Tax in Lebanon for Australians: no treaty, two tax systems and how to cope

There's no Australia–Lebanon tax treaty, so if both countries count you as resident, Australia's foreign income tax offset is your main protection against paying twice.

The short version

• Lebanon is not on the ATO's list of countries with a tax treaty with Australia [1]. There's no tie-breaker rule if both countries say you're resident.
• Lebanon taxes salaries at progressive rates from 2% to 25%, and business and professional income at 4% to 25% [2][3].
• You're a Lebanese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there in any 12 months, keep a home there for your family, or have a place of business there [4].
• If you stay an Australian tax resident, you declare your worldwide income in Australia and can usually claim a foreign income tax offset for Lebanese tax paid, even without a treaty [5].
• Smartraveller's advice for Lebanon is Do not travel [6]. Emergency departures can change your day count, so keep records.

What Lebanon taxes

Who counts as a Lebanese tax resident

Under Law No. 60 of 2016, you're tax resident in Lebanon if you meet any one of these tests [4]:

1. You have a place of business in Lebanon.
2. You have a home in Lebanon permanently available to your spouse and dependent children.
3. You're physically present for more than 183 days in any 12-month period. Days in transit at Beirut airport, or in Lebanon only for medical treatment, don't count.

The family home test catches plenty of Lebanese-Australians. A family flat in Achrafieh or a house in the village where your spouse and kids live can make you resident even if you fly in and out.

Salaries

Lebanon taxes salaries if any of these applies: you're resident in Lebanon, the work is done in Lebanon, or the salary is paid from a Lebanese source [2]. That second point matters. Work done in Beirut can be taxable in Lebanon even if your employer is in Melbourne.

Salary tax is progressive, with seven rates from 2% to 25%. The brackets are set in Lebanese pounds and have been raised several times since the currency collapsed: the 2022 Budget Law set them at LBP 18 million to LBP 675 million a year [2], and later budgets have moved them again. Pensions are taxed at half the salary rates [2]. Allowances for you, a spouse and children reduce the taxable amount.

Your Lebanese employer withholds salary tax each month and files it with the Ministry of Finance. You generally don't file a separate return for salary alone, but you should get a payslip and an annual certificate showing tax withheld. Keep these: the ATO will want them.

Freelance and professional income

Self-employed people and freelancers fall under the tax on profits from business and professions. For the 2024 tax year, the Ministry of Finance published these annual brackets [3]:

Family deductions also apply, and the ministry updates them with the brackets [3]. Check the current year's figures with the Ministry of Finance before you file.

Registering and filing

If you work for yourself, you need to register with the Ministry of Finance and get a tax number before you invoice anyone. The ministry now lets taxpayers complete several declaration forms and pay online through its e-services platform, eservices.finances.gov.lb, though paper forms and in-person payment still exist [3].

Here's the practical sequence for a freelancer:

1. Sort your residency status with General Security first. Our work permits guide explains why self-employment by foreigners is restricted.
2. Register with the Ministry of Finance in Beirut and get your tax number.
3. Keep invoices and expense records in both USD and LBP, noting the exchange rate on each date.
4. File your declaration by the deadline for your category, online where available.
5. Keep proof of payment. The ATO only gives an offset for tax you've actually paid.

Many people use a local accountant for the first year. Lebanese tax is full of exchange-rate rules and the forms are in Arabic and French.

Where Australia comes in

Are you still an Australian tax resident?

This is the first question, and our tax residency guide covers it in detail. In short: moving to Beirut doesn't automatically make you a non-resident for Australian tax. The ATO looks at your intentions, home, family, assets and how long you're away.

What "no treaty" actually means

A tax treaty usually does three things: decides who is resident when both countries claim you, limits withholding tax on interest and dividends, and gives each country first right to tax certain income. Australia has more than 40 treaties with countries including the UK, the US, France and Turkiye. Lebanon isn't one of them [1].

Without a treaty:

• There's no tie-breaker. You can be resident in both countries at once and taxed on your worldwide income by both.
• There are no reduced withholding rates. Lebanese tax on interest from Lebanese bank accounts applies at full domestic rates.
• There's no mutual agreement procedure to resolve disputes between the two tax offices.
• There's no social security agreement either [7]. Years of work in Lebanon don't count towards the Australian Age Pension residence test.

The foreign income tax offset still works

The good news: you don't need a treaty to claim the foreign income tax offset (FITO). The ATO says foreign tax on income, profits or gains can count without a treaty, as long as it was correctly imposed under the foreign law and paid, and the income is in your Australian return [5].

• If your offset is AUD 1,000 or less, you just claim the foreign tax you actually paid, up to that amount [5].
• If it's more than AUD 1,000, you work out an offset limit, which can cap your claim at roughly the Australian tax on that foreign income [5].

So if Lebanese tax is lower than Australian tax on the same salary, which is common, you'll usually pay the difference to the ATO. If Lebanese tax is higher, you can't use the excess to reduce tax on your Australian income.

Convert Lebanese tax to Australian dollars using the exchange rate when it was paid or an ATO-accepted average. Our banking guide explains why Lebanon's own exchange rates have been messy.

Mistakes we see

• Assuming remote work is tax-free in Lebanon. It may not be, especially once you pass 183 days or your family lives there [4].
• Forgetting interest on Lebanese accounts. If you're an Australian tax resident, it goes in your return.
• Not keeping proof of Lebanese tax. No certificate, no offset.
• Losing track of days. Keep a travel log, including any time you leave during a security scare.
• Ignoring HECS-HELP. If you become a non-resident, you may still owe compulsory repayments through an overseas debtor return.

Get help

The ATO can answer residency and offset questions, and the Lebanese Ministry of Finance publishes forms and announcements online. For your own numbers, a registered tax agent in Australia who understands foreign income is worth the fee. To swap notes on accountants and filing deadlines, join Cooee Lebanon, our Facebook group for Australians in Lebanon.

Sources

1. Countries and jurisdictions that have a tax treaty with Australia (Guide to foreign income tax offset rules 2025, Attachment A) – ATO
2. Lebanon: Taxes on personal income – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, reviewed July 2026
3. Finance Ministry announces two new income tax features – L'Orient Today
4. Lebanon: Residence – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, reviewed July 2026
5. Guide to foreign income tax offset rules 2026 – ATO
6. Lebanon travel advice – Smartraveller (DFAT)
7. International social security agreements – Department of Social Services

Keep reading

• Working in Lebanon as an Australian: work permits and remote work
• Banking in Lebanon after the crisis: fresh dollars and lollars
• Are you still an Australian tax resident?
• HECS-HELP debt when you live overseas