FBT due dates, 2027 FBT yearThe 2027 FBT year runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The FBT return due date is 21 May 2027 if you lodge it yourself, and generally 25 June 2027 if a registered tax agent lodges it electronically. Payment is due the same day. This page gives the dates, the rate and gross-up figures the ATO has published for the year, the benefits that catch most small businesses, and the records to keep.
The short answer
The FBT return due date for the 2027 FBT year is 21 May 2027, and the FBT is paid by the same date. The FBT year runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. An employer who lodges without an agent must lodge and pay by 21 May 2027 (ATO, Lodging your FBT return and paying, last updated 10 September 2026).
If a registered tax agent lodges the return electronically, lodgement and payment are generally due on 25 June 2027. One catch: you must be on the agent’s FBT client list by 21 May 2027, so an employer who goes to an agent for the first time after that date misses the June date (ATO, Registered agent lodgment program, June 2027). A paper return through an agent is still due 21 May.
Both dates are Fridays in 2027, so the rule that a due date on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next business day does not shift them. If you are registered for FBT but have nothing to pay, the ATO asks for its notice of non-lodgment form (NAT 3094) by the same date. If last year’s FBT was $3,000 or more, you pay quarterly instalments through your activity statements and settle the balance with the annual return.
The dates
Every date here is for the FBT year ending 31 March 2027. The return for the year ended 31 March 2026 was due on 21 May 2026, or 25 June 2026 through an agent, and is late if it has not been lodged.
| What | Due date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FBT year | 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 | Benefits are counted by the date they are provided |
| FBT return and payment, lodged by the employer | 21 May 2027 | Electronically through SBR-enabled software, or on paper |
| FBT return and payment, lodged electronically by a registered tax agent | Generally 25 June 2027 | You must be on the agent’s FBT client list by 21 May 2027 |
| FBT return and payment, lodged on paper by a registered tax agent | 21 May 2027 | The June date applies only to electronic lodgement |
| Join a tax agent’s FBT client list | By 21 May 2027 | Contact the agent before 21 May if this is their first FBT year for you |
| Notice of non-lodgment (NAT 3094) | By 21 May 2027 | For employers registered for FBT with nothing to pay |
| Quarterly FBT instalments | With each activity statement | Where last year’s FBT was $3,000 or more. Every activity statement for the year, including the March 2027 quarter, must be lodged before the FBT return. Dates are in our BAS due dates guide |
| Choice of car and meal entertainment valuation methods | By the return due date | No notice to the ATO; the business records show the choice. With no return to lodge, the choice is made by 21 May |
| Reportable fringe benefits on employees’ income statements | With the end of year payroll finalisation | Where the total taxable value of certain benefits to one employee is more than $2,000 |
| Keep FBT records | 5 years from the date the return is lodged | Or 5 years from 21 May if no return is needed |
Sources: ATO, Lodging your FBT return and paying (QC71178, last updated 10 September 2026); registered agent lodgment program, May 2027 and June 2027 (last updated 1 July 2026); ATO, Record keeping for FBT. Read on 1 October 2026.
Rate and gross-up
The ATO published the figures for the FBT year ending 31 March 2027 on 20 May 2026, so these are the 2027 figures, not an estimate (ATO, Fringe benefits tax rates and thresholds, read 1 October 2026). FBT is worked out by grossing up the taxable value of each benefit, then applying the FBT rate. Type 1 applies where the employer can claim a GST credit on the benefit; Type 2 where it cannot.
| Item | FBT year ending 31 March 2027 | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| FBT rate | 47% | Applied to the grossed-up taxable value. Unchanged since the 2023 FBT year |
| Type 1 gross-up rate | 2.0802 | Benefits with a GST credit, such as a car or a restaurant meal |
| Type 2 gross-up rate | 1.8868 | Benefits with no GST credit, such as a loan or GST-free items |
| Reportable fringe benefits threshold | Taxable value above $2,000 (grossed-up minimum $3,773) | Reported on the employee’s income statement, always at the lower gross-up rate |
| Record keeping exemption threshold | $10,962 | Small employers under this total may base the year on an earlier base year in which full records were kept |
| Statutory formula percentage for cars | 20% | Applied to the base value of a car, whatever the distance travelled |
| Deemed depreciation, operating cost method | 25% diminishing value | Cars bought on or after 10 May 2006 |
| Statutory (benchmark) interest rate | 8.27% | Deemed interest under the operating cost method, and loan fringe benefits |
| Car parking threshold | $11.48 a day | One test for a car parking benefit: a commercial car park within 1 km charges more than this for all-day parking |
| Electric vehicle home charging rate | 5.47 cents per km | Shortcut for the electricity cost of charging an eligible electric car at home (PCG 2024/2) |
| Motor vehicle other than a car, cents per km | 70c (up to 2,500 cc), 82c (over 2,500 cc), 20c (motorcycles) | Residual benefit from private use of a vehicle that is not a car (TD 2026/1) |
ATO example: a gym membership costing $1,100 including GST has FBT of $1,100 x 2.0802 x 47% = $1,075.46, and the employer can deduct both the membership and the FBT (ATO, How fringe benefits tax works).
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What counts
FBT applies to benefits given to employees, directors and their families in place of salary. Sole traders and partners are not employees, so benefits they take themselves are outside FBT, and so are benefits to clients. These six are where most small business FBT comes from.
A car garaged at an employee's home is available for private use even if it is never driven privately, so FBT applies unless an exemption covers it (ATO, How FBT applies to cars). Four ways to value or exempt a car are set out below.
Meals, drinks and recreation for employees and their partners are fringe benefits. The taxable value is the actual cost, or for meal entertainment a 50:50 split or a 12-week register percentage of all meal entertainment spending for the year (ATO).
A portable electronic device used mainly for work is exempt. A small business with aggregated turnover under $50 million can give an employee more than one in a year, even with the same function (ATO, Work-related items).
A benefit worth under $300 that is provided infrequently and irregularly is exempt. Flowers on the birth of a child qualify; a $45 lunch every Friday does not, because it is regular (ATO, Minor benefits exemption).
Food and drink for current employees on your own premises on a working day is exempt, as are tea, coffee and water facilities. Partners are not covered, although their share may be a minor benefit (ATO).
Paying or reimbursing a private expense for an employee, such as school fees or a home internet bill, is an expense payment fringe benefit. A loan below the 8.27% benchmark rate is a loan fringe benefit on the interest saved.
Cars
1. Statutory formula method. The taxable value is 20% of the base value of the car, multiplied by the days in the FBT year the car was available for private use divided by 365, minus any employee contribution. The base value is the cost price excluding registration and stamp duty, including dealer delivery, fitted accessories, GST and luxury car tax. No logbook is needed, which is why most small businesses use it, and it can be the dearer method when private use is low (ATO, Taxable value of a car fringe benefit).
2. Operating cost method. The taxable value is the total operating costs for the year, including fuel, servicing, insurance, registration, deemed depreciation at 25% and deemed interest at 8.27%, multiplied by the private use percentage from a logbook, minus employee contributions. The logbook must cover a continuous period of at least 12 weeks and the ATO accepts it for up to five FBT years if the pattern of use does not change, with odometer readings at the start and end of every year (ATO, FBT guide chapter 4). Either method can be used for any car, and the choice is made by the FBT return due date.
3. Exempt use of an eligible vehicle. A single cab ute, a dual cab ute or 4WD designed to carry a load of one tonne or more or more than eight passengers, a panel van, a goods van or a taxi is exempt if the employee's private use is limited to travel between home and work, travel incidental to work duties, and other private use that is minor, infrequent and irregular. No special records are required, but you must be able to show the use stayed within those limits, for example by comparing odometer readings with the expected home-to-work distance (ATO, Exempt use of eligible vehicles).
4. Electric car exemption. Private use of a battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell car is exempt if the car was first held and used on or after 1 July 2022, luxury car tax has never applied to it, and a current employee or their family uses it. Registration, insurance, servicing and electricity are exempt with it; the home charging shortcut for 2027 is 5.47 cents per km. Plug-in hybrids are outside the exemption from 1 April 2025, apart from some earlier arrangements. The benefit is exempt but still reportable, and the government is reviewing the exemption by mid-2027 (ATO, Electric cars exemption).
Record keeping
The ATO does not ask for records with the return, but expects them to show how each taxable value was worked out and which exemption was relied on. Keep them for 5 years from lodgement.
One line per benefit as it is provided: date, employee, type of benefit, cost including GST and the invoice reference.
For every meal or event: the date, who attended (employee, partner or client), the cost, what was provided and where.
A 12-week logbook for each car on the operating cost method, and odometer readings for every car at 1 April and 31 March.
Declarations for benefits that need them. From 1 April 2024 the ATO allows existing business records in place of some declarations where it has issued a determination.
The purchase or lease documents for each car set the base value; the invoice for each benefit sets the taxable value and the GST credit.
A file note of the valuation method chosen for each car and for meal entertainment, made before the return due date.
The full list is on the ATO's Record keeping for FBT page. An employer with FBT to pay must also be registered for FBT, which can be done by lodging the first return, online through the Business Registration Service, or through a registered tax agent.
Getting started
One dedicated accountant, working in your Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or Reckon file, keeps the benefit records tidy through the year and prepares the figures. Your registered tax agent reviews them, works out the FBT and lodges the return.
Entertainment, car costs, devices and reimbursements are coded to separate accounts each week, with the invoice attached and the attendees noted.
Odometer readings collected at 1 April and 31 March, logbooks filed against each car, employee contributions tracked.
In the first week of April the year's benefits are summarised by type and employee, with the taxable values under each method, for your tax agent to review.
Your registered tax agent finalises and lodges the return. We record the liability, match the payment and instalments, and pass the reportable amounts to payroll.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
21 May 2027 if you lodge the return yourself, with payment due the same day. If a registered tax agent lodges it electronically the due date is generally 25 June 2027, provided you were on the agent's FBT client list by 21 May 2027. A paper return through an agent is due 21 May 2027.
The FBT year always runs from 1 April to 31 March. The 2027 FBT year is 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, and benefits are counted in the year they are provided.
47%, applied to the grossed-up taxable value. The Type 1 gross-up rate is 2.0802 where a GST credit is available and the Type 2 rate is 1.8868 where it is not. The ATO published these figures for the year ending 31 March 2027 on 20 May 2026 (ATO rates and thresholds, read 1 October 2026).
You must lodge if you have FBT payable or paid FBT instalments during the year. If you are registered for FBT with nothing to pay, send the ATO a notice of non-lodgment (NAT 3094) by the date the return would have been due. If you are not registered and provided no taxable benefits, there is nothing to lodge.
If your FBT for the previous year was $3,000 or more, the ATO adds an FBT instalment to each quarterly activity statement, due on the statement's own date. The four instalments for the 2027 FBT year sit on the June 2026, September 2026, December 2026 and March 2027 quarter statements, and all of them must be lodged before the FBT return is processed. Dates are in our BAS due dates guide.
Often, but not automatically. A single cab ute, a dual cab ute or 4WD designed to carry one tonne or more, a panel van or a taxi is exempt if private use is limited to home-to-work travel, travel incidental to the job, and use that is minor, infrequent and irregular. A dual cab ute used for weekend trips and holidays goes beyond that, and the private use becomes a car or residual fringe benefit.
It depends on where it is held and what it costs. Food and drink for current employees on your own premises on a working day is exempt. A party at a restaurant or function centre is entertainment, but a cost under $300 a head provided once a year is usually an exempt minor benefit for employees and partners. Clients are never subject to FBT. If you use the 50:50 split for meal entertainment, the minor benefit exemption does not apply to those costs.
A portable electronic device used mainly for work is exempt. The general rule is one item with the same function per employee per FBT year, but a small business with aggregated turnover under $50 million can provide more. From 1 April 2027 devices provided through salary sacrifice lose the exemption, and the one-item limit is removed for devices provided outside salary sacrifice.
No. Only a registered tax agent can prepare and lodge an FBT return for a fee. Your FreeMyCloud accountant keeps the benefit records and logbooks tidy through the year and prepares the figures and workpapers in April; your registered tax agent reviews them, works out the FBT and lodges. If you do not yet have a tax agent, the Tax Practitioners Board keeps a public register.
This page is general information about fringe benefits tax due dates and rates for Australian employers, current as at 1 October 2026. It is not tax, financial or legal advice. FreeMyCloud is not a registered tax agent and does not prepare or lodge FBT returns. Dates, rates and thresholds change; check the ATO pages linked above and confirm your own position with your registered tax agent.
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