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2023 FBT Return Preparation – Full Day Online Live Workshop – Tuesday 21 February 2023

ONLINE 21 FEBRUARY 2023 REGISTER HERE

2023 FBT Return Preparation – Full Day Online Live Workshop – Thursday 30 March 2023

ONLINE 30 MARCH 2023 REGISTER HERE

Our full day online live FBT Workshops are focussed on Preparing the 2023 FBT Return and Reportable Fringe Benefits amounts. These FBT Workshops are ideal for those who prefer remote learning and / or prefer to access the recording at a later more convenient time.

What can you expect?
A comprehensive update on the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) changes for 2023 and 2023 FBT Return Preparation, including:

  1.  Recent law and ATO changes
  2. Electric Vehicles – how to claim exemption and reporting requirements
  3. The $1 billion FBT gap and how the ATO intends to close the FBT gap
  4. Overview including Type 1 and Type 2 benefits and employee contributions
  5. Explaining and analysing all 13 Fringe Benefit categories – how to value and exemptions / concessions available
  6. How to prepare the 2023 FBT Return form
  7. Special rules for Exempt and Rebatable Employers
  8. Full coverage on all benefit categories, exemptions and concessions
  9. Salary Packaging – how it works and the best benefits to package

Online Attendees will be provided with:

• A full set of presentation notes
• A detailed 2023 FBT Technical Manual
• Our 2023 FBT Essentials Checklist
• An attendance certificate for CPD/CPE

ABOUT OUR TRAINERS

Peter Adams – Co-founder of Tight 5 Solutions, incorporating Easy As Tax Finder.
Peter is a captivating public speaker. Having held senior tax positions with KPMG, PWC, BNP-Paribas and Chase Manhattan, Peter regularly talks at professional association events about current tax issues.

Paul Mather – Founder of FBT Salary Packaging Solutions and Co-founder of Tight 5 Solutions, incorporating Easy As Tax Finder.
Paul is an accomplished trainer with over 25 years’ experience. Most recently Paul has over 12 years experience running his own practice FBT Salary Packaging Solutions and prior to that 10 years with EY Sydney specialising in Employment Taxes and Indirect Taxes.


2023 FBT Training

We will be offering a range of training options in early 2023, to assist FBT Return preparers and reviewers with preparing the 2023 FBT Returns and reporting on Employee Payment Summary.

Please click here for more information. https://fbtsolutions.com.au/fbt-return-preparation-full-day-workshops/

 

 


Electric Car FBT exemption awaiting Royal Assent

The exemption will cover zero or low emission vehicles, with values below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel efficient cars (currently $84,916), being:

  • Battery electric vehicles
  • Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles
  • Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

Second hand cars can qualify, but only if their first retail sale was on 1 July 2022 or later.

Salary packaged cars qualify for the exemption.

The exemption does not cover vehicles other than ‘cars’ as defined in the FBT law. Any vehicles designed to carry one tonne or more, or nine passengers or more, will not qualify for this particular exemption. (however the existing residual benefit exemption may apply).

The exemption applies retrospectively from 1 July 2022, to cars first held and used by a person on 1 July 2022 or later. Cars ordered prior to 1 July 2022 will qualify if they were not delivered until 1 July 2022 or later.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from FBT after 1 April 2025. Pre-existing arrangements with such cars can continue as FBT exempt until the end of the particular arrangement.

Private use of these cars will still result in reportable fringe benefits for employees, including for employees of not-for-profit employers. Therefore employers will still need to perform FBT related calculations for these vehicles.


One of the topics we discussed in the August LET’S TALK FBT & SALARY PACKAGING webinar was ATO focus on Small Business, their Tax Agents, and FBT Audit activity.

Here is a link to the webinar recording: Let’s Talk FBT & Salary Packaging

I wanted to share with you important information to provide “real life” context to the topic. Whilst many people believe that the ATO do not conduct FBT audits – this is a very old myth. The ATO are actively conducting FBT Audits.

Who do the ATO select for an FBT Audit?

Here are some common examples of businesses that are selected for FBT Audit, including:

  1. Businesses with one or more registered motor vehicles
  2. Businesses who are not registered for FBT
  3. Businesses who have not lodged FBT returns
  4. Businesses who have not declared employee contributions in their income tax returns
  5. Businesses who have not remitted GST on employee contributions in their BAS

What information do the ATO require for the FBT Audit?

The ATO information request for an FBT Audit can be extensive. Some of the information requested is often not even directly related to FBT. Examples of the information requested by the ATO for an FBT Audit, includes:

  1. Reason why you have not lodged FBT returns
  2. Financial Statements
  3. Detailed tax reconciliation of accounting profit to taxable income
  4. Depreciation schedule and calculations for motor vehicles
  5. Motor vehicle information including purchase invoices, leasing documentation, service records, logbook records, odometer records including opening and closing odometer records for each FBT year, driver name, address where the motor vehicle is normally garaged, sale date and sale information if relevant
  6. Details of employee contributions including journal entries and general ledger accounts
  7. Details of GST remitted on employee contributions

To download the sample ATO FBT Audit letter, please click here: Sample ATO FBT audit letter

To download the  ATO FBT Checklist, please click here: Sample ATO FBT audit letter


Many employers have mobile employees. This can be as simple as having employees undertaking regular business travel, or can be more extensive with employees relocating temporarily or permanently, employees on Living Away From Home arrangements, employees living and working in Remote Areas or on FIFO in to Remote and Non Remote areas, and international assignments.

Did you know that Relocations are the most popular topic for seeking ATO advice by way of Private Binding Rulings? So why is this…

Relocations is an FBT area that is not necessarily specific to a benefit category but is analysed based on an individual employee’s circumstances. Depending on the employee’s circumstances, there are a number of scenarios (and FBT exemptions and concessions) that may apply, as follows:

  • Business Travel
  • Personal Travel
  • Mix of Business and Personal Travel
  • Temporary Relocation
  • Permanent Relocation
  • Fly in Fly Out
  • Remote Area residence
  • Temporary Resident (Expatriate)

For each of the above scenarios (employee’s), it is necessary to understand what financial assistance has been / will be provided?

  1. Reimbursement of employee expenses
  2. Paid direct to supplier
  3. Provided directly by employer or related employer
  4. Allowance, whether taxed or tax free
  5. Reimbursed or paid and Salary Packaged
  6. Paid by a related employer (local or offshore)

It is important to understand ATO guidance. Recently the ATO has released three draft public rulings in relation to Employee Travel expenses and Employee work expenses – these rulings whilst subject to finalisation, provide a degree of uncertainty.

In the table below, we summarise the rulings. For each of these draft rulings we are not aware of the intended finalisation date by the ATO, noting that TR2017/D6 has been in draft format for nearly 3 years.

Draft ruling Issue date Notes
TR 2017/D6 – Income tax and fringe benefits tax: when are deductions allowed for employees’ travel expenses 28 June 2017 Comments closed: 11 August 2017 TR 2017/D6 replaces MT2030 Fringe Benefits Tax: living-away-from-home allowance benefits withdrawn effective 28 June 2017
TR 2019/D4 – Income tax: employees: deductions for work expenses undersection 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 6 November 2019 Comments closed: 6 December 2019 Draft ruling contains a listing of all past related taxation rulings, ATOID’s, practice statements and tax determinations
TR 2019/D7 – Income tax: when are deductions allowed for employees’ transport expenses 13 December 2019 Comments by: 28 February 2020 Where TR 2019/D7 overlaps or has differing views from TR 2017 /D6, then TR 2019/D7 is current ATO view