Overview
From 1 April 2024, for certain benefits for a fringe benefits tax (FBT) year, you can choose to:
- rely on alternative records (as determined by the Commissioner by legislative instrument)
- keep and retain the records in the current approved form – a travel diary or some employee declarations for FBT record keeping purposes
- use a combination of both methods for each employee for each benefit.
Where you choose to use the alternative records option, you must have the minimum information required at the time of lodging your FBT return for the FBT year (or by the 21 May if you do not have to lodge a return). The Commissioner will accept these records as a substitute for a travel diary or certain employee declarations.
There is no limit on the number of records that may, together, meet the information requirements.
The option to use alternative records is available on a benefit-by-benefit basis.
An employer may choose to use alternative records for some benefits of one type, even if they choose to rely on records in the approved form for other benefits of that same type.
Using the alternative records method doesn't change what information you need to hold to support your FBT return under the FBT law. It changes the prescriptive format and process for obtaining and holding that information.
- The minimum information required is listed below in the corresponding legislative instruments that deal with travel diaries and some employee declarations.
- Each legislative instrument is accompanied by an explanatory statement which provides a plain English explanation of the instrument, including examples, and other information required by law.
Records where there's an alternative record keeping option
An alternative record option is available from 1 April 2024 onwards for the following records:
- Travel diary
- Living-away-from-home-allowance – FIFO/DIDO declaration
- Living-away-from-home – maintaining an Australian home declaration
- Otherwise deductible rule – expense payment, property or residual benefit declaration
- Otherwise deductible rule – private use of a vehicle other than a car declaration
- Car travel to an employment interview or selection test declaration
- Remote area holiday transport declaration
- Overseas employment holiday transport declaration
- Car travel to certain work-related activities declaration
- Relocation transport declaration
- Temporary accommodation relating to relocation declaration
You can continue to use the current approved forms or records for these fringe benefits. See Travel diary or Employee declarations.
Eligibility to use alternative records
To use the alternative records option:
- check if a legislative instrument has been made by the Commissioner for the benefit you are providing. If not, you will need to use the current approved form for the travel diary or employee declaration
- check whether you have, or can get, the information required which is set out in the legislative instrument and explanatory statement. If not, you will need to use the current approved form for the travel diary or employee declaration
- if you have, or can get, the information required, you will need to ensure you have all the information required by the due date for lodgment of your FBT return (or the 21 May if you don't have to lodge a return). If not, you will need to use the current approved form for the travel diary or employee declaration.
An alternative record keeping option isn't available for all fringe benefits or all situations where fringe benefits may be provided.
For some records, like some declarations or logbooks and odometer records, employers will need to continue to meet their record keeping obligations by having the record in the approved form.
You don't need to let us know if you're using the alternative record keeping option – your business records will show this.
Types of alternative records
You can use multiple different alternative records and in different forms.
When looked at together, if the multiple different records used have the minimum information required in the legislative instrument, the alternative record requirements will be met.
For example, records can be stored electronically or in paper form, and the information required could be contained in various types of documents such as employment contracts, payroll records, job descriptions, employer and employee correspondence (for example emails or text messages), logbooks, employer policies, hotel receipts, employee itineraries, conference programs and calculations of private travel.
Examples using the alternative records keeping option
Example: alternative records instead of a travel diary
Employer A Ltd sends their employee, Sam, overseas for 2 weeks to attend meetings with a client. All of Sam's trip is for work purposes.
Employer A Ltd reimburses Sam for her flights and accommodation which have been booked in Sam's name. These are expense payment fringe benefits, and the otherwise deductible rule can apply to reduce the taxable value of the benefit.
Sam keeps a work calendar on her work computer to schedule and record her appointments and activities. All her planned flights and business meetings for her overseas trip are put into the calendar in advance and she updates her calendar if there are unplanned changes to her schedule at the time of the change or shortly after.
Sam applies to have her flights and accommodation reimbursed and sends her employer's payroll area a copy of her work calendar for the period of her travel.
Because Sam's travel is for more than 5 consecutive nights, Employer A Ltd would need to get a travel diary to apply the otherwise deductible rule. Employer A checks and sees that a determination has been made by the Commissioner for travel diaries. They then look at the legislative instrument and explanatory statement and see that Sam's work calendar has all the information required by the legislative instrument.
Employer A chooses to use the alternative record keeping option – a copy of Sam's work calendar is kept in Employer A Ltd's business records instead of obtaining a travel diary from Sam.
End of example
Example: otherwise deductible rule – business records instead of a declaration
B Co Ltd owns a mobile phone which they loan to their office manager, Steve.
Steve is allowed to use the phone for both personal and work-related purposes. There are no restrictions on the amount of personal use of the phone and B Co Ltd pays the mobile phone bills each month.
At the end of the FBT year, Steve emails his manager and describes the purpose of his phone use and the percentage of phone usage Steve has calculated that was work-related.
Providing Steve with the use of a mobile phone is a residual fringe benefit and the otherwise deductible rule can apply to reduce the taxable value of the benefit.
B Co Ltd checks and sees that a determination has been made by the Commissioner for the otherwise deductible rule for residual fringe benefits. They then look at the legislative instrument and explanatory statement to see the information required by the legislative instrument.
B Co Ltd chooses to use the alternative record keeping option instead of obtaining an employee declaration from Steve. The emails between B Co Ltd and Steve and copies of the mobile phone bills have, when looked at together, the minimum information required by the determination.
End of example
Example: living-away-from-home allowance – employees maintain Australian home – business records instead of an employee declaration
Vanessa is a teacher who agrees to teach at Primary School in Cairns for 3 months. This is the first time she has taught in Cairns.
Vanessa rents a home in Cairns for 3 months. Her husband continues to live at their family home in Brisbane during this time.
Vanessa's employer, Primary School, pays her a living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA). Vanessa must apply through Primary School's payroll system to have the allowance paid.
When Vanessa applies for the LAFHA, Primary School's payroll system asks her to confirm that:
- she is living away from a home in Australia that she or her spouse own or lease
- the home is available for Vanessa's immediate use
- she intends to go back to living at the home once her employment duties no longer require her to live away from it.
Vanessa is also asked to give the address where she will be living while working for Primary School, and her home address in Brisbane that she is living away from. Vanessa is required under her employment contract to let Primary School know if there are any changes to these addresses.
Primary School pays Vanessa a LAFHA to compensate her for additional expenses and other disadvantages suffered, because her employment duties required her to live away from her home in Brisbane.
Primary School checks, and the alternative record keeping option is available instead of getting an employee declaration from Vanessa about maintaining an Australian home. The payroll records, LAFHA application in the payroll system and contract of employment, when looked at together, have the minimum information required by the determination.
End of example