Dear OLOC Staff with an EML Employee Benefits Card,
The end of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year (31 March 2023) is fast approaching.
This year EML have made us aware of a new way for staff with an EML Employee Benefits Card to make sure they spend all their remaining funds on their Everyday Purchase Card and/or Meal/Accommodation Card.
As an EML Employee Benefits Card holder, EML will be separately contacting you directly by email about this new option shortly.
In the meantime, we can provide the following general information about the end of the FBT year, and your options for managing any unspent funds, including purchasing the new ‘FBT Card’ if you wish.
Background – Urgent Information
This FBT year has 26 pays. The last contribution to your EML Employee Benefits Card will be paid in the pay period ending the 23rd March 2023. There will be no need to defer any instalments for the debit cards this year.
Employees should attempt to spend all the available funds in their EML account before 31 March 2023.
When making purchases, you should allow for sufficient time for the transaction to appear on the last Statement for the FBT year (that is, before 31 March 2023).
Remember not to leave all your spending to the last minute, as you may be caught out with a transaction not being processed in time. For this reason, it is highly recommended that purchases should be made no later than 28 March 2023. This will ensure that no employee’s salary sacrifice contributions exceed the amount allowed in an FBT year.
Remember: Where funds are not spent, the un-spent amount will have to be deducted from your next FBT year’s tax-free cap limit, beginning 1 April 2023.
To check your current balance, please access your EML account that you set up initially for your card to be issued.
What can I do if I think I may not be about to spend my remaining unspent amount in full?
EML have provided the following ‘Handy Tips’ to help you spend your remaining EML Employee Benefits Card funds.
- Purchase gift cards or vouchers from a retail outlet (including any supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles).
- Pay bills in advance. For example, if there is $50 remaining on the card but no need to buy anything, you can always pay a phone, electricity, water or gas bill in advance and be in credit.
- Only purchase items from retailers who have card processing machines (EFTPOS) – try to avoid manual transactions as these take longer to process.
In addition, there is now a new option to purchase the new ‘FBT Card’ from EML, our current card provider.
How does EML’s ‘FBT Card’ work?
The FBT Card is a single load prepaid Mastercard issued by EML Payment Solutions Limited (EML), our current salary packaging cards provider. It is valid for 13 months and can be used to make purchases at the same outlets that accept your current salary packaging card, and has the same restrictions as the current card too.
The cost of each FBT Card is $9.94 and you can add up to $2,000 from your salary packaging card balance to each card. If you have more than $2,000 remaining, you can purchase additional cards.
EML will separately email you soon with further details of the new ‘FBT Card’. If you are interested in purchasing the ‘FBT Card’, please keep on eye on your email, and then carefully review all the conditions to make sure this option is suitable for you.
If you have any questions, please contact me on 9832 5401.
Regards,
Jing Li
Senior Accountant