Reporting exclusion for pooled or shared cars
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 FBT year, and their use was also a car fringe benefit.
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 still have to pay FBT on any car fringe benefits you provided.
You must check each year if the reporting exclusion applies. The use of the car may have varied from the previous year.
Business use of a car is not an exempt benefit (it's not a fringe benefit at all) and cannot be used to qualify the car for the reporting exclusion.
Example: 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.
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
Example: Multiple employees have private use of car
Nalina, an employer, owns a car. She has two 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 example
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 or exempt car benefits for these other employees.
The car is not excluded from reporting because only one employee, Diana, received a car fringe benefit or exempt car benefit.
End of example