Guest Wisemad Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi, we are new to this site although I have been reading the threads for a while now. My husband, my 7 yr old and me have been in Perth for a yr now on a 457 visa. AS you would all be aware, it is now tax time which we are finding taxing!! I read on this site a while ago that if someone is on a 457 they are entitled to LAFH (Livng Away from Home Allowance)when doing their tax returns. However now when we are enquiring about it, we are told that we are not eligible as my husband found a job here and then moved(i.e he was not transferred by his company from UK to here by his company) and also that if we have been living here for more than 183 days, we do not qualify. One of the guys explained how LAFH and it sounded very attractive. Would hate to miss out on it . We would be very grateful if anyone who knows anyhing about the above could help clarify things for us. And also maybe recommend a tax agent. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Coffee Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 We would be very grateful if anyone who knows anyhing about the above could help clarify things for us. And also maybe recommend a tax agent. Just do a search on 'LAFHA' in this forum, lots of threads. As a starting point try this: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/money-finance/28083-loans-457-a-3.html The best advice is possibly to hire a tax agent for your tax return process, it's not overly expensive and should be well worth it. The agent should also be able to give you information on your LAFHA eligability. As far as I know you cannot claim for previous years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wisemad Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi Coffee, thanks very much for replying and for the link. I ha already searched the site for info and found quite a few details on reant and food allowance etc from one member. However when we have contacted a couple of tax agents and even the ATO helpline tha have all told us that we are not eligible. I am curious to hear from anyone on the 457 visa who have benefitted from LAFH allowance and to know how they went about it. THanks in advance for any info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Coffee Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I am curious to hear from anyone on the 457 visa who have benefitted from LAFH allowance and to know how they went about it.THanks in advance for any info. Well, that's me then... :-) My employer actually made me aware of it, saying certain employees are eligable for it. Part of my relocation package was also an initial tax consultation where I raised the issue and they confirmed that I am in a kind of 'grey area' (I am German but came straight from London so giving evidence of ties to my home country required some good arguments) but should in general be eligable. All I needed to do was filling in a form in which I stated my status (457 temp), my ties to my home country (bank account, insurances), my intention to return to my home country once the visa expires and that I do not have any property or intend to buy any property in Australia (looking at house prices and mortgages an easy commitment...). The only thing required from my employer was to change my permanent contract into a temporary contract (for the time the visa is valid). All in all an easy and painless procedure. But quite benefitial... :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest julie2g1b Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 hi wisemad just wanted to welcome you to pio sorry cant help with question ............. julie :wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wisemad Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 HI Coffee, Thanks very much for the very useful info. Unfortunately when we came here we had the intention of staying permanently and my husband did not do any of the above. We are not so sure about staying permanently anymore and were gutted yesterday when we did our tax returns and paid $50k tax. Not sure if we can change back but hopefully this will help any other member on a 457 when they are coming in to make some more infomed decision. Another thing that we were misinformed on was that we would not qualify for anything on medicare (again because we were on the 457 visa) and that we had to have private medical insurance to cover everthing. Now we realise that we do qualify for certain things under Medicare since we are from the uk waho has a reciprocal agreement with aus and therefore have to pay the levy!!! Maybe we did not do our research properly but I hope this info will be useful to someone else . On a brighhter note, we have been in perth for a yr now and I have been working in mortgage assessment with ANZ. (probably approved some of the loans for some PIO members!!) and my husband Paul is a civil engineer. We also have a 7 yr old daughter who goes to a very nice school.If there is any questions we might be able to answer please feel free to ask. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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