The war in Ukraine has now passed the 183-day mark. This unfortunate milestone is a reminder to employers with a dispersed workforce of Ukrainian refugees to take a look at the status of these employees.
Under many tax treaties mirrored after the OECD Model Treaty, the 183-day period implicates a significant threshold: individuals temporarily present in the treaty-party country (the Host Country) may be taxed by that country on income for personal services performed there if the individual resides in the Host Country for over 183 days in a given tax year. This is called the 183-Day Rule.
Few European countries have issued guidance on how they intend to apply the 183-Day Rule to Ukrainian refugees. Although one can hope that European governments will not aggressively pursue refugees as tax residents– at least for tax year 2022 – the absence of guidance in many countries leaves uncertainty for employee-refugees and their employers.
State-specific guidance in response to Ukraine war
Below we highlight the material guidance that has been issued to date.
