Remote Area FBT Concessions

There are a number of fringe benefits tax concessions associated with employment of employees in remote areas.

FBT Concessions

A checklist of statutory FBT concessions is maintained here. By filtering the list with search term “remote”, a sub-list of concessions associated with remote areas is displayed.

Concessions available may generally be in the form of an exemption – such as for remote area housing, meals (sec 58ZC, 58ZD), or as a specified reduction in taxable value.

Remote Areas

A remote area is a location that is not in, or adjacent to, an eligible urban area. An eligible urban area is specified by population size (1981 Census), and there are three main classifications.

Classification 1

The location is all of the following:

• not in Zone A or Zone B for income tax purposes
• at least 40 kms from an urban centre that had a population of 14,000 to less than 130,000
• at least 100 kms from an urban centre that had a population of 130,000 or more.

Classification 2

The location is all of the following:

• in Zone A or Zone B for income tax purposes
• at least 40 kms from an urban centre that had a population of 28,000 to less than 130,000
• at least 100 kms from an urban centre of 130 000 or more.

Classification 3

All of the following

• the employer is a certain regional employers
• the employer is providing a housing benefit
• the location is at least 100 kms from an urban centre that in the 1981 Census had a population of 130,000 or more.

A location can be determined as remote either by applying the above definitions, or by reference to lists of areas maintained by the ATO.

The remote area classifications and lists (including Zones A and B) can be reviewed here.

This page was last modified 2018-12-17