FBT changes
From 1 April 2016 all small business work‑related portable electronic devices will be FBT free, without any restrictions on quantity provided per employee.
Also from 1 April 2016, the Government has announced that “meal entertainment” benefits (including holidays, cruises, weddings, and meals and alcohol in restaurants) provided by some not-for-profit and public health sector employers will be subject to a new grossed-up exemption cap of $5,000. Meal entertainment benefits are currently uncapped and not reportable for fringe benefits tax.
Childcare subsidy
It is proposed that from 1 July 2017 a single means-tested Child Care Subsidy (CCS) replaced all current types of childcare benefits. The Childcare subsidy will work as follows:
| Annual family income (2017/18) | Subsidy payment | Cap on subsidy |
| Under $65,710 | 85% of actual fee up to hourly fee cap* | No cap |
| Over $170,710 | 50% of actual fee up to hourly fee cap* | No cap |
| Over $185,710 | 50% of actual fee up to hourly fee cap* | $10,000 cap per child (indexed from 1 July 2018) |
* The hourly fee cap in 2017/18 will be set at: $11.55 for long day care; $10.70 for family day care, and $10.10 for outside school hours care.
General items
Motor Vehicle Deductions
From 1 July 2015 there will only be 2 methods of calculating motor vehicle deductions: cents per kilometre method (at one set rate of 66 cents per kilometre) and the log book method. The “12 per cent of original value method” and the “one-third of actual expenses method” will be removed.
HELP repayments
From 1 July 2016 graduates who reside overseas for more than six months and earn over $53,000 (current minimum repayment threshold) will be required to repay their HELP debt as if they resided in Australia. Currently Australians working overseas are not required to repay their HELP debt until they come back to work in Australia.
The Zone Tax Offset
From 1 July 2015, ‘fly-in fly-out’ (FIFO) and ‘drive-in drive-out’ (DIDO) workers will no longer be eligible for the Zone Tax Offset (ZTO) if their normal residence is not within a ‘zone’. Currently, a worker who resides or works in a remote area for more than 183 days in an income year is eligible for this offset.
The Medicare levy thresholds will increase from 1 July 2015 to account for changes in CPI. The new thresholds are:
| Singles | $20,896 |
| Couples with no children | $35,261 |
| Additional threshold for each dependent child | $3,238 |
| Single seniors and pensioners | $33,044 |
Submitted by: Julia Katrich – Manager
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