02 Dec Can staff celebrations attract FBT?

With the holiday season coming up, employers may be planning to celebrate with their employees.

Before they hire a restaurant or book an event, employers should make sure to work out if the benefits they provide their employees are considered entertainment-related, and therefore subject to fringe benefits tax (‘FBT’).  This will depend on:

• the amount they spend on each employee;
• when and where the celebration is held;
• who attends — is it just employees, or are partners, clients or suppliers also invited?
• the value and type of gifts they provide.

Employers who do provide entertainment-related fringe benefits should keep records detailing all of this information so they can calculate their taxable value.