Albania's 183-Day Tax Residency Rule

At least 183 days in a calendar year is one route to Albanian tax residency. Here is exactly how the count works.

Last verified: August 2026

In short: presence of 183 days or more in a calendar year is one route to Albanian tax residency, so the line is crossed on day 183 rather than day 184. The income tax law says the day you enter and the day you leave are each treated as days of presence. A permanent home, a habitual abode, or your centre of vital interests in Albania are separate routes in, with no day count attached.

Threshold: 183 days or more, so day 183
Counting window: Calendar year
A day counts if: You were physically present for any part of it
Other residence tests: Permanent home, habitual abode, centre of vital interests
Tax year: Calendar year
Legal basis: Law No. 29/2023, Article 8

The rule

Albania treats you as a resident taxpayer if you stay in the country during the tax year for a period, or several periods, totalling 183 days or more. Three points decide most real cases:

The threshold is inclusive. The law says 183 days or more, so a year with exactly 183 days of presence meets this test.
Both ends of a trip count. The statute says in terms that the day of departure and the day of entry are each treated as days of presence in the country, alongside working days and holidays.
The window is the calendar year. The Albanian tax year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December, so the count resets each year.

How to count it

Albania counts calendar days of physical presence, not nights, and the periods do not need to be continuous.

List every Albania trip with its arrival and departure dates.
Count every day on which you were in the country, including the arrival day and the departure day.
Add the stays together within a single calendar year.
If the year total reaches 183, the day-count test is met.

Example. You arrive on 1 May and leave on 30 October, staying continuously.

Counting both the arrival day and the departure day, that is 183 days, which meets the test exactly at the line. Leaving one day earlier would have made it 182, and this test would not have been met.

Beyond the day count

The day count is one of several independent routes, and satisfying any single one of them is enough. Albania also treats you as resident if you have a permanent home there during the tax year, if you have a habitual abode or a place in the country where you carry on your activity, or if your centre of vital interests is in Albania, meaning significant personal or economic ties such as family or a business. Albanian nationals serving their government abroad are residents too. Staying under the line therefore does not by itself make you a non-resident. Two details are worth knowing. Since December 2025 there is a carve-out running the other way: artists who are not Albanian nationals are not treated as tax resident for 24 months from their first entry, regardless of days stayed. And the tax administration's own general instruction paraphrases the test as more than 183 days, while the statute it implements says 183 or more; the law prevails, but it is a discrepancy to be aware of if you are close to the line. If another country also claims you, a double-tax treaty decides residency through tie-breaker rules such as permanent home and centre of vital interests.

AtlasDays tracks Albania's 183-day rule automatically

Log your trips once. The Albania Tax Residency tracker counts every calendar day of the year for you, arrival and departure days included, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before you reach day 183.

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FAQ

How many days can you stay in Albania without becoming a tax resident?

Up to 182 days in a calendar year under this test. Reaching 183 days is enough, because the income tax law says 183 days or more.

Is Albania's rule based on a rolling 365-day period?

Not any more. The repealed 1998 law used a rolling period, and some older summaries still describe it that way, but the law in force since 2024 counts days within the calendar tax year.

Do arrival and departure days count in Albania?

Yes. The statute treats the day of entry and the day of departure as separate days of presence, so both ends of a trip add to the total.

About this article: AtlasDays provides general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your circumstances, so never rely on it alone: check the linked official source or ask a qualified professional.