An employee's use of a car is not a reportable fringe benefit if both these conditions are met:
- the employee's use of the car was a car fringe benefit
- you allowed another employee to use the same car in the same fringe benefits tax (FBT) year, and their use was also a car fringe benefit.
An employee's private use of an electric car that meets the requirements of the electric cars exemption is not a reportable fringe benefit if you allowed another employee to use the same car in the same FBT year.
In these circumstances, the car is a pooled or shared car for the FBT year. You don't report any employee's use of the car through Single Touch Payroll or on their payment summary.
You must still:
- pay FBT on any car fringe benefits you provided
- check each year if the reporting exclusion applies because the use of the car may have varied from the previous year.
Examples
This example shows a situation where the reporting exclusion does not apply because only one employee who used the car received a car fringe benefit.
Example: private and business use of car
Cara, an employer, owns a car. She allows one of her employees, Diana, to use the car:
- to travel to and from work on weekdays
- on weekends for private trips.
During business hours:
- the car is parked at Cara's business premises and her other employees use it to visit business clients
- Cara does not allow the other employees to use the car for private purposes, and she enforces this restriction.
Cara provides Diana with a car fringe benefit because Diana uses the car for private purposes.
The other employees' use of the car is only for business purposes. Cara provides no car fringe benefits for these other employees.
The car is not excluded from reporting because only one employee, Diana, received a car fringe benefit.
End of exampleThis example shows a situation where the reporting exclusion does apply because all of the requirements of the exclusion are met.
Example: multiple employees have private use of car
Nalina, an employer, owns a car. She has 2 employees, Con and Kellie.
Con uses the car to travel to and from work and for other private purposes, so Nalina provides Con with a car fringe benefit.
Kellie uses the same car during the FBT year, mainly for business purposes. When Con is on holiday, Kellie drives the car to and from work, and uses it outside business hours.
Kellie's private use of the car is a car fringe benefit.
The car is a pooled or shared car during the FBT year and Nalina does not have to report either of her employee's use of the car.
End of exampleThis example shows a situation where reporting exemption applies for the private use of an electric car, because all of the requirements of the exclusion are met.
Example: an electric car
Emma, an employer, owns an electric car. Throughout the FBT year, she allows 2 of her employees, Max and Mark, to use the car:
- to travel to and from work on weekdays
- on weekends for private trips.
Max and Mark's private use of the electric car meets the requirements of the electric car exemption.
The electric car is a pooled or shared car during the FBT year and Emma does not have to report either of her employee's use of the car.
End of exampleThis example shows a situation where the reporting exclusion does not apply because the vehicle is not a car.
Example: a vehicle other than a car
Ted owns a ute that is designed to carry a load of more than 1 tonne. His employees, Gloria and Annabelle, use the ute for private purposes on alternate weekends. The private use of the ute is not exempt from FBT.
For FBT purposes, cars do not include motor vehicles designed to carry a load of 1 tonne or more.
The benefit is not excluded from reporting because the ute is not a car.
End of example