salary sacrificing

[feeb]

Salary packaging is awesome!! Before i had kids when i was working 4 a week I did my credit card so I stipulated an amount to be taken out fornightly from pay, o sent in a heap of statments showing payments and then the day after pay I got the money back in my account. That come from the set amount max you can do a year for that. I also did a meals and entertainment card so I said how much a fortnight I wanted taken out and they put it straight on this visa meal card they sent me, so we would go out for dinner with friends I would pay on card and everyone would give me money to cover there share.

I am about to start again and do the living expenses card but wont be as great only working 1 day a week at the hospital.

You do want to be careful salary packaging while you have a HECS debt, you can do it but please speak to pay roll and work out how much extra you need to request to pay to HECS so that when you do Tax you actually get your return and not have it all go to HECS.

[Trillian]

Centerlink DOES count it towards your reportable income. Also be careful that you don't cross over into fringe benefits territory because of the tax implications. We had a car salary sacrificed and it was fantastic, but now that they have changed the rules it's not so worth it. It is also only really worth it if you earn over about $60-70k per year - but that was back before the rules changed, so that may not matter so much anymore. This is what centerlink have to say about it;

Reportable fringe benefits for Family Assistance and Child Support (yearly amount)

You need to include fringe benefits (or employer provided benefits) you or your partner gets from your employment such as:

• help to pay your rent or home loan;
• a home phone;
• a car;
• school fees for children;
• your health insurance premiums;
• your child care expenses paid by your employer.

You will find this amount recorded on your Payment Summary (formerly called group certificate) at the end of the financial year. You can ask your employer to tell you the expected amount for the relevant financial year. The amount recorded on a Payment Summary for the financial year ending 30 June (of the current financial year) relates to fringe benefits received between 1 April and 31 March (of the current financial year).

the ato has some info here about it too http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/co....htm&page=4&H4