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This article applies to:

  • Product: ONESOURCE Fringe Benefits Tax
  • Subject: Workpapers

Housing Benefit Workpaper

Accommodation leased or licensed by an employer to an employee is subject to FBT as a housing benefit when the unit of accommodation is the employee's usual place of residence. The benefit may also be provided by an associate of the employer or by a third party under an arrangement with the employer.
To open the Housing Benefits workpaper, select
Benefits
, then
Housing
 from the navigation bar.

The Workpaper Interface

ONESOURCE Fringe Benefit Tax provides several features that help you find information and let you organise your workspace so that it works best for you.
Customising the Grid
Some columns are hidden by default, and you can select the columns you want to show or hide. To show a hidden columns select the gear icon in the upper right corner and check the checkboxes next to the columns you want to show.
You can also move and resize columns.
Toolbar Ribbon
The icons on the toolbar ribbon above the workpaper provide options for working with the workpaper.
  • Delete:
     Select one or more rows in a workpaper and use the
    Delete
     button to delete individual rows.
  • Delete All
     : Use the
    Delete All
     button to delete all rows on all pages of this workpaper.
  • Upload:
     Use the
    Upload
     button to upload the workpaper.
  • Select All:
     Use the
    Select All
     button to select all rows in the workpaper.
  • Save Layout:
     If you have customised the order of your columns, or have shown or hidden certain columns, you can use the
    Save Layout
     button to lock these choices.
  • Reset Layout:
     If you want to revert to the default column ordering and display, use the
    Reset Layout
     button.
  • Attachments:
     You can select the
    Attachments
     button to attach document, such as supporting evidence or reference information. You can also use this button to download or delete and attachment.
  • Export:
     Use the
    Export
     button to export workpaper data.
  • Refresh:
     Data is validated as you enter and is saved when you select the
    Refresh
     button or move to the next row.
  • Recalculate:
     The software automatically calculates and applies in-house benefit reductions, exemptions and rebates to individual benefits, and displays these in the benefit workpapers dynamically. If you have made changes to a workpaper, select the
    Recalculate
     button to force recalculation of changes to this benefit only.
    note
    The
    Recalculate
     button update only the current workpaper. You can use the
    Recalculate All
     option in the main navigation to recalculate all workpaper data.
    .
  • Freeze Columns:
     You can freeze columns to the left of view by selecting a column and then selecting the
    Freeze Columns
     button. All rows to the left of the selected row will stay in view while all columns to the right will move with the scroll bar.
  • Audit:
     Select a row, then select the
    Audit
     button to show any manual changes that have been made to the workpaper. The Audit Calc history window shows the ID of the user who made the change, the date and time, and the old and new values.
  • Add/Edit Comments:
     Select the
    Add/Edit Comments
     button to add a comment to a workpaper, or change an existing one.

Workpaper details

There are two workpapers for entering housing benefits.
  • The
    House Details tab details
     is used to enter the basic information to value the unit of accommodation.
  • The
    Housing Benefits tab details
     is used to add the employee's tenancy details.
To open the Housing workpaper, select
Benefits
, then
Housing
 from the navigation bar.
Customising the Grid
Some columns are hidden by default, and you can select the columns you want to show or hide. To show a hidden columns select the gear icon in the upper right corner and check the checkboxes next to the columns you want to show.
You can also move and resize columns. See Customising Grids for more information.
House Details tab details
Column heading
Description
House ID
A value is auto-generated or you can enter your own ID.
House Type
Optional - select Owned or Leased.
Description
Optional - max 255 characters.
Address
Optional - max 200 characters.
State
Enter a State or Overseas.
Required
Acquisition Date
Enter the date the accommodation was acquired for providing a benefit.
Required
Disposal Date
Optional - enter the date when the accommodation ceases to be owned/leased. Houses with a disposal date will not roll forward to the next FBT period.
note
If you amend an acquisition or disposal date, be sure you check the corresponding
Start Date
 and
End Date
 in the
Housing benefits
 tab.
Gross up rate
Defaults as Type 2 and can be changed.
In-business?
Enter No or Yes. If you enter Yes, the in-house reduction available for in-business accommodation will be applied.
Required
Valuation amount (per week)
Enter the market valuation of the unit of accommodation. You can find more information on the ATO website here: Housing-fringe-benefits
Valuation Date
Enter the date of the market valuation. This can be the same or later than the acquisition date. Indexation (if applicable) is applied from this date.
Current Rental Amount
Calculated based on date of valuation, locality (State) and market valuation.
Remote?
Select No or Yes. If you select Yes, no taxable value will be calculated.
Reporting Entity
Defaults to the currently filtered reporting entity code and name.
Housing Benefits tab details
Column heading
Description
House ID
Mandatory - select a valid House ID from the dropdown menu.
Required
Employee
The Employee ID is mandatory and needs to exist in the Employee workpaper (for non-reportable benefits the ID is not mandatory). Includes First Name and Last Name.
Required
Cost Centre
The cost centre defaults the employee's cost centre as allocated in the Employee workpaper, or to the default cost centre for non-reportable benefits.
State
Defaults to the employee's default state in the Employee workpaper. Use the dropdown to select a different state if necessary.
Description
A short description of the benefit provided (max 255 characters).
Start Date
Mandatory - Insert the date the benefit is provided by the employer. The date must be within the current active FBT period.
Required
End Date
Optional - The date the accommodation ceases to be provided to the employee.
Temporary Concession Days
Optional - can be used for move-in/move-out days.
No of Occupants
The default is '1' and you should seek tax advice before altering the number of occupants. This number is the count of employees and not the number of family members in a unit of accommodation.
Hidden
RFBA Excluded?
Optional - defaults is 'No'.
Total Allocated Rent (Housing)
Calculated value - 'Current Rental Amount' over period of tenancy.
Benefit share %
This column is provided as a calculation of an employee’s share of the overall allocated rental when the house is shared by two or more employees in an FBT year. This value can be used to apply associated residual, expense and property benefits arising in relation to the employee’s period in the house (E.g. electricity and gas utilities’ charges).
Employee Contribution
This represents the amount contributed by the employee in return for the provision of the benefit, which will reduce the taxable value of the benefit. Value cannot be negative.
Employee Contribution Applied
This is the employees contribution, capped at the benefit Gross Taxable Value. This is calculated as Gross Taxable Value ;(GTV) - Employee Contribution (EC).(capped at GTV). The cap exists as benefit values can not be less than $0.
This value is used for reconciliation with label 23 column (b) on the FBT Form.
Excess Employee Contribution
A calculated value of the amount of the excess employee contribution that exceeds grossed-up taxable value.
Taxable Value
This is a calculation of the taxable value for this benefit row. Used for reconciliation with label 23 on the FBT Form.
Grossed up Taxable Value
Calculated value depending on gross up rate selected.
Reportable Value
Calculated value of reportable fringe benefits taxable value for this benefit. The value shown is capped at the applicable threshold and will display 0.00 until the employee exceeds this cap. The capping test is across all relevant benefit workpapers.
Tax Payable
Calculated value of FBT payable for this benefit.
Exemption Applied, $17,000 Cap
Represents the amount of 17,000 cap used.
Grossed up Taxable Value, $17,000 Cap exceeded by
Represents the amount by which a person exceeded their 17,000 cap.
Tax Payable $17,000 Cap Applied
Represents FBT payable as a result of exceeding the 17,000 cap.
Exemption Applied, $30,000 Cap
Represents the amount of 30,000 cap used.
Grossed up Taxable Value, $30,000 Cap exceeded by
Represents the amount by which a person exceeded their 30,000 cap.
Tax Payable $30,000 Cap Applied
Represents FBT payable as a result of exceeding the 30,000 cap
Standard Category
Can select standard categories created for this benefit workpaper. Defaults as blank.
Benefit ID
An autogenerated ID used for benefit tracking in reports.
Reporting Entity
Defaults to the currently filtered reporting entity code and name.
Checklist tab details
Checklists present questions that you should answer or issues that you should consider while preparing your FBT return. At the end of each checklist, you can click into the information to add comments or sign off on the workpaper.
Notes tab details
The
Notes
 tab provides an area where preparers and reviewers can record information. The format bar lets you apply styles and formatting to notes, similar to applications such as Microsoft Word. You can also insert images and hyperlinks and can print notes.
Housing Benefit Examples
The following are examples of entering a housing benefit in the workpaper.
Non-Shared Accommodation
An employee is provided with a house which had a market-valuation amount of $100 per week. The employee is paying $100 after-tax weekly as rent to the employer. (Calculations will vary from what is shown below depending on the FBT period and indexation rate)
Step 1: Enter the House Details
House Id
Description
House Type
Address
State
Acquisition Date
Valuation Amount (per week)
Valuation Date
Current Rental Amount *
1
Off-site accom
Leased
1 Main Rd
QLD
01/04/2008
$100.00
01/04/2017
$99.90
Current Rental Amount: The ATO’s indexation rates are automatically applied based on the
Valuation date
 and the
State
 in which the property is located to derive the current value.
Step 2: Populate the tenancy period in the Housing Benefits tab
House Id
Employee ID
Start Date
End Date *
Temporary Concession Days *
Total Allocated Rent (Housing)
Employee Contribution
(Rent)
Taxable Value
1
10107
01/04/2018
;
1
$5,195
$4,695
$500
  • The
    End Date
     field should be left blank if accommodation is ongoing.
  • Temporary concession days
     are used to take account of move in/move out days.
Shared accommodation
Shared accommodation arises when two or more employees have access to the same unit of accommodation within an FBT period. Entering the sharings is a little more complicated and can be approached by manually entering or uploading data similarly to how it is shown in this example.
In this example, three employees have been provided accommodation at separate times in a house over the year. Employee 10113 was in the house at the end of the last FBT year and was rolled forward into the new FBT period. The start and end dates are added when employees arrive and leave. The last end date is left blank, and employee 10115 will roll forward to the next FBT period.
note
Overlaps (two or more employees in the same house at the same time) are permitted and are calculated as a 'pro-rata share' of the taxable value.
Step 1: Populate the house details
House ID
Description
House Type
Address
State
Acquisition Date
Valuation Amount
Valuation Date
Current Rental Amount
2
Shared house
Leased
2 Back St
QLD
01/04/2018
$100.00
01/04/2018
$100.00
Step 2: ;Populate the housing benefits for each tenancy period
House ID
Employee ID
Start Date
End Date
Temporary Concession Days *
Total Allocated Rent
Benefit Share % *
2
10108
01/04/2018
01/05/2018
1
$428.57 ;
8.31%
2
10109
02/05/2018
01/10/2018
2
$2,157.14 ;
41.83%
2
10110
02/10/2018
;
1
$2,571.43 ;
49.86%
  • Temporary concession days
     are used to take account of move in/move out days.
  • The
    Benefit Share %
     assists in calculating a use value that could be applied to other accommodation costs for the employees sharing this unit of accommodation, such as utility payments. Note that the housing workpaper does not automate the sharing of other accommodation costs. This would need to be done manually by the preparer. The preparer would need to do this manually.