This time of year the upcoming FBT season starts to become front of mind. How are we going to complete our FBT return?  Do we need some training? Do we need some external assistance? We have a number of partners offering a range of services that you might just need!

Check out our Tax Services or Events and Training pages for some of the offerings our partners provide that may allow you to complete your FBT return just that little bit easier.

Nuwaru provides the full array of Technology, Tax Advisory, Tax Compliance as well as White Labelling services to support your FBT related employment tax requirements, including:

• Managed services – set up easyFBT for the new FBT year including, roll forward, update entity structure, import data, train and update staff on recent changes;
• Preparation &/or review – actual preparation and review of your FBT returns encompassing both technology and tax technical;
• Training – both easyFBT technology and tax technical training;
• Data services – if you are spending an inordinate amount of time compiling data files for import into easyFBT, Nuwaru can assist in automating or otherwise expediting the process;
• Process reviews – a full review of your FBT process with recommendations for improvement;
• Technical review and Tax advisory – traditional tax advisory and tax compliance services
  Governance review - with the recently published ATO Net Tax Gap figure of 21.2%, FBT is bound to be an area of focus in the months ahead. This review is undertaken within the framework recommended by the ATO and may be expanded to include the overall tax Governance Framework for your organisation. This is of direct relevance to the Justified Trust program;
• Resourcing - White label services and secondments for accounting firms and companies that need to bolster their FBT team during peak periods or staff shortages, Nuwaru can provide resourcing and expertise as required.

Technology Advisory services are provided by Tony Katsigarakis who has over 30 years’ experience in the Tax Technology industry and 25 years of direct experience with FBT and FBT Software Solutions whilst tax technical services are provided by Nuwaru’s Advisory team that is typically made up of former Big 4 Partners or Heads of Tax from some of Australia’s most well-known organisations at rates materially less than half those of the Big 4.

Please contact Tony Katsigarakis on 0418 424 680 or tony.katsigarakis@nuwaru.com for more information.

Refer a friend

Do you know anyone else who may be interested in using easyFBT to complete their FBT obligations? Refer them to us and if they purchase easyFBT we'll provide you with a 10% discount off your next purchase! Contact our sales team for more information.

We love feedback!

At One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited we are 100% committed to creating solutions that improve the way you do business so we love to get your feedback and suggestions! Over the years easyFBT has been continually improved by including many changes driven by our users. We want you to enjoy using the program too!

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the September release of easyFBT 2021 (2021.1.0.1):

Importing

Added refresh of Middle Name field to the Update Import process when refreshing employees.

Form Validation Log

Added refresh of the form validation log if the document is already open.

General changes

As with each FBT year, rates and other values are required to be updated.  The following changes have been made for the 2021 FBT year:

• Updated the Car Parking public holidays table with the 2020/21 State/Territory gazetted public holidays;
• Updated the Statutory Benchmark Interest Rate (4.80%);
• Updated CPI Indexation factors for Housing;
• Updated the Cents per Km rates for Residual Non-Cars: 0 to 2500cc (56c), Over 2500cc (67c), Motorcycles (17c); and
• Updated the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) country codes and rates

Configuring your proxy server
Once you have installed the latest release, activate your entity and open the Interactions tab via the Tools -> Options menu:

To configure your proxy server connection, you will need to select the Use a proxy checkbox and enter the information given to you. Your IT Department can only provide this information which is specific to your network - the above is an example only.

Whitelisting
In addition to configuring a proxy server, you may also need your IT Department to whitelist the following URLs in your corporate firewall or anti-virus software to ensure proper access to allow you to submit your FBT return:

• *.ozedi.com.au:443
• *.ato.gov.au:443
• *.sbr.gov.au:443

Tip: click on the Copy to Clipboard button on the Interactions tab to copy these whitelist URLs for you to then paste them into an e-mail for your IT Department.

Verifying your proxy server configuration is enabled
To verify your proxy server is enabled, open the SBR Interaction Wizard, make your selections and on the Ready to process dialog you can review your interaction settings:

Where a proxy server is enabled it will be shown as listed above.  The above proxy server connection command line is an example only.

Anti-virus threat protection
Depending on the strength of your anti-virus software you may be required to exclude the following file from being blocked or captured:

• easyfbt 2020: C:\Program Files (x86)\One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited\easyFBT2020\SBR\bin\ato.exe

Tip: If this file is captured by your anti-virus software you may receive an exception error message in your SBRInteraction.log file.

SBR Machine Credential Requirement

If you intend to lodge your FBT Return form electronically then you will need a Machine to Machine (M2M) credential as the previously used AUSkeys have been retired by the ATO as at the end of March 2020. To create a machine credential in the ATO’s Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM), you must be either a principal authority or a machine credential administrator (MCA) of the business. Note: you will need to create one for each entity that is required to be electronically lodged.

Guide: how to install a machine credential
https://info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/guide-how-to-install-a-machine-credential

ATO Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM)
https://authorisationmanager.gov.au/#/authorisations-home

Read the change log for further information about this release.

Refer a friend

Know anyone who may be interested in using easyFBT to complete their FBT obligations? Refer them to us and if they purchase easyFBT we'll provide you with a 10% discount off your next purchase! Contact our sales team for more information.

We love feedback!

At One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited we are 100% committed to creating solutions that improve the way you do business so we love to get your feedback and suggestions! Over the years easyFBT has been continually improved by including many changes driven by our users. We want you to enjoy using the program too!

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the May release of easyFBT 2020 (2020.1.0.4):

SBR Interactions

For organisations using a corporate firewall/proxy server to access the internet, we have added the ability to provide a proxy server configuration. These settings are available via the Tools -> Options -> Interactions tab. Additional whitelisting URLs may also need to be added to your corporate firewall or anti-virus software.

Need more information?
If you require more information about configuring and using a proxy server, read our post Lodging your SBR interactions with a Firewall/Proxy Server.

Tax Agents

We have added the ability to not display the Tax File Number on any produced Fringe Benefits Tax Return or Electronic Lodgement Declarations to cater for the Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) Scheme that governs all firms with greater than $3m revenue. Further information about the scheme is available here.

Note: if you have updated to release 2020.1.0.2 and your organisation does not require these features then this update is optional.

April 2020 Release

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the April release of easyFBT 2020 (2020.1.0.2):

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Return 2020 and SBR Interactions

The ATO Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Return 2020 form has been added to this version and can be produced as a paper form for manual lodgement with the ATO as per prior years or when using the Electronic Lodgement (SBR) Interaction Manager to lodge electronically.

SBR interactions in easyFBT 2020 are now processed through the latest SBR2 gateway where you are required to Validate (formally Pre-lodge) or Submit (formally Lodge) your returns.

SBR Machine Credential Requirement

If you intend to lodge your FBT Return form electronically then you will need a Machine to Machine (M2M) credential as the previously used AUSkeys have been retired by the ATO as at the end of March 2020. To create a machine credential in the ATO’s Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM), you must be either a principal authority or a machine credential administrator (MCA) of the business. Note: you will need to create one for each entity that is required to be electronically lodged.

Guide: how to install a machine credential
https://info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/guide-how-to-install-a-machine-credential

ATO Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM)
https://authorisationmanager.gov.au/#/authorisations-home

September 2019 Release

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the September release of easyFBT 2020 (2020.1.0.1):

Local entities, user reports and offline backups

To make the transition of moving or upgrading computer hardware easier we have moved the Local Data Source entities location to the current user's (My)Documents folder (from C:\ProgramData\One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited\). We have also moved user generated reports and offline backups to the same location.

Enhancements and other changes

Preliminary: FBT Return form

Turned off scroll mode with the mouse wheel where a drop-down selector is active but not in drop-down mode. This will ensure selections are not accidentally changed when moving the mouse.

Reporting

The following changes have been made:

• Added a new report and ATO Form validation called Private Kilometres or Business Use Percentage Missing for Residual Non-Cars which displays a complete listing of all Residual Non-Cars that have neither Private Kilometres nor a Business Use Percentage entered but have total operating costs greater than zero. Without one of these entered easyFBT can’t calculate a taxable value for the non-car.
• Fixed an issue entering decimal places into fields such as the Statutory Benchmark Interest Rate when using the filter in the Create Report Wizard.

General changes

As with each FBT year, rates and other values are required to be updated.  The following changes have been made for the 2020 FBT year:

• Updated the Car Parking public holidays table with the 2019/20 State/Territory gazetted public holidays;
• Updated the Statutory Benchmark Interest Rate (5.37%);
• Updated CPI Indexation factors for Housing;
• Updated the Cents per Km rates for Residual Non-Cars: 0 to 2500cc (55c), Over 2500cc (66c), Motorcycles (16c); and
• Updated the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) country codes and rates

Refer a friend

Do you know anyone else who may be interested in using easyFBT to complete their FBT obligations? Refer them to us and if they purchase easyFBT we'll provide you with a 10% discount off your next purchase! Contact our sales team for more information.

We love feedback!

At One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited we are 100% committed to creating solutions that improve the way you do business so we love to get your feedback and suggestions! Over the years easyFBT has been continually improved by including many changes driven by our users. We want you to enjoy using the program too!

Refer a friend

Know anyone who may be interested in using easyFBT to complete their FBT obligations? Refer them to us and if they purchase easyFBT we'll provide you with a 10% discount off your next purchase! Contact our sales team for more information.

We love feedback!

At One Plus One Solutions Pty Limited we are 100% committed to creating solutions that improve the way you do business so we love to get your feedback and suggestions! Over the years easyFBT has been continually improved by including many changes driven by our users. We want you to enjoy using the program too!

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the April release of easyFBT 2019 (2019.1.0.8):

SBR Machine Credential Requirement

If you intend to lodge your FBT Return form electronically then you will need a Machine to Machine (M2M) credential as the previously used AUSkeys have been retired by the ATO as at the end of March 2020. To create a machine credential in the ATO’s Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM), you must be either a principal authority or a machine credential administrator (MCA) of the business. Note: you will need to create one for each entity that is required to be electronically lodged.

Guide: how to install a machine credential
https://info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/guide-how-to-install-a-machine-credential

ATO Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM)
https://authorisationmanager.gov.au/#/authorisations-home

April 2019 Release

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the April release of easyFBT 2019 (2019.1.0.2):

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Return 2019 and SBR Interactions

The ATO Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Return 2019 form has been added to this version and can be produced as a paper form for manual lodgement with the ATO as per prior years or when using the Electronic Lodgement (SBR) Interaction Manager to lodge electronically.

Enhancements and other changes

Digitally signed installers

To provide additional security to our installers we have now digitally signed our .exe and .msi files to give extra confidence that our files are valid and have not been tampered with by 3rd parties.

Loan Repayments

Added the ability to enter negative loan repayments to Custom loans allowing adjustments to the principal value of the loan.

General changes

• The Reporting and Electronic Lodgement (SBR) Interaction Managers will now default to the last selected item when re-opening each dialog.
• Various documents that currently open in Adobe Acrobat can now be displayed (by default) in a tabbed document within the easyFBT Workspace. To change this setting, open the Tools -> Options -> Documents page.
• Various changes to the workpaper column help content

Fixes

Wizards

Due to a bug in Microsoft Windows 10 Release 1809 and Microsoft .Net Framework when browsing for files or folders whilst in a Wizard an application fault may occur (a red cross appears in the Wizard background). We have re-packaged the wizard component to handle this issue, whilst a recent cumulative update from Microsoft (KB4483452) should also fix this issue.

September 2018 Release

The following changes and enhancements have been made in the September release of easyFBT 2019 (2019.1.0.1):

Microsoft .Net Framework 4.6.2

Following Microsoft end-of-life guidelines we are now no longer supporting Microsoft Windows XP or Vista (we did hold out for a number of years but no clients appear to the utilising these platforms any longer). This has allowed us the opportunity to move forward to newer versions of the Microsoft .Net Framework which will give us the ability to add new features and upgrade the base platform into the future. Most currently supported versions of Microsoft Windows have either Microsoft .Net Framework 4.6.2 or better already installed. Refer to the Installation Guide for further information.

Enhancements and other changes

Employee Workpaper

We have added a Middle Name field to the Employee workpaper allowing you to provide more identifiable information for your employees. (user request)

Rollover

For the 2019 FBT year only, when rolling over employees, where multiple names have been added to the First Name field in the Employee workpaper (ie. Lisa Mary) we will automatically move the second (and any subsequent) names into the new Middle Name field.

ATO Form

With the upgrade of the Microsoft .Net Framework, we have been able to integrate displaying the Fringe Benefits Tax Return form within a tab in the easyFBT workspace (ie. like workpapers, reports etc). The added (and most important!) benefit of this is that you will be able to export the form to PDF and include all completed form information and numbers. Therefore you will no longer require Adobe Professional (or equivalent) to save copies of your forms (with data) for future reference.

General changes

As with each FBT year, rates and other values are required to be updated.  The following changes have been made for the 2019 FBT year:

• Updated the Car Parking public holidays table with the 2018/19 State/Territory gazetted public holidays;
• Updated the Statutory Benchmark Interest Rate (5.20%);
• Updated CPI Indexation factors for Housing;
• Updated the Cents per Km rates for Residual Non-Cars: 0 to 2500cc (54c), Over 2500cc (65c), Motorcycles (16c); and
• Updated the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) country codes and rates