest at 10% instead of the default non-treaty rates.
Walk your own facts through the cascade with the Treaty Tie-Breaker tool.
Visa pathways
Every pathway carries a tax-residency consequence, the row most visa guides leave out. A visa gets you in; it doesn’t decide who taxes you.
E33G remote worker KITAS
nomadindicativeOne-year remote worker permit: employment with a company outside Indonesia and ~US$60k/year income, plus proof of funds.
- Income $92,000+ / year
- Income must come from outside the country
- Family can come
Timeline: ~1 month from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The first real legal basis for laptop work from Bali. Living here on it full-time makes you an Indonesian tax resident on worldwide income, the visa fixes your immigration status, not your tax bill.
Second Home visa
goldenindicative5, 10 year stay for those parking ~IDR 2bn (~A$190k) in an Indonesian state-bank account or buying qualifying property.
- Assets $190,000+
- Family can come
Timeline: ~3 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The deposit must stay parked for the visa to survive. Aimed at retirees and the wealthy; no work rights for local employment.
Retirement KITAS (E33F)
retirementindicativeAge 60+ (55 for some categories), ~US$3k/month pension income, one-year renewable.
- Income $55,000+ / year
- Age 55+
- Family can come
Timeline: ~2 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
Requires local sponsorship via an agent, proof of accommodation rental, and health insurance.
Investor KITAS (via PT PMA)
businessindicativeTwo-year permit as director/shareholder of a foreign-owned Indonesian company (PT PMA), paper capital IDR 10bn, ~IDR 1bn+ practically deposited per shareholder for the visa.
- Investment $100,000+
- Family can come
Timeline: ~3 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The standard route for anyone running a villa, hospitality or consulting business. Real accounting and tax obligations follow the company.
Visit visa runs (C1/D1)
nomadindicative60-day visit visas extendable to ~180 days; the classic (grey) Canggu pattern.
- No family inclusion
Timeline: ~0 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Doesn’t change tax residency either way on its own, your facts on the ground (home, family, time) decide.
Working remotely on a visit visa breaches its conditions, and a string of visa runs is precisely the "no settled home anywhere" pattern that keeps you an Australian tax resident. Listed here because people do it, not because it works.
What Canggu costsindicative
Typical expat defaults in AUD, the same figures the Break-Even Calculator pre-fills for Bali. Treat them as comparison-grade, not budget-grade.
| Rent, family home in Canggu (per month) | est. $2,500indicative |
| Rent, 1, 2br couple/single (per month) | est. $1,500indicative |
| International school (per child, per year) | est. $15,000indicative |
| Private health, family (per year) | est. $5,000indicative |
| Private health, single (per year) | est. $1,700indicative |
| One-off relocation (movers, flights, deposits) | est. $12,000indicative |
| Return flight home (per person) | est. $1,100indicative |
| Day-to-day cost index vs Sydney (ex-rent) | 45%indicative |
Honest downsides
- Healthcare on the island is adequate for small things and inadequate for big ones, serious cases get evacuated to Singapore or Australia, so insure accordingly.
- Indonesia taxes worldwide income at up to 35%: done legally, Bali is often a worse tax outcome than staying in Australia at middle incomes.
- Infrastructure strain is real: traffic between Canggu and anywhere can be brutal, and rainy-season flooding, power cuts and construction noise are routine.
- Foreigners cannot own land freehold, leaseholds and nominee structures carry genuine legal risk.
- Enforcement culture is unpredictable: long tolerance, then sudden crackdowns (on visas, on unlicensed business, on tax).
What most people miss about Bali
- Becoming Indonesian tax resident puts your Australian rent, dividends and gains inside a 35% worldwide net, the treaty credits AU tax paid, but Indonesia taxes the excess and expects filings (NPWP registration, annual SPT).
- The "everyone just doesn't declare" approach is tax evasion in a country that now data-matches with Australia under CRS, Indonesian banks report, and so do Australian ones.
- Paying zero tax anywhere is the worst possible fact pattern if the ATO reviews your exit: no foreign tax residency certificate, no treaty tie-breaker, no evidence you were taxed as a resident elsewhere.
- Indonesia's four-year foreign-income concession for new skilled residents is narrow and conditional, do not assume it applies to remote work income without a ruling.
Run your numbers for Bali
These open with Bali already set as your destination, your answers stay in this browser.