spalen

This is a huge tax rebate for people who stay overnight either in australia or outside australia for business travel.

When you first read it it seems unbelievable but its true. My accountant didnt know and a guy at work tipped me off, so was able to get the rebate after educating my accountant

http://law.ato.gov.au/pdf/td2006-043.pdf

For example - you can deduct about 150$ a night for each night in a Aussie city. 200-300$ / night for a stay in an International city. That means - you get a rebate at marginal tax rate for about 50$ in an aussie city and about 100-150$ in a int'l one - Per night!.

If you claim the Per Diem + Incidentals at less than the limit [ or on the limit ] then no evidence is required. For hotels its harder so dont worry about those.

Oh and even better is you can claim back over the last 4 years.

JackTheLad

So what are you doing with all that extra unexpected money? I hope it doesn't all going into your electronic gadget fund. How about starting a "Mrs Spalen & friends' weekly spa fund"?

Mrs JTL

jad n rich

That rebate came to light after politicians were claiming the $150 etc while staying at houses owned by their partners/wives.

spalen

Pfft. As ever, once you know its coming it is no longer spare. ;-)

Red_V_Roger

Sorry - I'm having a bit of a thick Wednesday afternoon...as my employer pays me back any expenses at the end of each month e.g. flights, hotels, meals etc...is there any benifit for me?

Or is the idea to tell your employer that you'll cover your expenses yourself and then try to claim them back through your tax -- surely you can't claim money from your employer and money from the tax man....can you?

tictac

I've not read the ATO article in full (Acrobat runs like a dog on my Macbook Pro) but surely if your Company covers your travelling expenses in full (flights, hotels, meals etc) then you won't be able to claim anything back?

spalen

Yes you do get it back - this is the thing.

The Govt allows you to have say 200$ / day for incidentals / lunch / etc.

your employer gives you a perdiem or covers expenses for say 60$ a day

You are therefore entitled to claim the difference 140$/Day

Thats how it works.

tictac

I'm pretty sure none of my colleagues are aware of this

Looks like it's time to start trawling through the Amex statements

Thanks for the heads-up

verystormy

Would i be eligible for anything? I will be working two weeks on one off in remote areas of NSW. My employer will book and pre pay my flights and all my accomodation and meals are supplied on site.

spalen

Yes Ithink so - but ask your accountant and give him the reference above

Pollyana

Very valuable info, thanks! Needless to say, my employers....who are the government....have neglected to tell us about this

wanderingwombat

Looking for a trip to Cairns are we???

Red_V_Roger

To quote from the document: "For travel allowance expenses – the employee must sleep away from home."

I wonder if becuase on 457 I'm already getting LAFHA i.e. living away from home, I can claim business travel as an additional living away from home...I dont think so????

Pollyana

I'll end up there eventually I expect for a few days, either for a cyclone or organising training courses I will of course let the locals know in advance so that they can buy me beer

Jacqui

Well done for bringing this to everyone's attention! My husband was told about this by a colleague. For the first couple of years living here he did his tax return online but then he decided to use a tax accountant to make sure he could claim everything he was entitled to. The best $90 he ever spent! With all the business trips abroad that he had made over the last couple of years, that amounted to a very nice $11,000 refund!