Category: Blog

Christmas Parties and Gifts – The Tax Truths

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles

Christmas is traditionally a time of giving – including employers showing gratitude towards staff and clients/suppliers for their loyalty throughout the year. With the right approach, it is possible to enjoy some tax benefits out of your generosity, and also avoid Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT). But as always with tax, the landscape is layered with complexity. The following is a general summary of the tax treatment of Christmas giving.

Gifts to Staff

Non-entertainment gifts to staff (such as Christmas hampers, bottles of alcohol, gift vouchers, pen sets etc.), are tax deductible and you can claim GST credits, irrespective of cost. Note however that you can generally avoid paying FBT if you keep the gift under $300. If this threshold is exceeded, FBT will apply. Therefore, be conscious of this threshold when providing such gifts to staff this Christmas.

Entertainment gifts to staff (such as tickets to movies/theatre/amusement park/sporting events, holiday airline tickets etc.) which are under $300 will not attract FBT, but are not income tax deductible, and you can not claim GST credits. If over $300, FBT will apply, but a tax deduction and GST credits can be claimed. With FBT rate sitting at 47%, the tax deduction and GST credits available is unlikely to provide a better tax outcome than avoiding FBT by keeping the gift under $300.

Gifts to Clients/Customers/Contractors/Suppliers

No FBT is payable, irrespective of the type of gift and irrespective of cost. However, where a gift constitutes entertainment, no GST or tax deduction can be claimed. Thus, at least from a tax standpoint, it’s better to provide non-entertainment gifts to clients (Christmas hampers, bottles of alcohol, gift vouchers, pen sets) and, in doing so, enjoy a tax deduction and GST credits.

Christmas Parties

Instead of (or as well as) gifts, it’s quite common for employers to host a Christmas Party for their staff (often including spouses) at a restaurant.

Where this is the case, the total cost will generally be exempt from FBT provided the per-head cost (dinner and drinks) is kept to under $300 per person. This is known as the Minor Benefits Exemption. To enjoy this exemption the employer must use the Actual Method for valuing FBT meal entertainment. The Actual Method is the default method for valuing meal entertainment, and no formal ATO election is required to use this method. Under the Actual Method, an employer pays FBT (in the absence of an exemption) on all taxable meal entertainment provided to employees and their associates such as spouses. The downside of using the Minor Benefit Exemption is that the meal entertainment is not tax deductible, and nor can you claim a GST credit.

This Minor Benefit Exemption is not available if you elect to value your meal entertainment under the alternative 50/50 Method. Under this method, you pay FBT on only 50% of all taxable meal entertainment provided to employees, spouses AND clients, contractors, customers etc. irrespective of the cost. Likewise, you can only claim a 50% income tax deduction and 50% GST credits on such meal entertainment. However as stated earlier, with the FBT rate now at 47%, the 50% tax deduction and 50% GST credits available under the 50/50 Method is unlikely to provide a better after-tax result than the Actual Method where no FBT is payable.

The “take-home message” is that if like many employers the only social functions you host for employees during the year are a Christmas Party (and perhaps the Melbourne Cup), be conscious of keeping the per-head cost under $300. By doing so, you may be able to exempt the entire cost of the party from FBT.

Key Dates for Business November & December 2020

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, Key Dates for Business

Many key dates are looming for business including those relating to Activity Statments, superannuation, and more…

NOVEMBER 2020

11 November – July-September qurterly Activity Statements – due for lodgement and payment (if lodging electronically)
21 November – October monthly Activity Statements – due for lodgement and payment
28 – November – Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) Statment – due for lodgement and payment if insufficient contributions or late contributions were made for the July-September quarter

DECEMBER 2020

01 December – Due date for income tax payment for companies that were required to lodge by 31 October
21 December – November monthly Activity Statements – due for lodgement and payment

Where the due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, it is deferred until the next business day (except in the case of Superannuation Guarantee deadlines).

JobMaker Now Law

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, News

The Government’s new JobMaker scheme passed both houses of Parliament yesterday, and is now awaiting (the formality of) Royal Asset.

Commencement

The scheme will be backdated to commence on 7 October 2020 and provide eligible employers with the following payments for up to 12 months for new jobs created for which they hire the following young workers:

$200 a week for hiring a worker aged 16 to 29 on at least 20 hours a week and
$100 for those aged 30 to 35.

Although the scheme is slated to run for just 12 months, that period is the hiring period – not the payment period. Eligible employers who hire an eligible employee on the last day of the scheme (6 October 2021), may be eligible for hiring credits for the subsequent 12 months until 6 October 2022.

Employer eligibility

The criteria are broad (e.g. having an ABN, being registered for PAYG withholding, being up-to-date with lodgement obligations, reporting through STP), however some employers are specifically excluded:

Employers who are claiming JobKeeper
Entities in liquidation or who have entered bankruptcy
Commonwealth, state, and local government agencies (and entities wholly owned by these agencies
Employers subject to the major bank levy
Sovereign entities (except those who are resident Australian entities owned by a sovereign entity.

Additionality criteria

Key to the scheme is that employers must have hired additional eligible employees.

The additionality criteria for the first four JobMaker periods requires that there is an increase in:

the business’ total employee headcount (minimum of one additional employee) from the reference date of 30 September 2020; and
the payroll of the business for the reporting period, as compared to the three months to 30 September 2020.

Treasury example – increase in headcount:

Lisa employs two new staff, Emma aged 28 and Jessica aged 32, who both start on 7 January 2021 and meet the employee eligibility requirements.

Angus resigns from his job at Lisa’s business, effective as at 7 January 2021. When claiming for the March quarter reporting period (7 January 2021 to 6 April 2021), Lisa again compares her current situation to her baseline:

On 30 September 2020, her baseline headcount was 2 and her quarterly payroll was $30,000.
On 6 April 2021, her headcount was 4 and her payroll for the reporting period was $52,000.

For the March quarter reporting period, as her headcount is 2 above her baseline, Lisa can claim for the 2 additional positions. Lisa notifies the ATO through STP of the commencement of Emma and Jessica on 7 January 2021, and that Angus was no longer employed as at 7 January 2021.

Different additionality criteria operate for the final for JobMaker periods. As they are well into the future, they are beyond the scope of this piece.

Eligible employees

These are those who commenced employment between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021; were aged between 16 and 35 years at the time they commenced employment; have worked an average of 20 hours a week for each whole week the individual was employed by the qualifying entity during the JobMaker period. Additionally, the worker must have met the pre-employment condition which requires that for at least 28 of the 84 days (i.e. for 4 out of 12 weeks) immediately before the commencement of employment of the individual, the individual was receiving the following payments

parenting payment
youth allowance (except if the individual was receiving thus payment on the basis that they were undertaking full time study or was a new apprentice) or
JobSeeker payment.

Participation and notification requirements

To be entitled to the JobMaker Hiring Credit payment in relation to a JobMaker period,employers must have notified the Commissioner in the approved form of its election to participate in the scheme by the end of the period that the entity first elects to participate. For example, for an entity that elects to participate for the JobMaker period of 7 January 2021 to 6 April 2021, the notice must be provided to the Commissioner by 6 April 2021.

The reporting requirements will include the details of employees that have commenced or ceased employment during a JobMaker period and the entity’s payroll amount. The Commissioner will also specify that the information must be provided through the STP.

Tax Cuts Now in Play

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, News

The Taxation Administration Act Withholding Schedules No 2 2020 were registered on 12 October 2020.

The PAYG wages withholding schedules have been updated in response to the changes to tax scales that were announced in the recent Federal budget, and contained in Treasury Laws Amendment (A Tax Plan for the COVID-19 Economic Recovery) Bill 2020, which passed Parliament on 9 October 2020. Three changes were made, backdated to 1 July 2020, which are now reflected in the new withholding schedules:

the top threshold of the 19% personal income tax bracket has increased from $37,000 to $45,000
the top threshold of the 32.5% tax bracket has increased from $90,000 to $120,000
bringing forward the increase in the amount of the low income tax offset to $700 (from $445) to 2020-21 (instead of the 2022-23 income year and later income years)

The ATO has also been working closely with providers of payroll software and employers to ensure the reduced withholding associated with the threshold changes, and the increase of LITO, is reflected in software as soon as practicable.

The changes apply to payments made on and from 13 October 2020, with employers required to make sure they are withholding the correct amount from salary or wages paid to employees for any pay runs processed in their system from no later than 16 November onwards.

While the tax cuts have been backdated to 1 July 2020, the tax table changes do not take into account any over-withheld amounts that individual taxpayers have paid since the start of the financial year. Instead, this over-withheld amount will be factored into an individual’s 2020-21 tax return.

ATO Publish New Tax Tables

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, Key Dates for Business, News, Tax Rates

October 2020 Tax Threshold update

Changes to personal income tax thresholds announced by the Government during the Federal Budget have been incorporated into the withholding schedules and tax tables and will apply to payments made on and from 13 October 2020.

As the changes to withholding are made part way through the income year, employers and other payers who are unable to immediately implement these changes into their payroll will have until 16 November 2020 to do so.

Employees and other payees will receive their entitlement to the reduced tax payable for the entire 2020–21 income year when they lodge their income tax return.

Read more here https://www.ato.gov.au/Rates/Tax-tables/

Federal Budget 2020

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General

2020 FEDERAL BUDGET WRAP

The Federal Budget was handed down on 6 October 2020. Following is a precis of some of the headline measures.

BUSINESS

Expanded Access to Small Business Tax Concessions – access will be expanded to a range of small business tax concessions. Under the changes, businesses with an annual aggregated turnover of less than $50 million (up from $10 million) will have access to the following concessions:

Concession	Start Date
immediate deduction for certain start-up expenses	1 July 2020
immediate deduction for certain prepaid expenses	1 July 2020
FBT exemption for car-parking benefits	1 April 2021
FBT exemption for multiple portable electronic devices (laptops, tablets etc.)	1 April 2021
simplified trading stock rules	1 July 2021
remit PAYG instalments based on GDP-adjusted notional tax	1 July 2021
settle excise duty monthly on eligible goods	1 July 2021
two-year amendment period	1 July 2021
simplified account method access for GST purposes	1 July 2021

Note that access to the small business CGT concessions has not been expanded, and remains at an aggregated turnover of less than $2 million, or less than $6 million in net assets.

Extension of the Instant Asset Write-Off – businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $5 billion will be able to deduct the full cost of eligible capital assets acquired from 7:30pm AEDT on 6 October 2020 (Budget night) and first used or installed by 30 June 2022.

“Full expensing” in the year of first use will apply to new depreciable assets and the cost of improvements to existing eligible assets.

For small- and medium-sized businesses (with aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million), full expensing also applies to second-hand assets.

Businesses with aggregated annual turnover between $50 million and $500 million can still deduct the full cost of eligible second-hand assets costing less than $150,000 that are purchased by 31 December 2020 under the existing instant asset write-off.

Loss Carry-Back – companies that have paid tax in the past, but that are now in a tax loss position, will be permitted to carry their loss back to those past years to obtain a refund of some of the tax they previously paid. This measure will enable many distressed companies to claim back the taxes they paid on their pre-COVID-19 profits against losses they are incurring during the current downturn.

Specifically, companies with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $5 billion, will be permitted to carry-back losses from the 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22 income years against tax paid in the 2018–19, 2019–20 or 2020–21 income years.

The tax refund would be limited by requiring that the amount carried back is not more than the earlier taxed profits. The tax refund will be available on an election basis by eligible businesses when they lodge their 2020-21 and 2021-22 tax returns.

Companies that do not elect to carry back losses under this measure, can still carry losses forward as normal.

FBT Exemptions to Support Training and Re-Skilling – an FBT exemption will be introduced for retraining and reskilling benefits provided by employers to redundant, or soon-to-be redundant, employees where the benefits may not be related to their current employment. Before this change (which will apply from 6 October 2020) FBT was payable where an employer provides training to redundant or soon-to-be redundant employees and that training does not have sufficient connection to their current employment.
Hiring Credit for Employers – a new JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme will be available to employers from 7 October 2020 for each new job they create over the next 12 months for which they hire an eligible young person. For each eligible employee, employers will receive for up to 12 months:
$200 a week if they hire an eligible young person aged 16 to 29 years; or
$100 a week if they hire an eligible young person aged 30 to 35 years.

The new employees must have received JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (other) or Parenting Payment for at least one of the previous three months at the time of hiring. Employers must demonstrate that they have increased their overall employment to receive this payment for up to 12 months for each position created. To claim the credit, employers need to report their employees’ payroll information to the ATO via Single Touch Payroll.

INDIVIDUALS

Tax Cuts – reductions in individual tax rate thresholds will apply for the 2020-21 income year. That is, from 1 July 2020:
the top threshold of the 19% personal income tax bracket will be increased from $37,000 to $45,000
the top threshold of the 32.5% personal income tax bracket will be increased from $90,000 to $120,000.

This brings forward changes previously legislated to commence from the 2022-23 income year. By way of illustration, this will result in an annual tax saving of $1,080 for individuals with a taxable income of $50,000; a saving of $1,530 for those earning $100,000; and a saving of $2,430 if you are earning $150,000.

CGT Exemption for ‘Granny Flat’ Arrangements – from 1 July 2021, CGT will not apply to the creation, variation or termination of a granny flat arrangement providing accommodation where there is a formal written agreement in place. This will apply to arrangements that provide accommodation for “older Australians or those with a disability”. At the time of writing, there are no further details as to what constitutes “older” or “disability”. The exemption will only apply to agreements that are entered into because of “family relationships or other personal ties” and will not apply to commercial rental arrangements.

To be clear, this measure will provide a CGT exemption for the home-owner in relation to any capital gains arising from the creation of “granny flat rights” and/or for the variation, extension or ending of such rights.

All told, this measure will remove the adverse tax consequences for the property owner while providing protection for older parents or people with disabilities. Note that the exemption is limited to cases where the home is the principal residence of the property owner.

SUPERANNUATION

Unlike recent years, there were no taxation or contribution-related reforms in the Budget, however a broad package of measures was announced aimed at improving the superannuation system by:

Having your superannuation follow you – preventing the creation of unintended multiple superannuation accounts by ensuring that individuals automatically keep their superannuation fund when they change employers
Making it easier to choose a better fund – individuals will have access to a new interactive online comparison tool which will encourage funds to compete harder for members’ savings
Holding funds to account for underperformance – to protect members from poor outcomes and encourage funds to lower costs, the Government will require superannuation products to meet an annual objective performance test. Those that fail will be required to inform members. Persistently underperforming funds will be prevented from taking on new members.

JOBKEEPER 2.0 (28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021) Bullet Point Guide

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General, Key Dates for Business, News

Here is a quick snapshot of the important points of JobKeeper 2.0 as we count down the days until its commencement next week:

Entities must re-assess their eligibility for JobKeeper 2.0 from 28 September
Entities already enrolled in JobKeeper 1.0 do not need to re-enrol for JobKeeper 2.0
Employees who received JobKeeper 1.0 do not need to fill out fresh nomination notices for JK 2.0
The decline in turnover is now “actual” GST turnover for the September quarter” v. “actual GST turnover the 2019 September quarter” (projected turnover now plays no role)
The decline in turnover percentages remain unchanged from JobKeeper 1.0, at 15% (ACNC registered charities other than universities and schools), 30% ($1b or less) and 50% (more then $1b)
Businesses are generally expected to assess eligibility based on details reported in their BAS. Alternative arrangements will be announced for entities not lodging a BAS
As with JobKeeper 1.0, the Commissioner will have discretion to set out alternative tests where it is not appropriate to compare actual turnover in a quarter in 2020 with actual turnover in a quarter in 2019
The wage condition, based on the tier into which the eligible employee or business participant falls (see below), continues to apply
The “one-in”, “all-in” principle continues to apply
For the first two JK 2.0 fortnights, the ATO has extended until 31 October 2020 the time an entity has to pay employees in order to meet the wage condition
JobKeeper 2.0 will be a two-tiered payment arrangement based on average hours worked, on an employee-by-employee basis, in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020.
Tier 1 and Tier 2 level employees are identified as part of the JobKeeper extension process

Tier 1 – $1,200 per fortnight (before tax). This rate applies to:

eligible employees who worked for 80 hours or more in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and
eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 80 hours or more in February and provide a declaration to that effect.

Tier 2 – $750 per fortnight (before tax). This rate applies to any other eligible employee or business owner.

Payments for eligible business participants and religious practitioners will be based on the same two-tiered payment basis
An extra reporting requirement will apply. That is, businesses will be required to nominate which payment rate they are claiming for each of their eligible employees (or business participants)
Employers must notify eligible employees of the payment to which they are eligible, within seven days of notifying the ATO
The ATO has set out alternative tests where an employee or business participant’s hours were not usual during the February and/or June 2020 reference periods. For example, this will include where the employee was on leave, volunteering during the bushfires, or not employed for all or part of February or June 2020.
From 4 January 2021 the tier 1 rate reduces to $1,000 and the tier 2 rate reduces to $650

Victorian Business Survival and Adaption Package

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, News, News, Small Business, Uncategorized

In response to the state’s extended lockdown, the Victorian government on the weekend announced a $3 billion Business Survival and Adaption Package for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions. The package is a mix of cash grants, tax relief, and cash-flow support featuring three components.

Business Support

Small and medium sized business ($822 million): The third round of the Business Support Fund will provide up to $20,000 for business with a payroll of up to $10 million. Grant applications open on Friday 18 September 2020.
Licensed Hospitality Business ($251 million): Grants of up to $30,000 for licensed pubs, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants and reception centres, based on their venue capacity and location.
Business Chambers and Trader Groups ($3 million): A competitive grants program to support metropolitan and regional business chambers and trader groups.
Alpine businesses ($4.3 million): Grants of up to $20,000 to help alpine businesses pay a service charge to Alpine Resort Management Boards.
Sole Trader Support Fund ($100 million): Grants of up to $3,000 to over 30,000 eligible sole traders who operate from a commercial premises or location to which the sole operator is the tenant or licensee.

Business Adaption

$20 million voucher program to assist sole traders and small businesses in building their digital capability
$15.7 million package to help Victorian exporters get their products to market and establish new trade channels.
$8.5 million expansion to the ‘Click for Vic’ campaign to encourage more Victorians to support local businesses.
$87.5 million Outdoor Eating and Entertainment Package to support hospitality businesses prepare for COVID Normal reopening across Victoria.
$100 million Melbourne City Recovery Fund between the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne to support Melbourne on the roadmap for reopening to COVID Normal in the lead up to Christmas and during summer.

Waivers and Deferrals

$1.7 billion to defer payroll tax for businesses with payrolls up to $10 million for the full 2020-21 financial year
$41 million to bring forward the 50% stamp duty discount for commercial and industrial property for all of Regional Victoria
$33 million to defer the planned increase in the landfill levy for six months
$30 million to waive 25% of the Congestion Levy this year, with the outstanding balance deferred.
$27 million in liquor license fee waivers for 2021
$6 million to waive Vacant Residential Land Tax for vacancies in 2020.

JobKeeper Extension – Almost Here!

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General, Key Dates for Business

With the JobKeeper extension commencing in two weeks, we provide the latest publically available information –

Extension from 28 September 2020

The original JobKeeper scheme finishes on 27 September 2020.

In good news for employers, the Government then announced that the scheme will be extended from 28 September 2020 until 28 March 2021.

There are two separate extension periods. For each extension period, an additional actual fall in turnover test applies and the rate of the JobKeeper payment is different.

Alternative tests for determining turnover and payment rates may be available in some circumstances but at the time of writing are yet to be published. We will notify you of these as they come to hand.

Extension 1

This extension period runs from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021.

You will need to demonstrate that your actual GST turnover has fallen by the following percentages= in the September 2020 quarter (July, August, September) relative to a comparable period (generally the corresponding quarter in 2019)

30% fall in turnover (for an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less)
50% fall in turnover (for an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion), or
15% fall in turnover (for ACNC-registered charities other than universities and schools).

The payment rates of the JobKeeper Payment in this extension period are:

Tier 1: $1,200 per fortnight (before tax)
Tier 2: $750 per fortnight (before tax).

Rates of Payment

The rate of the JobKeeper Payment will depend on the number of hours an eligible employee works or on the other hand the number of hours an eligible business participant is actively engaged in the business.

It will be split into two rates as follows:

TIER 1 RATE

TIER 2 RATE

This applies to

eligible employees who worked for 80 hours or more in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and
eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 80 hours or more in February and provide a declaration to that effect.

This rate is expected to apply to any other eligible employees and eligible business participants.

Employers and businesses will need to nominate the rate they are claiming for each eligible employee and/or eligible business participant.

Extension 2

This extension period will run from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021.

You will need to demonstrate that your actual GST turnover has fallen in the December 2020 quarter (October, November, December) relative to a comparable period (generally the corresponding quarter in 2019).

You can be eligible for JobKeeper Extension 2 even if you were not eligible for JobKeeper Extension 1.

The rates of the JobKeeper Payment in this extension period are:

Tier 1: $1,000 per fortnight (before tax)
Tier 2: $650 per fortnight (before tax).

What Employers Need to do

From 28 September 2020, employers must do all of the following:

work out if the Tier 1 or Tier 2 rate applies to each of your eligible employees and/or eligible business participants and/or eligible religious practitioners
notify the Commissioner and your eligible employees and/or eligible business participants and/or eligible religious practitioners what payment rate applies to them; and
during JobKeeper Extension 1, ensure your eligible employees are paid at least

$1,200 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees
$750 per fortnight for Tier 2 employees

during JobKeeper Extension 2, ensure your eligible employees are paid at least

$1,000 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees
$650 per fortnight for Tier 2 employees.

For your eligible religious practitioners, you must provide certain benefits to them in the fortnight.

If you are registered for GST and have outstanding BAS statements, you should lodge your BAS for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters as soon as possible (or for equivalent months, if you report monthly).

Fall In Turnover

To claim for fortnights in the JobKeeper Extension 1, you need to determine if you satisfy the actual fall in turnover test for the September 2020 quarter, you must calculate your GST turnover for the quarter of September 2019 and September 2020.

For many businesses registered for GST, this calculation will match the ‘total sales’ reported at G1 on your BAS minus GST payable (1A), where applicable.

You can provide additional turnover information to demonstrate that you satisfy the actual fall in turnover test for the September quarter from the start of October onwards. You must provide it before you complete your November monthly declaration.

What Doesn’t Change?

To claim for fortnights in the JobKeeper Extension 1 or 2:

You don’t need to re-enrol for the JobKeeper extension if you are already enrolled for JobKeeper for fortnights before 28 September.
You don’t need to reassess employee eligibility or ask employees to agree to be nominated by you as their eligible employer if you are already claiming for them before 28 September.
You don’t need to meet any further requirements if you are claiming for an eligible business participant, other than those that applied from the start of JobKeeper relating to:

holding an ABN, and
declaring assessable income and supplies.

JobKeeper 2.0 – Passes Parliament!

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General

The JobKeeper 2.0 legislation has just passed both houses of Parliament, and is now law (subject to the formality of Royal Assent). This legislation enables the Treasurer to draft a legislative instrument setting out the key changes to the scheme as follows:

Employer Eligibility

From 28 September 2020, businesses and not-for-profits seeking to claim JobKeeper will be required to re-assess their eligibility for the JobKeeper extension with reference to their actual turnover in the September quarter 2020 (rather than the June and September quarters). Businesses and not-for-profits will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test in this quarter to be eligible for JobKeeper from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021.

Businesses and not-for-profits will need to further reassess their eligibility in January 2021 for the period from 4 January to 28 March 2021. Businesses and not-for-profits will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test in the December quarter 2020 (rather than each of the June, September and December quarters) to remain eligible for the period to 28 March 2021 (the March quarter).

Payment Rates

The payment rates have been pared back and will now depend upon the hours worked by an employee.

From 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021, the JobKeeper Payment rates will be:

$1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who were working in the business or not for-profit for 20 hours or more a week on average in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and for eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average; and
$750 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants.

From 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021, the JobKeeper Payment rates will be:

$1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who were working in the business or not for-profit for 20 hours or more a week on average in the four weeks of pay periods before either 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020, and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average; and

• $650 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants

Employee Eligibilty

Employees that meet the eligibility requirements can now be nominated by a new employer if their original employment with a JobKeeper employer ended before 1 July 2020
As of 3 August 2020, the key date for assessing employee eligibility is now 1 July 2020 (not 1 March 2020)
For the fortnights commencing on 3 and 17 August 2020, employers had until 31 August 2020 to meet the wage condition for newly-eligible employees under the revamped 1 July eligibility test.