Reportable fringe benefits

What you need to do

If the total value of the reportable fringe benefits you provide to an employee during the year is more than $2,000, you must report the benefits through Single Touch Payroll or on the employee's payment summary.

Step 1: Work out which benefits are reportable

Most fringe benefits are reportable. However, there are some exceptions.

Benefits you don't report

Some benefits are not reportable, including:

• car parking fringe benefits where you provide the car parking facilities for an employee
  • if you reimburse an employee's expense for car parking and it is an expense payment fringe benefit, it is reportable
   
• car benefits from private use of pooled or shared cars
• meal entertainment benefits, related travel and accommodation, and entertainment facility leasing benefits, where these are not provided under a salary sacrifice arrangement
• remote area housing assistance, home ownership schemes, and repurchase schemes
• the cost of occasional travel to a major Australian population centre for an employee living in a remote area
• emergency or other essential health care your employee receives as an Australian citizen or permanent resident
  • while working outside Australia
  • for which they can't claim a Medicare benefit
   
• benefits your employee receives to ensure their security and personal safety because of their job.

If a benefit is not reportable, you don't include it when:

• calculating the total value of benefits provided to an employee
• reporting the employee's fringe benefits through Single Touch Payroll or on their payment summary.

For a full list of benefits that are excluded from reporting, see FBT Guide: 5 Reportable fringe benefits.

Exempt not-for-profit organisations

If a benefit you provide to an employee is exempt solely because your organisation is exempt from fringe benefits tax (FBT), it is a reportable fringe benefit.

You need to calculate and report the notional taxable value of the benefit. This means you calculate the taxable value of the benefit as if your organisation was not exempt from FBT.

Although these benefits are reportable, they remain exempt from FBT.

Electric cars

Although the private use of an eligible electric car is exempt from FBT, the benefit is reportable. You will need to work out the notional taxable value of the benefits associated with the private use of the exempt electric car.

Step 2: Work out if you need to report

Add up the taxable value of the reportable fringe benefits for each employee.

You need to report for an employee if the taxable value of their reportable fringe benefits is more than $2,000 in the FBT year (1 April to 31 March).

When you add up the reportable benefits provided to an employee, include:

• the employee's share of any benefits they share with other employees
• the value of any benefits provided to the employee's associates, such as their partner.

Step 3: Calculate the reportable fringe benefits amount

The amount you report for an employee is called their reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA).

The RFBA is 'grossed-up' to reflect the pre-tax income the employee would have had to earn, at the highest marginal tax rate (plus the Medicare levy), to buy the benefits themselves.

To calculate the RFBA for an employee:

• take the total taxable value of the reportable fringe benefits provided to the employee (the amount you worked out at step 2)
• multiply this amount by the lower (type 2) gross-up rate. For the FBT year ending 31 March 2022, this rate is 1.8868.

You do not use the higher (type 1) gross-up rate to calculate the RFBA. This is the case even if you use the higher rate to calculate the amount of FBT to pay on the fringe benefit.

Step 4: Report the employee's amount

You report each employee's RFBA:

• through Single Touch Payroll or on their payment summary
• for the income year that ends straight after the FBT year ends.

For example, benefits you provide during the FBT year ending 31 March 2022 would be reported through Single Touch Payroll or payment summaries for the income year ending 30 June 2022.

The RFBA is not part of your employee's assessable income. You need to report it because it is included in income tests for some government benefits and obligations.

Employee leaves between 1 April and 30 June

If an employee leaves between 1 April and 30 June, and received reportable fringe benefits with a taxable value of more than $2,000 during that period, you report the RFBA in the next income year.

For example, if the benefits were provided between 1 April and 30 June 2022, you would report them through Single Touch Payroll or on the employee's payment summary for the income year ending 30 June 2023. You need to do this even though there are no wages or salary to report for that employee for the income year.

For more information about reportable fringe benefits, including how to amend a reported amount and exemptions for certain entities and circumstances, see FBT guide: 5 Reportable fringe benefits.

Work out which fringe benefits to report in employees' income information, and calculate the reportable amount.