What is LAFHA?
The government realised long ago that sometimes getting a job, and then keeping it, can be a difficult task. And if it's hard to find work in your local area, at times the realistic option is to move to another location if a job is available there.
'Lafha' or ‘Living Away From Home Allowance’ is an Australian Tax Office (ATO) allowance that can be provided through employers to help their employees cover the additional costs of relocating and living away from their usual place of residence for employment. This means that you pay less tax which increases your take home pay.
The Tax Office defines 'living away from home' by you having a 'usual place of residence' that you would have continued to live in but for the fact that work commitments require you to temporarily live in a different locality and people who move to a new locality for a stint at a particular job, and who intend to move back at the end of their appointment. If you fall into this category you will generally be treated by the Tax Office as living away from their usual place or residence.
Those eligible include
- Australians moving to locations within Australia
- Overseas Long Stay Visa Holders
- Australians Working Overseas
