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Record keeping

Last updated 13 June 2018

For your tax records, you must keep for five years your:

  • calculations
  • worksheets
  • declarations
  • elections
  • supporting details.

You do not need to submit these with your return. You must also keep for five years any relevant employee declarations and records of fringe benefits provided by associates.

You must make your elections and declarations and obtain all employee declarations by 21 May 2018 unless we have allowed you to lodge it later or you have a later due date.

Record-keeping exemption arrangements

The record-keeping exemption arrangements allow certain employers to choose not to keep certain records for an FBT year if they lodge their FBT return for that year. Instead, we work out your FBT liability for that FBT year using the total taxable value of fringe benefits you provided in an earlier base year when you kept FBT records.

You can elect to use the record-keeping exemption arrangements if all of the following apply for all years between your base year and the year ending 31 March 2018:

  • You are not a government body or income tax exempt body at any time during the year ending 31 March 2018.
  • We have not issued you a notice requiring you to resume record keeping.
  • You were in business for the whole of the base year.
  • You kept FBT records in the base year.
  • You lodged your FBT return for the base year by its due date.
  • The aggregate fringe benefits amount (total of taxable values of all fringe benefits) in the base year did not exceed the exemption threshold for that base year (listed below).
  • You have elected that the record-keeping exemption arrangements apply in all years from the base year to the year ending 31 March 2018.
  • The aggregate fringe benefits amount for the benefits provided in the year ending 31 March 2018 does not exceed the amount in the base year by more than 20%, unless the difference is $100 or less.

See also:

Exemption threshold

For the year ending 31 March 2018, the exemption threshold is $8,393.

See also:

If you use the record-keeping exemption arrangements for the year ending 31 March 2018, you must write at:

  • item 15 the fringe benefits taxable amount you provided in the base year
  • item 23 the taxable value of each category of fringe benefit you provided during the base year.

Calculation rates

For the calculation rates for the FBT year 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018, refer to Fringe benefits tax – rates and thresholds.

Basic car rate – cents per kilometre basis

You now use a single rate per kilometre for all motor vehicles (regardless of the size of the engine).

You must use the basic car rate determined by the Commissioner for the year ending 31 March 2018 where you reimburse an employee on a cents per kilometre basis for certain car expenses.

Basic car rate – cents per kilometre basis

FBT year

Cents per kilometre rate

1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018

Rate for the income year 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018:

66 cents.

See also:

QC54573