Benefit information

Car parking fringe benefit overview

A car parking fringe benefit occurs when all of the following criteria are met:
  • A car is parked on the business or associated premises of the employer.
  • The car park is within one kilometre of a commercial parking station.
  • On the first business day of the FBT year the operator of a commercial parking station within one kilometre charges more than the car parking threshold per day as its lowest fee for all-day parking. This is a continuous period of six hours or more between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.
  • The car is parked at that premises on a day during the hours of 7:00 am to 7:00 pm for a cumulative total of more than four hours.
  • The car park is provided in respect of employment of the employee and is located at or in the vicinity of the employee's primary place of employment where the employee carries out their duties during the day.
  • The car is used for travel between the employee's place of residence and primary place of employment.
Parking facilities provided to employees who work at night, or who use the car park after-hours (for example, to attend a nearby restaurant or theatre) do not give rise to a car parking fringe benefit. However, car parking provided to employees who work between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm on the weekend may give rise to a car parking fringe benefit if the above criteria are met, even though the hours may not be the normal business hours of the employer.
The provision of car parking fringe benefits is not a reportable benefit for payment summary reporting purposes.
You are not liable for FBT if you provide parking for an employee with a disability. The provision of car parking for disabled employees is exempt, provided the car parking space is visibly designated as being for disabled use.

Commercial parking station

A commercial parking station is a permanent car parking facility where spaces are provided in the ordinary course of business to members of the public for all day parking for a fee.
For the FBT year ended 31 March 2022, the ATO does not regard car parks that usually charge penalty rates significantly higher than other all-day parking facilities as commercial parking stations. For example, shopping centre car parks designed primarily for short term shoppers are not considered commercial parking stations for the year ended 31 March 2022.
However, the ATO changed view applies from 1 April 2022 and car parks that charge penalty rates for all-day parking are considered commercial parking stations after that date.
Primary place of employment: Primary place of employment means the business or associated premises of the employer where the employee performs their employment duties on that day.
Residual benefit: A residual fringe benefit rather than a car parking fringe benefit will arise for the provision of parking for the following vehicles:
  • a motor cycle or
  • road vehicles designed to carry a load of more than 1 tonne, or greater than 8 passengers.
An employer incurs an FBT liability for payments or reimbursements of employees' or associates' car parking expenses. Car parking expense payments fringe benefits occur even if there is no commercial parking station within one kilometre of the car parking spot, or whether the car parking spot is on premises owned or leased by the employer.

Exempt benefits

Exempt employers: Certain employers who are non-profit institutions, such as scientific, religious, charitable or public education institutions, remain exempt from car parking benefits and car parking expense payments fringe benefits. Car parking fringe benefits provided to government employees working in public educational institutions will also be exempt from fringe benefits tax.
Minor benefits exemption: The occasional provision of a car parking benefit, or car parking expense payment benefit can be exempt as a minor fringe benefit under section 58P of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act. However, for this exemption to be applied, the provision of the benefit must meet all ;of the following criteria:
  • Have a notional taxable value of less than $300
  • Minor
  • Infrequent and
  • Irregular
Small business exemption
To qualify for a small business exemption, the following requirements must be satisfied:
  • The employer is not a government body, a listed public company, or a subsidiary of a listed public company.
  • The parking is not in a commercial car park.
  • The sum of the employer's income for the most recent income year ending before the beginning of the FBT year is less than $10 million (inclusive of GST) and your aggregated turnover was less than $50 million.

This article applies to:

  • Product: ONESOURCE Fringe Benefits Tax