Thread: OT - Car or cash in a package?

Dependant on how much you earn a 13k increase sounds good but how much does it cost to run you car for the year. A company car may attract a fringe benefit tax though

My missus gets a deal with salary sacrifice $5500 per year before tax, we get a new Falcon station wagon every 12 months, all fuel, rego, ins. etc included and full personal use for me or her.As we would lose a third of the above amount in tax, it works out at around $3500 a year.At $13500, I would take the cash and look into a Novated lease.

depending on your tax bracket you would lose up to 48% of that $13K.
My wife has a similar deal to crump's wife. Camry every 3 yrs but she can salary sacrifice $10K. Done 86K Klm in the current one. About to get a new one. Thats about $4000 in fuel alone,add in the cost of buying a Camry and trading it in every three years, plus rego and insurance. I think it might be worth more than $13K less tax

Originally Posted by EchiDna

I'm assuming this would mean all car costs (maintenance, fuel, repairs)would be tax deductable on my personal car, but obviously not on the company car...

Not really...
1. You need to prove necessity for the vehicle for work purposes (carrying tools, samples etc).
2. You have to keep a logbook to establish the ratio of work to private use. (major PIA!)
3. You can claim only the work use percentage of rego, insurance, parts, servicing, fuel, interest on loan payments AND depreciation on a private vehicle but must have tax receipts available for everything.

Leasing is slightly different depending on whether you own the vehicle immediately or at the end of the lease period. Others can tell you better than me how that works.

I'd take the money.

well I'm glad it is simple!

OK, I guess you could call it a $13k salary sacrifice - location would be Darwin for what that is worth.... Fortunately, the $13k would not push me into a higher tax bracket if I took $$$, unfortunately taking the sacrifice would not push me down a tax bracket if I took the car. Novated lease can also be organised, but I'd be doing this myself, not through the company per se.

It should mean that most of the driving would be (relatively) short distance - anything over a few hours would be via charter flights so the fuel costs and running about in theory will be lower than if I lived in a big city and had further to go between client visits, shops, home and work etc.

Cash is looking attractive at this stage

do we have any tax experts on here? I would have thought landy ownership meant lotsa potential for tax writeoffs on *cough* necessary accesories like GPS *cough*

EchiDna,

Just quit go on the dole and get half price every thing sure the car would be nice but then you'll have to wash it.
And yeah the cash would be great too but then there's the taxes etc.

So just quit the job and get the dole, then there's no dilemma’s as to what you should pick

Yabbie, not sure my missus would agree with you

and I aint sure the dole would cover my F&B bill!

on second thoughts,

if you quit and went on the dole I'd be paying for the new car and the payrise
Damm taxes.

Best person to ask would be LRHybrid100(Mark) (he's good with fiddling with.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. ............numbers)