{"id":1284,"date":"2024-02-13T14:15:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T03:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salarypackagingpeople.com.au\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2024-02-13T14:15:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T03:15:14","slug":"fbt-year-end-what-it-means-for-your-salary-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salarypackagingpeople.com.au\/fbt-year-end-what-it-means-for-your-salary-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"FBT Year End: What it Means for Your Salary Packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not often you get told to spend, spend, spend. But this is one of those times. You\u2019ve probably been responsible with your finances for most of the year, but when it comes to salary packaging – the fringe benefits tax year end (FBTYE) is here, and that means a few very important things if you\u2019re planning on getting all the benefits out of salary packaging in the coming year. In this blog, we\u2019ll cover exactly how the end of the FBT year affects salary packaging and all the best ways to get the most out of this side of the financial year.<\/p>\n

When is the end of the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year?<\/h3>\n

The FBT year runs from the 1st of April to the 31st of March every year. The tax office made this decision to try to reduce the pressure of having to do fringe benefit reporting on top of the usual tax return, which is required at the end of the traditional financial year.<\/p>\n

What does the end of the FBT year mean for me?<\/h3>\n

As we salary package expenses, we use more and more of the allocated yearly amount available to each of us. As we do so, our \u2018salary packaging account balance\u2019 gets used up. The reason the end of the Fringe Benefits Tax season is important is because when the FBT year restarts, your allowance restarts, too.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down –<\/p>\n

Any unused salary packaging funds you might still have in your salary packaging \u2019account\u2019 on the 31st of March 2024, will be taken off your salary packaging cap allowance in the new FBT year. By not spending that amount, it\u2019s assumed that you either don\u2019t need it or can\u2019t spend it. The actual funds are transferred over (you don\u2019t lose the money!), and the value is then deducted from your new cap allowance – which is the amount you can salary package in the coming year.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example to make sure you don\u2019t miss out \u2013<\/p>\n

If your salary packaging cap is $15,900 – and you currently have a balance of $200 on your salary packaging card on the 31st of March, you\u2019ll only have $15,700 in the coming fringe benefits tax year for 2024.<\/p>\n

This means that your goal until the tax year ends is to make sure you\u2019ve spent everything in your \u2018salary packaging account\u2019.<\/p>\n

So where can I spend the balance?<\/h3>\n

Luckily, there are a ton of things you can spend the balance on. To simplify it, we\u2019ve compiled a list of the most popular ways to do that. You can spend it on:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n