Tax Residency in Indonesia: The Three Tests and the 183 Days
Tax residency in Indonesia: the three tests, how the 183 days are counted, when residence starts and ends, and the certificate of domicile for treaty claims.
References (6)
- UU No. 7 Tahun 1983 on income tax (the Income Tax Law), as amended. Article 2(2), (3), (4) and (6), resident and non-resident individuals and companies, as substituted by UU No. 6 Tahun 2023, Article 111. Article 26(1)(d) and (5)(b), withholding from a non-resident and when it is not final, as substituted by UU No. 6 Tahun 2023.
- UU No. 10 Tahun 1994, Article I, item 3, inserting Article 2A into the Income Tax Law, with its elucidation: when residence begins and ends, and the part year.
- UU No. 7 Tahun 2021, Article 3, item 1. Income Tax Law Article 4(1), income from Indonesia and abroad; Article 4(1a) to (1c), the four-year option on Indonesian income only.
- PMK No. 18/PMK.03/2021, Articles 2 to 6: what each residence test means, the 183-day count, the documents that can show the intention to reside, and an Indonesian citizen becoming non-resident. These articles survive the partial revocation by PMK No. 81 Tahun 2024, Article 483.
- PMK No. 81 Tahun 2024, Articles 442 to 446: worldwide income, and the four-year option, who qualifies, when the years run and the application.
- PMK No. 112 Tahun 2025 on applying tax treaties, in force 31 December 2025. Article 1, item 10, Article 3(1)(a), Articles 4 to 6: the certificate of domicile for an Indonesian resident, its conditions, the online request, automatic issue and validity.
Tax residency in Indonesia turns on three tests, and meeting any one of them is enough. You are resident if you live in Indonesia, if you are here for more than 183 days within a 12-month period, or if you are here during a tax year and intend to live here. The tests apply to Indonesian citizens and foreigners alike (Income Tax Law, Article 2(3)(a), as substituted by UU (Undang-Undang, a statute) No. 6 of 2023).
Residence decides what Indonesia taxes. A resident is taxed on income from Indonesia and from abroad (Income Tax Law, Article 4(1), as amended by UU No. 7 of 2021). The payer withholds tax on certain payments to a non-resident (Income Tax Law, Article 26(1)).
Who is resident: the three tests
The tests are alternatives, so the day count is only one route in, and a short stay can still make you resident. The Directorate General of Taxes (Direktorat Jenderal Pajak, DGT) decides where you live, on the actual facts (Income Tax Law, Article 2(6)). The detail of each test is in PMK No. 18/PMK.03/2021, a Minister of Finance regulation (Peraturan Menteri Keuangan), Article 2.
Living in Indonesia
You live in Indonesia if any one of these is true (PMK 18/2021, Article 2(2)):
- you have a home here, owned, rented or available to you, that you can use at any time and that is not just a stopover;
- the main centre of your personal, social, economic or financial life is here;
- your daily routine and activities, such as your hobbies, are here.
More than 183 days within 12 months
Count the 183 days within a 12-month period. The days can be continuous or broken, and part of a day counts as a full day (PMK 18/2021, Article 2(3)).
Here in a tax year, and intending to live here
The intention to live here can be shown by documents such as a permanent stay permit (KITAP), or a limited stay visa (VITAS) or limited stay permit (ITAS) valid for more than 183 days, or a contract to work or do business in Indonesia for more than 183 days. A lease of more than 183 days, or a family moving here, can show it too (PMK 18/2021, Article 2(4)).
So a foreigner arriving on a one-year stay permit, or with a job contract for more than 183 days, can be resident from the start, without waiting out the day count. The documents are evidence of intention, not an automatic switch.
If your position is not clear, we can establish it with you from your permit, contract and travel dates.
When residence starts and ends
Residence starts on the day you arrive, or the day you decide to live here, and ends on your death or when you leave Indonesia for good (Income Tax Law, Article 2A(1)). If you become resident under the 183-day test, residence counts from your first day in Indonesia (elucidation of Income Tax Law, Article 2A(1)).
Leaving for good is judged on the real facts at the time you leave. If there is clear evidence then that you are leaving permanently, you stop being resident from that moment (elucidation of Income Tax Law, Article 2A(1)).
In the year you arrive or leave, the part of the year you were resident takes the place of the tax year (Income Tax Law, Article 2A(6)). How that part year is filed is set out in our guide to the annual personal tax return.
Indonesian citizens moving abroad
An Indonesian citizen becomes non-resident by meeting set conditions, not simply by leaving (Income Tax Law, Article 2(4)(c)). The citizen must (PMK 18/2021, Article 3):
- be outside Indonesia for more than 183 days in 12 months;
- have a permanent home abroad;
- be tax-resident in another country;
- have settled the Indonesian tax for the years as a resident;
- hold the tax office’s certificate confirming the status.
The tax office decides within 30 days of a complete application, and the status runs from the date the person left Indonesia (PMK 18/2021, Articles 4(4) and 5(1)).
What tax residency in Indonesia changes
| Resident | Non-resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Meets any one of the three tests | Meets none of them; a citizen must also meet the conditions above |
| Taxed on | Income from Indonesia and abroad | Indonesian-source income |
| Collected | Settled in your annual return | 20% of the gross on listed payments |
The bands that apply to a resident are in our guide to personal income tax rates. On listed payments such as fees for services, the payer withholds 20% of the gross amount from a non-resident (Income Tax Law, Article 26(1)(d)).
Four years on Indonesian income only
A foreigner with certain expertise who becomes resident can apply to be taxed only on Indonesian income for four tax years, counted from first becoming resident (Income Tax Law, Article 4(1a); PMK 81/2024, Articles 444 and 446). The option is not available to someone who uses a tax treaty for the foreign income (Income Tax Law, Article 4(1c)). Our annual return guide explains who qualifies.
When a company is resident
A company is resident if it is established or domiciled in Indonesia (Income Tax Law, Article 2(3)(b)). A PT PMA (Perseroan Terbatas Penanaman Modal Asing, a limited company with foreign shareholders) is established here, so it is resident. Its foreign parent, set up and based abroad, is not; it can still earn income in Indonesia, through a permanent establishment or otherwise (Income Tax Law, Article 2(4)(d)). When a foreign company’s activity here creates one is covered in our guide to permanent establishment.
The certificate of domicile for treaty claims abroad
The DGT issues a certificate of domicile to Indonesian residents for claiming treaty benefits in the country the income comes from (PMK 112/2025, Article 1, item 10, and Article 3(1)(a)).
What the certificate needs
You can request one if you were resident for the year concerned, hold an NPWP (Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak, the tax number), and have filed the annual return for the latest year that has fallen due, or for the year you ask about (PMK 112/2025, Article 4(3)). The request is made online, through the taxpayer portal or the contact centre (PMK 112/2025, Article 4(4)). The certificate is issued automatically when the conditions are met, and is valid until 31 December of the year it is issued (PMK 112/2025, Article 5(1) and (3)).
If you need one, we can explain how to request it for the country and year you need.
The reverse case, a company or person abroad proving its residence to claim a lower rate on a payment from Indonesia, is covered step by step in our guide to claiming a treaty rate.
Questions people ask
Can I be resident after only a few months?
Can I get a certificate of domicile for an earlier year?
What this means for you
Tax residency in Indonesia is a question of facts: where your home is, where your life is centred, how long you are here and what your permits and contracts show. If you would rather not work this out alone, we can establish your residency position, advise on what follows from it, and prepare and file your annual return; see personal tax.
Check your position before you arrive, or before your first year here ends, and keep the papers that show it.