Taxable value of a fringe benefit under FBTAA 1986, across nineteen benefit-category calculators — car, loan, debt waiver, expense payment, property, residual, housing, LAFHA, board, entertainment and car parking. Each returns the grossed-up figure and the FBT payable, with the intermediate workings that produced them.
Unlike depreciation and div7a, FBT is not one endpoint. It is a family of per-benefit-category calculators: the calculator URN selects the benefit category and, with it, the input schema. You enumerate the family from discovery rather than hardcoding it, and you read each calculator's input schema before calling it — the request bodies are not interchangeable across categories.
POST /v1/calculators/{calculator_uri}/urn:sbrm:period:fbt:fy2026Period-scoped to the FBT year. The {calculator_uri} is one of the benefit-type
calculators in Choosing a calculator below; the period URN selects the FY2026 statutory rate tables. Supplying a period the
calculator does not accept returns 404, and the body names the periods it does accept.
Two discovery endpoints describe the surface:
GET /v1/modules the modules (fbt, div7a, depreciation), each with its
statutes, election groups and its calculators[] in order
GET /v1/calculators?module=urn:sbrm:module:fbt the FBT calculators only (unknown module -> 404)These are the calculator URNs currently registered. Read them from
GET /v1/calculators rather than pasting this list — it is authoritative, this page is
a snapshot.
Pick a calculator in three steps. Module: FBT (urn:sbrm:module:fbt). Benefit type is a fact — establish it from what actually happened, testing the specific types in resolution order (car, debt waiver, loan, expense payment, housing, LAFHA, board, meal entertainment, tax-exempt body entertainment, car parking, property) before residual, which is defined by exclusion. Method: where a benefit type has more than one valuation method the selection is an election or a statutory default — the method is the employer’s choice, not yours. Compute every method in the group that the supplied records support, present the results side by side with the election provision, and let the employer choose. Never pick the method on the employer’s behalf.
Employer election. FBTAA s 10(1) election; s 10(5): if the operating cost figure exceeds the statutory formula figure the election is treated as not made. Scope: per car, per FBT year
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-operating-cost | FBT car: operating cost method | election | Use only alongside the statutory formula, when operating costs and a business-use percentage are supplied. Taxable value is operating cost times the private-use percentage, less employee contributions. Without a log book the business-use percentage is nil (s 10A). Under s 10(5), if this figure exceeds the statutory formula figure the election is treated as not made. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-statutory-formula | FBT car: statutory formula method | statutory default | Use when an employer's car is available for an employee's private use (s 7). Taxable value is the statutory fraction of the car's base value, pro-rated for days available, less employee contributions. This is the default method. Not for vehicles that are not a 'car' for FBT (those are residual benefits), and not where the employer merely pays the employee's own car costs (expense payment). |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:debt-waiver | FBT debt waiver | fact | Use when the employer releases an employee from an obligation to pay or repay an amount. Taxable value is the amount waived (s 15). Not where the debt is still owed at low or no interest (loan). No GST credit arises, so the benefit is Type 2. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:loan | FBT loan | fact | Use when an employee owes the employer money at an interest rate below the statutory benchmark. Taxable value is the interest shortfall against the benchmark rate for the FBT year, reduced under the otherwise deductible rule where applicable. Not where the debt has been released (debt waiver). Type 2. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:expense-payment | FBT expense payment (external) | fact | Use when the employer pays or reimburses an expense the employee incurred (s 20), and the thing paid for is not of a kind the employer sells to the public. Not where the employer supplies the goods or services itself (property or residual). |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:expense-payment-in-house | FBT expense payment (in-house) | fact | Use when the employer pays or reimburses an employee's purchase of goods or services of a kind the employer (or an associate) sells to the public in the ordinary course of business. The inhouseBenefitClaimed input is the part of the employee's s 62 reduction allocated to this benefit: s 62 allows at most $1,000 per employee per FBT year across ALL in-house benefits combined, and nothing for a benefit provided under a salary packaging arrangement. This calculator cannot see the employee's other in-house benefits; the caller must keep the yearly total within $1,000. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:housing | FBT housing (non-remote) | fact | Use when an employee is granted a right to occupy a unit of accommodation as their usual place of residence, not in a remote area. Remote-area housing and its concessions are not covered. A cash allowance for living away from home is LAFHA; meals supplied with accommodation are board. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:lafha | FBT living-away-from-home allowance | fact | Use when an allowance is paid because the employee's duties require living away from their normal residence AND the employee maintains a home in Australia (s 31). Computes the s 31 reduction from caller-supplied exempt accommodation and exempt food components. The fly-in fly-out and other limbs of Division 7 are not covered. Where the employer pays the rent directly, the benefit is an expense payment, housing or residual benefit, not LAFHA. Type 2. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:board | FBT board | fact | Use when meals are provided to an employee who is entitled to accommodation and to at least two meals a day. Taxable value is the statutory amount per meal, less contributions. One-off meals are property or meal entertainment, not board. |
Employer election. FBTAA s 37AA election for Division 9A to apply (50/50 is then the default, ss 37B-37BA); further election s 37CA for the 12-week register (s 37CB). Scope: employer-wide, whole FBT year. Couples to the income tax deduction (ITAA 1936 ss 51AEA-51AEB) and GST credits (GST Act Div 69): the lowest FBT figure is not necessarily the best outcome. With no s 37AA election, meal entertainment is valued on the actual basis under the ordinary Divisions; no calculator here covers that case.
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:meal-entertainment-50-50 | FBT meal entertainment: 50/50 split method | election | Use when the employer elects under s 37AA for Division 9A to apply. Taxable value is 50% of ALL meal entertainment expenditure for the FBT year, including expenditure on clients and other non-employees. The election also fixes the income tax deduction and GST credit at 50%. Tax-exempt employers use the tax-exempt body entertainment calculator. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:meal-entertainment-register-12wk | FBT meal entertainment: 12-week register method | election | Use when the employer has elected under s 37AA and further elects under s 37CA, and holds a valid 12-week register. Taxable value is total meal entertainment expenditure for the year times the register percentage (s 37CB). Never assume a register exists; the register percentage must be supplied. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:tebe | FBT tax-exempt body entertainment | fact | Use when the employer is wholly or partly exempt from income tax and incurs non-deductible entertainment expenditure for employees or associates. Taxable employers use meal entertainment, property or expense payment instead. |
Employer election. FBTAA s 39FA(1) (statutory formula, spaces); s 39GA(1) (12-week register). Scope: all employees, a class of employees, or particular employees; different groups may use different methods in the same year. Independent of how each benefit is valued (commercial parking station s 39C, market value s 39D, average cost s 39DA), which arrives as the daily rate input.
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-parking-actual | FBT car parking: actual records | statutory default | Use when the number of car parking benefits comes from actual records for the year. Assumes a car parking fringe benefit has arisen under s 39A (this is not tested). The value of each benefit is supplied as an input and may come from the commercial parking station, market value or average cost method. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-parking-statutory-228 | FBT car parking: statutory formula (spaces) method | election | Use when the employer elects the spaces method. Per space: daily rate times days in the availability period divided by 366, times 228, summed and reduced by recipients' contributions (s 39FA(4)). Assumes a car parking fringe benefit has arisen under s 39A. The s 39FB adjustment where spaces exceed employees must be applied by the caller unless supplied as an input. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-parking-register-12wk | FBT car parking: 12-week register method | election | Use when the employer elects the register method and holds a valid 12-week register. Register total times 52/12, times days in the car parking availability period divided by 366 (s 39GB), less contributions. Never assume a register exists. Assumes a car parking fringe benefit has arisen under s 39A. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:property | FBT property (external) | fact | Use when the employer provides goods or other property to an employee, and the property is not of a kind the employer sells to the public. Taxable value is cost to the provider, the employer's expenditure, or notional value, less the recipient's contribution (s 43). Services and the use of property are residual benefits, not property. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:property-in-house | FBT property (in-house) | fact | Use when the employer provides goods of a kind it (or an associate) sells to the public in the ordinary course of business. If the goods are provided under a salary packaging arrangement the concessional valuation does not apply (s 42(1)(aa)) and no s 62 reduction is available. The inhouseBenefitClaimed input is the part of the employee's s 62 reduction allocated to this benefit: at most $1,000 per employee per FBT year across ALL in-house benefits combined. This calculator cannot see the employee's other in-house benefits; the caller must keep the yearly total within $1,000. |
| URN | label | selection | description |
|---|---|---|---|
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:residual | FBT residual (external) | fact | Use only after every specific benefit type has been ruled out: a residual benefit is any benefit not covered by Divisions 2 to 11 (s 45), typically services or the use of property. Takes a single residual value; it does not distinguish period from non-period residual benefits, so the caller must supply the value appropriate to the case. |
urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:residual-in-house | FBT residual (in-house) | fact | Use only after every specific benefit type has been ruled out, where the service or use is of a kind the employer (or an associate) provides to the public in the ordinary course of business. Does not distinguish period from non-period benefits. The inhouseBenefitClaimed input is the part of the employee's s 62 reduction allocated to this benefit: at most $1,000 per employee per FBT year across ALL in-house benefits combined, and nothing under a salary packaging arrangement. This calculator cannot see the employee's other in-house benefits; the caller must keep the yearly total within $1,000. |
Every calculator assumes a fringe benefit has arisen and is not exempt; none tests exemptions (for example minor benefits), none aggregates to the FBT return, and none makes an employer election.
The inhouseBenefitClaimed input is the part of the employee's s 62 reduction allocated to this benefit: s 62 allows at most $1,000 per employee per FBT year across ALL in-house benefits combined, and nothing for a benefit provided under a salary packaging arrangement. This calculator cannot see the employee's other in-house benefits; the caller must keep the yearly total within $1,000.
Each calculator's request body differs by benefit category. The input schema reference returned
by GET /v1/calculators — and the full schema in /openapi.json — is
authoritative for the calculator you are calling. Do not assume a shared request shape across
categories.
businessUsePercentage, formOfFinance and the vehicle's cost and dates; a
loan takes interestChargedByEmployer and otherwiseDeductiblePercentage; a
12-week register meal-entertainment benefit takes registerPercentage. They are not
interchangeable.
A car fringe benefit under the operating-cost method: 75% business use, owned vehicle costing $40,000 acquired 1 July 2023, held the full FBT year (365 days), $3,000 fuel/repairs/servicing, $1,500 registration/insurance, $200 employee contribution:
curl -s -X POST \
"$BASE/v1/calculators/urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-operating-cost/urn:sbrm:period:fbt:fy2026" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"businessUsePercentage": 75,
"formOfFinance": "owned",
"acquisitionCost": 40000,
"acquisitionDate": "2023-07-01",
"daysHeldInFBTYear": 365,
"fuelRepairsServicing": 3000,
"registrationInsurance": 1500,
"employeeContribution": 200
}'{
"taxable_value": "2972.86",
"fbt_type": "Type 2",
"gross_up_factor": "1.8868",
"grossed_up_taxable_value": "5609.19",
"fbt_payable": "2636.32",
"business_use_percentage_clamped": "75",
"business_use_reduction": "9518.57",
"deemed_total": "8191.43",
"employee_contribution": "200.00",
"operating_expenses_total": "12691.43",
"no_private_use_reduction": "0.00",
"taxable_value_before_operating": "3172.86",
"taxable_value_net_operating_pre_clamp": "2972.86",
"counts_towards_fbt_cap": true,
"trace": { "deemed_depreciation": "6091.19", "deemed_interest": "2100.24", "deemed_total": "8191.43", ... },
"manifest": {
"rate_table_uris": [{
"uri": "urn:sbrm:rate:fbt:fy2026:deemed-depreciation-rates",
"content_hash": "4d3a9e54d740de8df7961758d8f588cf76d3a37a638075b82b2811ddb3ad95df",
"hash_algorithm": "sha256"
}, ... ]
},
"advisory": { ... }
}Reading it back: the deemed running cost ($8,191.43) plus the actual operating costs bring the operating-expenses total to $12,691.43; the 75% business-use reduction ($9,518.57) and the $200 employee contribution reduce it to a taxable value of $2,972.86; grossed up at the Type 2 factor of 1.8868 that is $5,609.19, and FBT payable at the 47% rate is $2,636.32.
Type 1 (employer entitled to a GST input tax credit) or Type 2. Selects the gross-up factor.deemed_total, business_use_reduction, operating_expenses_total, employee_contribution and the deemed depreciation and interest under trace. They vary by benefit category.A request that is malformed or incomplete is refused at the gateway on the schema; a request that names a period the calculator does not accept is refused with the periods it does accept. The body names the field or the reason:
// a required field for this calculator omitted (formOfFinance)
422 {"detail":[{"type":"missing","loc":["formOfFinance"],"msg":"Field required"}]}
// a period this calculator does not accept
404 {"detail":"period_uri='urn:sbrm:period:div7a:fy2026' is not supported by calculator 'urn:sbrm:calculator:fbt:car-operating-cost'. Supported: ['urn:sbrm:period:fbt:fy2026']"}"2972.86", "1.8868", not 2972.86. Parse accordingly.taxable_value; the per-benefit deemed figures sit under trace.manifest.rate_table_uris is non-empty here and carries a content hash for each FY2026 rate table the calculation consumed — you can pin against them and detect a rate-table change.GET /v1/calculators; do not assume a shared request shape across benefit categories.