Charity & Hospital Salary Packaging Calculator
If you work for a Public Benevolent Institution, Health Promotion Charity, public hospital, public ambulance service, or a rebatable employer (religious institution, public educational institution, trade union, certain non-profit clubs), you can salary package up to a generous FBT-exempt cap. This calculator models the $30,000 / $17,000 / $5,000 grossed-up caps exactly as the ATO does, and shows your real take-home saving net of the Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount that lands on your income statement.
Annual salary before any salary packaging.
Mortgage payments, rent, school fees, utilities, expense reimbursements — paid by the employer from pre-tax salary.
Restaurant meals + venue hire — separate $5,000 grossed-up cap (~$2,650 cash) on top of the main cap.
$30,000 grossed-up cap (PBI / HPC, FBT-exempt)
| Item | Cash equiv | Grossed-up | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash benefits | 15,900.00 | 30,000.12 | 0.12 over cap |
FBT payable: 0.06 at 47%.
Net FBT cost: 0.06 — typically passed through to the employee as additional salary forgone.
Within-cap benefits create an RFBA of 30,000.00 on your income statement. RFBA is not taxable income but counts towards:
- Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) — adds to MLS income test
- Division 293 superannuation tax — adds to combined income
- HELP / HECS / SFSS repayment income
- Family Tax Benefit (Part A and B) and Child Care Subsidy
- Child support assessable income
- Senior and Pensioner Tax Offset (SAPTO)
- Low Income Super Tax Offset (LISTO) and Government super co-contribution
- Commonwealth Seniors Health Card income test
Things to check
- Cash benefit grossed-up value ($30000) exceeds the $30,000 grossed-up cap (PBI / HPC, FBT-exempt) — over-cap amount of $0 attracts 47% FBT.
Cap structure at a glance
| Employer category | Main cap (grossed-up) | Cash equivalent | FBT treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBI / HPC (FBT-exempt) | $30,000 | ~$15,900 | Zero FBT within cap |
| Public hospital / public ambulance | $17,000 | ~$9,010 | Zero FBT within cap |
| Rebatable employer | $30,000 | ~$15,900 | FBT applies, 47% rebate |
| Meal entertainment / venue hire | $5,000 (separate) | ~$2,650 | On top of main cap |
The Type 2 gross-up trick
The cap is expressed in grossed-up dollars — the value the benefit would have if it had to gross up to fully cover the FBT a normal employer would pay. The cash-equivalent benefit is the cap divided by the Type 2 gross-up factor of 1.8868 (used for benefits where the employer cannot claim a GST input credit, which is most salary-packaged benefits).
$30,000 ÷ 1.8868 = $15,899.94 — so a PBI worker can pay $15,900 of mortgage / rent / school fees / utilities directly from pre-tax salary. At a 32% effective marginal rate (MTR 30% + Medicare 2%) that saves $5,088 in tax per year. At 39% MTR (incomes $135k–$190k) it saves $6,201. Same dollar saving repeats every FBT year as long as you remain employed by the same FBT-concession employer.
The RFBA boomerang
Within-cap benefits are FBT-exempt at the employer level, but the grossed-up taxable value still appears on your income statement as the Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (RFBA). RFBA is not added to your taxable income for income tax purposes, but it IS counted for income tests across the rest of the federal system. A nurse on $90,000 who maxes a $17,000 hospital cap will report RFBA of $17,000 — pushing reported income to $107,000 for MLS, family assistance, child support, and HELP repayment income calculations.
Run the numbers carefully if you sit near these thresholds:
- Medicare Levy Surcharge: $101,000 single / $202,000 family (2025-26)
- HELP repayment: starts at $67,000 in 2025-26 — RFBA counts
- Family Tax Benefit Part A: tapers from $65,189 / $115,997
- Child Care Subsidy: tapers from $83,280 / $533,280
- Division 293 super tax: $250,000 — RFBA + concessional contributions count
Common packaging items
Eligible benefits vary by salary packaging provider but typically include:
- Mortgage repayments on your principal place of residence
- Rent for your principal place of residence
- School fees for dependants (private education)
- Personal loans, credit card payments, utilities, internet
- Health insurance premiums (privately paid policies)
- Living expenses paid by the employer
- Meal entertainment and venue hire (separate $5,000 cap)
Items that fall outside the FBT-exempt cap include super contributions (which use the concessional cap), novated leases (separate FBT-exempt rules for electric vehicles), and exempt benefits like portable electronic devices used primarily for work.
Timing tip — top up before 31 March
The FBT year resets on 1 April. Unused cap does not roll over. Most salary packaging providers issue a cap-usage statement in February. If you have unused cap headroom and a bunch of upcoming household expenses, accelerate them into March to use the full cap.
Frequently asked questions
Who can salary package the $30,000 cap?
Why is the public hospital cap only $17,000?
What's the difference between FBT-exempt and rebatable?
How does the $5,000 meal entertainment cap work?
What is RFBA and how does it affect my tax?
Why does the FBT year run April to March instead of July to June?
Should I package up to my full cap?
Tax Accuracy & Sources
Models the $30,000 / $17,000 grossed-up FBT-exempt caps + $5,000 meal entertainment cap + 47% rebatable employer rebate, with Type 2 gross-up. Does not model exempt portable electronic devices, novated lease FBT statutory formula, super salary sacrifice, or Division 293.