Complete guide to Fringe Benefits Tax in Australia for 2025. What counts as a fringe benefit, the 47% FBT rate, common exemptions, and how it affects employees and employers.
Fringe benefits tax is paid by your employer, not by you. If your employer gives you something other than salary — a car, a gym membership, a low-interest loan, their share of your phone bill — they may owe FBT on it at 47%.
You will never receive an FBT bill. But a large enough benefit shows up on your income statement as a reportable fringe benefits amount, and that figure follows you into several income tests that can cost you real money.
If you want the arithmetic, the FBT calculator handles both car methods, the gross-up rates and the electric car exemption. This page is about what FBT means for you.
| Your employer | You | |
|---|---|---|
| Pays the 47% tax | Yes | No |
| Lodges an FBT return by 21 May | Yes | No |
| Pays income tax on the benefit | — | No |
| Sees it on their income statement | — | Yes, above $2,000 |
| Has it counted in income tests | — | Yes |
This split surprises people. A packaged car is not taxed in your hands at all, which is exactly why salary packaging can be worth doing. The catch is the last row, and it is where most of the confusion in this topic lives.
If the benefits you received have a taxable value over $2,000 in an FBT year, your employer must report a grossed-up figure on your income statement. It is not income and you pay no tax on it, but it is counted when working out:
A useful mental model: the benefit is invisible to income tax and visible to almost everything else. Whether packaging leaves you ahead depends on your circumstances, which is why two colleagues on the same salary can get opposite answers from the same arrangement.
One further detail worth knowing: the reportable amount is grossed up at the lower rate of 1.8868, regardless of whether the benefit was Type 1 or Type 2. So a $3,000 taxable value appears as roughly $5,660 on your income statement.
Packaging works when the tax your employer pays on the benefit is less than the tax you would have paid on the equivalent cash. That happens in three situations.
| Situation | Why it works |
|---|---|
| The benefit is exempt | No FBT at all — a work laptop, an eligible electric car, or a benefit you could have claimed as a deduction yourself |
| You work for a PBI, charity or public hospital | Capped FBT exemptions mean a substantial amount can be packaged with no FBT payable |
| You make an employee contribution | Paying part of the cost from after-tax salary reduces the taxable value dollar for dollar |
Outside those cases, the maths is usually unattractive. At 47% on a grossed-up value, a fringe benefit costs an employer close to twice its face value. A $10,000 Type 1 benefit costs them $19,777 all up. Employers do not absorb that difference — it comes out of the package, so you are effectively paying for it in foregone salary.
| Ask before packaging | Why |
|---|---|
| Is this benefit exempt or concessionally treated? | If not, the FBT usually erases the advantage |
| What is the reportable amount? | It feeds the income tests above |
| Am I near a Medicare levy surcharge or HECS threshold? | Crossing one can outweigh the saving |
| Are there packaging administration fees? | Providers charge, and it comes out of your package |
| What happens if I leave? | Novated lease obligations can follow you |
This is the single largest FBT concession available to ordinary employees, and the rules have changed twice with more scheduled.
A battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell car is exempt from FBT if it was first held and used on or after 1 July 2022 and its value at first retail sale was below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold — $91,661 for 2026–27. Above that threshold there is no exemption at all.
Plug-in hybrids stopped qualifying for new arrangements on 1 April 2025. If your arrangement was already in place and the car was used or available before that date, the exemption continues for the life of that arrangement. A new PHEV lease now attracts full FBT.
Two further changes have been announced. The following reflects legislation and government announcements current at the time of writing (August 2026) and could change. From 1 April 2027, the full exemption is expected to apply only to electric cars under $75,000, with cars between that and the LCT threshold receiving a 25% FBT discount. From 1 April 2029, the full exemption is scheduled to be replaced entirely by a 25% discount. Existing leases have been flagged as unaffected, which makes the date you enter an arrangement genuinely consequential.
And the detail almost everyone misses: an exempt electric car is still reportable. No FBT is payable, but the grossed-up value still counts towards your reportable fringe benefits amount and still feeds every income test listed above.
| Usually a fringe benefit | Usually not |
|---|---|
| A company car available for private use | Salary, wages and bonuses (taxed as income) |
| Car parking provided near work | Superannuation contributions |
| Gym memberships and club fees | A work laptop or phone used mainly for work |
| Employer-paid private health insurance | Protective clothing and tools of trade |
| Low or no-interest loans | Minor benefits under $300, provided irregularly |
| Entertainment, meals and functions | Taxi travel to or from work in a single trip |
| Reimbursed personal expenses | Genuine redundancy payments |
| Discounted goods from the employer | Work-related training you could have deducted |
Benefits given to your family can also count. A car provided to your spouse through your employment is a fringe benefit assessed against your employer, because the test is whether the benefit arises from the employment relationship — not who ends up holding the keys.
This trips up employers and employees alike. FBT does not follow the income tax year.
Note the mismatch: the FBT year ends 31 March while the income tax year ends 30 June. A benefit provided in May falls into the FBT year that began the previous April, and lodgement is due by 21 May — or later if you lodge through a registered tax agent.
Before 1986, paying part of a salary as benefits was an effective way to avoid income tax. A company car, a subsidised loan and a paid club membership were worth real money and attracted no tax at all, and the arrangement worked best for people on the highest marginal rates.
The Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 closed that by taxing the benefit at the employer level, at the top marginal rate plus the Medicare levy. That is where 47% comes from — 45% plus 2%. The gross-up exists for the same reason: it converts the benefit back into the pre-tax salary an employee would have needed to buy the thing themselves.
Understanding this explains most of the odd corners of the system. The exemptions are for things an employee could have deducted anyway, or things the government wants to encourage. Everything else is taxed as though it were salary, because that is what it is.
| If you want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Work out FBT on a car or other benefit | FBT Calculator |
| Check whether the Medicare levy surcharge applies | Medicare Levy Calculator |
| Estimate your compulsory HECS-HELP repayment | HECS-HELP Calculator |
| See your tax at current rates | Income Tax Calculator |
| Understand salary sacrificing into super | Salary Sacrifice and Super |
| Read about avoiding the Medicare levy surcharge | Medicare Levy Surcharge Guide |
| Check this year’s income tax rules | Income Tax Guide 2025–26 |
Rates and rules on this page were checked against the following on 4 August 2026. Where a figure is indexed or subject to legislation, confirm the current value before relying on it.
General information only, not tax advice. Your circumstances determine what applies to you — check with the ATO or a registered tax agent.
Do employees pay fringe benefits tax?
No. FBT is assessed on and paid by the employer. Employees pay no FBT and no income tax on the benefit itself. What does affect you is the reportable fringe benefits amount on your income statement, which counts in several income tests.
What is a reportable fringe benefits amount?
A grossed-up figure that appears on your income statement when the benefits you received have a taxable value over $2,000 in an FBT year. It is not taxed, but it counts towards the Medicare levy surcharge, HECS-HELP repayments, family assistance and child support assessments.
Does a reportable fringe benefit increase my tax?
Not directly — you pay no income tax on it. Indirectly it can, because it is included in the income tests for the Medicare levy surcharge and HECS-HELP repayments. Crossing a threshold in either can cost more than the packaging saved.
Why is the FBT rate 47%?
It matches the top marginal income tax rate of 45% plus the 2% Medicare levy. The design taxes a benefit at the rate the highest-earning employee would have paid on equivalent cash, which removes the incentive to pay salary as benefits.
Is salary packaging worth it?
It depends on the benefit. Packaging works well where the benefit is exempt, where you work for a charity or public hospital with capped exemptions, or where you make an employee contribution. Outside those cases the FBT usually erases the advantage, since a benefit costs an employer roughly twice its face value.
Are electric cars still FBT exempt?
Battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars are, if first held and used on or after 1 July 2022 and valued below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold of $91,661 for 2026–27. Plug-in hybrids stopped qualifying for new arrangements from 1 April 2025.
Is an exempt electric car still reportable?
Yes, and this catches many people out. No FBT is payable, but the grossed-up value still counts towards your reportable fringe benefits amount if it exceeds $2,000, so it still affects the Medicare levy surcharge, HECS-HELP repayments and family assistance.
Is my work laptop a fringe benefit?
Generally not. Portable electronic devices used primarily for work are exempt, and small businesses may provide more than one similar item per year. The test is primary work use, so a device bought mainly for personal use would not qualify.
When does the FBT year end?
31 March, not 30 June. The FBT year runs 1 April to 31 March, and employers lodge and pay by 21 May, or later through a registered tax agent. This is a common source of confusion because it differs from the income tax year.
Can a benefit given to my spouse attract FBT?
Yes. Benefits provided to an employee's associate, including a spouse or child, attract FBT if they arise from the employment relationship. The test is the connection to employment, not who ultimately uses the benefit.
How do I work out the FBT on a car?
Use the statutory formula — base value × 20% × days available ÷ 365, less employee contributions — or the operating cost method if you have a valid logbook. Our FBT calculator handles both, along with the gross-up rates and the electric car rules.
What is the minor benefits exemption?
Benefits under $300 in taxable value are exempt where they are provided infrequently and irregularly. Both conditions apply — a $250 gift given every month is neither, so it would not qualify for the exemption.