1 April means that it’s the start of a new FBT year. And as it’s likely to zoom by just as fast as any other year, it’s a good time for employers to look ahead and consider the current state of play relating to their salary packaging program (and fringe benefits in general).
1. Make sure you have your 2023/24 FBT report saved!
It sounds obvious, but the previous year closed off on 31 March, and you should therefore remember to save that end-of-year FBT report. That way, you know it’s ready for you to lodge an FBT return in May (if you even need to lodge one at all). Also, you will have it saved and ready to use when it comes to producing income statements for employees in July.
GO Salary provides FBT reports in the first week of April and they are delivered to the secure internal inboxes of our nominated client contacts. So keep an eye out!
2. Review Your Current Company Vehicle Situation
Do you provide employees with company vehicles which can also be used for personal use? Now is a great time to make sure that your salary packaging provider has all the up-to-date information required to ensure employee benefits are on track from the start of the year. Have some cars changed hands? Perhaps older vehicles have been replaced? Have any private use arrangements for employees changed? These are all important questions to ask as they can have a big impact on the way a salary package is structured.
Not-for-profit organisations salary packaging with GO Salary can have all their car information easily incorporated into the overall salary packaging program. This makes updates easy and greatly reduces risk.
3. Remember – The Salary Packaging Limits Have Reset!
Keep in mind that the salary packaging limits for NFPs are $15,900 for general/household expenses and $2,650 for holiday accommodation/meal entertainment expenses. These limits reset on 1 April this year and can be utilised by each employee by 31 March. This means that if you had employees who were salary packaging at a higher-than-usual amount prior to 1 April, you will need to adjust their per pay deductions now that we’re at the start of a full year.
The most common example of this is an employee who started salary packaging midway through the FBT year and was ‘maximising’ or ‘accelerating’ to get the maximum benefit by 31 March. If they are planning to salary package in ever pay period for the next 12 months, the new per pay deduction amount will need to be adjusted. GO Salary does this automatically.
4. Check Your Participation Numbers
Although this can be done at any stage of the year, it’s good housekeeping to take a look at the number of employees you have salary packaging. If you are an FBT exempt not-for-profit and have a bunch of employees not salary packaging, it’s worth finding out if there’s a particular reason why they haven’t joined. Perhaps they’re brand new and haven’t got around to setting things up yet. Maybe they don’t understand how it all works and need a hand. There can also be personal questions which they want to ask but don’t know how or where to find out more.
There are many ways we can provide information to employees and help them learn more (and get started). We’re always happy to share these resources and initiatives with NFP employers.
5. Take a Look at Your Salary Packaging Program in General
Again, this can be done at any stage, but it’s timely to review your salary packaging program. Is it still fit for purpose? Is salary packaging being offered to the right members of your organisation? What’s the joining process like? Are there benefits which aren’t being offered but you would now like to consider including? Is the integration with payroll as efficient as it can be? Can the compliance process be improved? Regardless of whether you manage your salary packaging program in-house or use a third party provider, it’s always good to ask one or more of these questions each year.
Need a Hand?
Need a hand or want to learn more? Please get in touch with us and we can share our decades of combined experience! Existing GO Salary clients can speak to their usual Care Manager. Not a client of GO Salary? We’re still happy to help, please complete the form here and we’ll get back to you. Or please give us a call on (03) 9955 7380.