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Salary Packaging Calculator for Hospitals, PBIs and Charities

If you work for a public or not-for-profit hospital you can pay up to $9 010 a year of rent, mortgage, loans and bills from your pre-tax salary with no fringe benefits tax; at a public benevolent institution or health promotion charity the limit is $15 900. Both come with a separate $2 650 for meal entertainment and holiday accommodation. The saving is the income tax and Medicare levy you no longer pay on those amounts. A nurse on $85 000 who uses the hospital cap and the meal entertainment cap keeps $3 731 more a year, $144 a fortnight. A charity worker on $68 000 using $15 900 plus meals saves $6 194. These caps apply to the FBT year from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The calculator below takes your salary, your employer type and what you plan to package, and shows the saving after any FBT and provider fees.

Salary packaging calculator, FBT year to 31 March 2027

Rent, mortgage, loans, bills, school fees: the taxable value.

Restaurant meals with others, venue hire, holiday stays.

Extra spending money per fortnight

$144

Packaged from pre-tax salary per year$11 660
Income tax and Medicare levy saved$3 731
FBT passed on to you$0
Provider fees$0
Net gain per year$3 731
General expenses cap (taxable value)$9 010
Meal entertainment cap (taxable value)$2 650
Reportable fringe benefits$22 000

Caps are grossed-up values ($17,000 or $30,000; $5,000 for meals) converted at the 1.8868 rate, the usual case for rent, mortgage and bills. Provider fees and any FBT are taken from the package. See the methodology.

By Radif Partners

Publisher of calculators and practical guides · Finance Enthusiast

Updated for 2026-27 financial year · Last verified 2026-07-01

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Four kinds of employer, four results

Packaging living expenses only pays when your employer is outside the normal FBT rules. The ATO's table of capped concessions, unchanged for the FBT years ending 31 March 2023 to 2027, sets three groups. Everyone else pays full FBT.

EmployerConcessionGrossed-up capSpendable capMeal entertainment
Public and not-for-profit hospitals, public ambulance servicesFBT exemption$17 000$9 010$2 650
Public benevolent institutions (other than public hospitals), health promotion charitiesFBT exemption$30 000$15 900$2 650
Rebatable employers: other registered charities and not-for-profitsRebate of 47% of the FBT$30 000$15 900$2 650
Private companies, government departmentsNonenonenonenone

For a rebatable employer the benefits are not free of FBT: the employer pays 53% of the normal FBT, and most pass it on. On $68 000, packaging $15 900 with a rebatable employer saves $294 a year against $5 307 at a PBI. In a private company, packaging $9 010 of bills would cost $2 550 a year more than taking the salary.

Savings by salary

Full cap used, no meal entertainment, no fees, 2026-27 resident rates with the low income tax offset and the Medicare levy:

SalaryHospital ($9 010)PBI or charity ($15 900)
$45 000$1 907$3 551
$65 000$3 018$5 327
$85 000$2 883$5 088
$120 000$2 883$5 088
$150 000$3 514$6 138

The saving climbs quickly to the 30% band and then stays nearly flat across it, because between $45 000 and $135 000 every packaged dollar saves 30 cents of tax and 2 cents of Medicare levy. It jumps again above $135 000, where packaging removes income taxed at 37%.

Meal entertainment: the second cap

Meal entertainment covers restaurant meals shared with others, catering for a party, venue hire and holiday accommodation, paid from pre-tax pay through a separate card. Its $2 650 cap sits on top of the general one. For the nurse on $85 000, adding it lifts the saving from $2 883 to $3 731. The meal entertainment page explains what qualifies and what does not.

Fees, and when packaging is not worth it

Providers charge a yearly or per-pay fee, sometimes paid by the employer. A $400 fee on the nurse's hospital cap brings the saving from $2 883 to $2 611. The arrangement stops paying when the tax saved no longer covers the fees: on a small packaged amount, or when your income is near the tax-free threshold.

Reportable fringe benefits: the side effect to check

Everything you package appears on your income statement as a reportable fringe benefits amount, the taxable value grossed up at 1.8868. Using the full PBI cap produces $35 000. It is not taxed, but it is added to your income for HELP repayments, the Medicare levy surcharge and child support, and when your employer is exempt (hospital, ambulance service, PBI or health promotion charity) only 53% of it counts for family assistance. A charity worker with a student debt can see part of the tax saving go into higher HELP repayments. The reportable fringe benefits page calculates the effect.

Detail by employer

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I salary package in 2026-27?
It depends on your employer. Public and not-for-profit hospitals and public ambulance services: $9 010 a year of general expenses free of FBT. Public benevolent institutions and health promotion charities: $15 900. On top of either, up to $2 650 of meal entertainment and holiday accommodation. The FBT year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
Why are the caps $9,010 and $15,900 and not $17,000 and $30,000?
The law caps the grossed-up value: $17 000 for hospitals and $30 000 for charities. Packaging providers convert that to the amount you can actually spend by dividing by the type 2 gross-up rate of 1.8868, which gives $9 010 and $15 900. If a benefit carries a GST credit the higher rate applies and the spendable amount is a little lower.
Is salary packaging worth it on a low income?
The saving is your marginal rate on the amount packaged. On $45 000 a hospital employee packaging $9 010 saves $1 907 a year, because part of the amount comes out of income taxed at 15% plus the Medicare levy. Below the tax-free threshold of $18 200 there is nothing to save, and packaging can still raise income tests through the reportable amount.
Does salary packaging affect Centrelink and my HECS?
Yes. Packaged benefits appear on your income statement as reportable fringe benefits. They are added to your income for HELP repayments, the Medicare levy surcharge and child support. For family assistance and youth income support, employees of a PBI, health promotion charity, public or not-for-profit hospital or public ambulance service have only 53% of it counted. Rebatable employers are not on that list.
Can I package my rent or mortgage?
Yes, with a hospital, PBI or charity employer: rent, mortgage repayments, personal loans, credit cards, utilities, school fees and most bills can be paid from the general cap. The provider either pays the bill directly or loads the amount onto a card. In a private company, the same benefit costs FBT at 47% and saves nothing.
What happens if I package more than the cap?
The excess is taxed: your employer pays FBT at 47% on its grossed-up value and passes the cost to you. A hospital employee packaging $1 000 over $9 010 pays about $887 of FBT on it, more than the tax that $1 000 would have cost as salary at any rate up to 45%.

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