2012 Tax Changes – Living away from home allowance

Living away from home allowance

The government will be making a few changes to the Living Away From Home allowance come July.

Access to the concession for temporary residents will be limited to those people who maintain a residence for their own use in Australia, but are required to live away from work. These workers are known as “fly-in, fly-out”.

Also, employees will be required to justify their spending on accommodation and food beyond the statutory amount, and a year limit will be placed on how long an employee can receive the benefit at any one work location.

These changes will affect anyone signing an agreement after May 8, 2012, and from July 1, 2014 for any contracts before that time.