Providing car parking benefits in the time of COVID-19

Ordinarily, employers provide car parking fringe benefits to their employees if they provide parking to their employees in respect of their employment for more than four hours between the hours of 7.00am and 7.00pm on any day at premises owned or leased or under the control of the employer.

Additionally, there must be a commercial car parking station whose all-day parking fee is more than the car parking threshold ($9.15 all-day parking rate in the 2021 FBT year), within a one-kilometre radius of the employer’s premises.

Now, because of COVID-19, there will be no car parking fringe benefits provided if:

• On a particular day, the office and work car parks are closed or all commercial parking stations within a one-kilometre radius of the employer’s premises are also closed because of COVID-19; or
• On 1 April 2020 (the start of the 2021 FBT year), the lowest fee charged by all commercial parking stations within a one-kilometre radius of the premises where the car is parked, is less than $9.15 for all-day parking.

If the reduced fee at 1 April 2020 is substantially less than the average of the lowest fee charged by a commercial parking station operator in the four weeks prior to 1 April 2020 or the four weeks after 1 April 2020, the reduced fee will be disregarded, and a car parking fringe benefit will be provided.

If you have any other FBT related queries, including whether other COVID-19 concessions may be available, please speak to your adviser or get in contact with the Crowe Tax Advisory team.