Daily Travel Allowances - 2017

The ATO has released updated figures for daily travel allowances, which apply for the current financial year ending 30 June 2017.

Travel allowances can be paid by an employer (e.g. a practice trust) to an employee (the medical or dental practitioner) to cover costs of accommodation and/or meals while travelling for business involving at least one night away from home. Both domestic and international travel is covered.

The advantages of being paid a travel allowance are as follows:

There is no need to substantiate spending on items covered by the allowance. This means it is not necessary to keep receipts, making record-keeping simpler. The allowance amount might also exceed actual expenditure. For example, high income earners can be paid a travel allowance for Melbourne or Sydney of $441.55 per day ($265 accommodation plus $176.55 for meals and incidentals).

The allowance is deductible to the employer and does not appear on the employee’s PAYG Payment Summary or tax return.

The ATO ruling, TD 2016/13, contains tables specifying allowance limits for various domestic and international locations. Here is a link to the full text of the ruling: http://law.ato.gov.au/pdf/pbr/td2016-013.pdf.

Should you have any questions regarding the payment of travel allowances, please contact our office.