Fringe benefit tax

A fringe benefit is a non-cash benefit provided by an employer or someone else to an employee. If you provide fringe benefits to employees, you may need to pay fringe benefit tax (FBT).

If an employer arranges for someone else to provide a non-cash benefit to their employees, they may also need to pay FBT on it.

For FBT, your employees are anyone who receives or is entitled to receive salary, wages, lump sums or schedular payments.

This also includes:

shareholder-employees and major shareholder-employees
past employees (who no longer work for you)
future employees (for example, who have signed an agreement that has not yet started).

Fringe benefit tax guide IR409 2026 (PDF 786KB) Download form

Pages in this section

Types of fringe benefits Motor vehicles available for private use, low-interest loans, subsidised transport, employer contributions to employee funds and schemes, unclassified benefits (such as free, subsidised or discounted goods and services), and gift cards.
Registering and choosing filing frequency When you register for FBT, you also choose how often you will file returns.
Calculating FBT How FBT is calculated, including rates and GST, and tools to help you calculate FBT and file your return.
Filing FBT returns How to work out taxable value and file your FBT return, and what records you need to keep.
Charities and FBT Charities may need to register for FBT if they provide certain benefits to employees or run a business outside their charitable purpose.
Close companies and FBT Close companies can choose to file FBT returns to match their income tax balance date. They can also opt out of the FBT rules for motor vehicles.
Cancelling your FBT registration If you are no longer providing fringe benefits or are closing down your business, you need to cancel your FBT registration.

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Fringe benefit tax