My husband has been offered a job on the 457 visa.We really need to decide asap on this. There is so little information on this LAFHA.

Does anyone know if we kept our property before leaving for AUS we may not qualify for LAFHA?

Also, the company says the LAFHA is given for only 2 years. Is this at their discretion?We found some information that LAFHA lasts 3 months to 4 years. Isn't this between you and the tax office?

And does anyone know of informative websites, gov or not to seek further information on this.Most of the gov websites like ATO, centrelink hardly provide any if none.

Thanks

Hi there - if you look for 'LAFHA' in earlier posts on this forum you will find numerous references to LAFHA which hopefully should tell you all you need to know.

Provision of LAFHA is totally up to your employer, must be administered by them and CANNOT be claimed by you independently from the tax office.

It also is something that you dont have to worry about declaring on your tax return either as it is deducted from your taxable income by your employer. So your gross salary (as far as the ATO is concerned) is your actually salary less the LAFHA amount.

It can be paid for up to 4 years if your visa lasts that long.

Your home in the UK has no effect on LAFHA. The only thing that will stop you getting it is applying for a permanent visa as LAFHA is permitted providing it is your intention to retunn home when your job/visa is finished.

If after reading the earlier posts you still have more questions, then let me know and I will see if I can help.

It also is something that you dont have to worry about declaring on your tax return either as it is deducted from your taxable income by your employer. So your gross salary (as far as the ATO is concerned) is your actually salary less the LAFHA amount.

Sorry for digging up such an old thread, but I'm doing my 2008 tax return at the moment and wasn't sure if (and where) to mention LAFHA on my e-Tax. I can't find anything on ATO's website or within the e-Tax search related to LAFHA. Is your comment from last year still valid - in other words do I just ignore the LAFHA part for my tax return, as it's not on my group certificate either?

Your group certificate should show that your gross income is your actual gross less the amount of LAFHA you were paid during the tax year.

e.g. if your contractual gross salary is 80k and you received 20k of LAFHA then your group certificate should state 60k. There should be no mention of LAFHA (at least that's how it was when I received LAFHA).

The amount of tax withheld should similarly be adjusted.

If not then you need to contact your employer and ask them why !

Thanks Colin, my group certificate is correct, that's not the issue. Under '2 - Income - Allowances' in e-Tax, ATO asks 'did you receive any income from working, whether of not it is shown on a PAYG payment summary?'. I just wanted to double check that it's correct that you don't have to mention the LAFHA here or anywhere else when doing your tax return.