Category: Key Dates for Business

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/

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

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 Changes – Employment Start Date and Amendment to Turnover Test

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General, Key Dates for Business, News, News

On 7 August, the government announced two further changes to the JobKeeper program. Firstly, employees hired as at 1 July 2020 may also be eligible to receive JobKeeper. Secondly, employer turnover eligibility for the revised JobKeeper scheme to commence on 28 September 2020 will be based on a single quarter tax period (rather than multiple quarters as previously announced).

Employee Change

Before this change, an eligible employee had to, among other things, be employed as at 1 March 2020 to qualify for JobKeeper. Additionally, where they were a casual at that date, they had to have been employed on a regular and systematic basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020.

The 7 August 2020 announcement changes that reference point to 1 July 2020, with effect to all JobKeeper fortnights commencing on or after 3 August 2020 – which means it impacts the last four fortnights of the original JobKeeper scheme.

Noting that the “one-in, all-in” principle still applies to the 1 July changes, employers should consider which employees are now eligible to bring into the JobKeeper scheme, including:

full-time or part-time employees employed after 1 March 2020 but on or before 1 July 2020;
employees who may have joined the business after 1 March 2020 but are currently stood down
casual employees employed at 1 July 2020 who commenced their casual employment before 1 July 2019.
employees who may not have met the age condition as at 1 March 2020, but do as at 1 July 2020
employees who may not have met the residency condition as at 1 March 2020, but do as at 1 July 2020

Employer Turnover Change

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).

Further Consequent Change

This amendment, announced on Friday 14 August, accommodates the employee eligibility change on 7 August (above).

With the key date for assessing which employees are eligible for JobKeeper now 1 July 2020, rather than 1 March 2020, the ATO states that employers should start paying new eligible employees a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight from JobKeeper fortnight 10, which commenced on 3 August. To accommodate what may be a cashflow issue brought about by this change, for the fortnights commencing on 3 August 2020 and 17 August 2020, the ATO is allowing employers until 31 August 2020 to meet this wage condition for all new eligible employees included in the JobKeeper scheme under the new 1 July eligibility test.

Key Dates for September & October 2020

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Business Tax, Featured Articles, General, Key Dates for Business

Many key dates are looming for business including those relating to Activity Statements, GST, Superannuation, Income Tax Returns, and more…

SEPTEMBER 2020
21 September – August monthly Activity Statements – due for lodgement and payment
30 September – Annual TFN Withholding Report for closely-held Trusts where a Trustee has been required to withhold amounts from payments to beneficiaries during 2019/2020 – due date for lodgement

OCTOBER 2020
21 October – September monthly Activity Statements – due for lodgement and payment
28 October – Final date for eligible quarterly GST reporters to elect to report GST annually
28 October – Due date for Superannuation Guarantee contributions for July-September to be made to employee funds
31 October – PAYG Withholding Where ABN Not Quoted – Annual Report – due date for lodgement. These amounts are also reported at W4 on your Activity Statement
31 October – Due date for 2019/2020 individual tax returns (unless you are lodging via a Tax Agent and are on their lodgment list by this date)

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).

JobKeeper Key Dates

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, General, Key Dates for Business, News

Key dates

31 August 2020 – wage condition for new employees

For the fortnights commencing on 3 August 2020 and 17 August 2020, we are allowing employers until 31 August 2020 to meet the wage condition for all new eligible employees included in the Jobkeeper scheme under the 1 July eligibility test.

31 August 2020 – enrolments close for August fortnights

To claim JobKeeper payments for the August JobKeeper fortnights, including for new eligible employees included in the Jobkeeper scheme under the 1 July eligibility test, you must enrol for JobKeeper by 31 August.

21 July 2020 – extension of the JobKeeper Payment program

The government has announced proposed changes to the JobKeeper Payment program including:

an extension of the program to 28 March 2021
turnover tests to determine eligibility
tiered payments for eligible staff
- from 28 September to 3 January 2021 and
- from 4 January to 28 March 2021.

These proposed changes will not impact JobKeeper Payments until after 28 September 2020.

For more information, visit the Treasury website and read JobKeeper extensionExternal Link.

20 July 2020 – changes for child care providers

The rule changes relating to JobKeeper payments for child care providers have now been confirmed.

Eligibility for JobKeeper payments will stop from 20 July for:

employees of an approved provider of child care services where the employee’s ordinary duties are that they are principally engaged in the operation of the child care centre
eligible business participants where the business entity is an approved provider of a child care service.

Childcare providers need to make sure that they do not claim JobKeeper for employees and eligible business participants who are no longer eligible. You will not be reimbursed for payments made after JobKeeper Fortnight 8 (6 July to 19 July).

There are some steps you will need to take to stop receiving JobKeeper payments for your ineligible employees and business participants. More information is available in the ATO JobKeeper guides.

Full ATO article here https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/JobKeeper-key-dates/

Key Dates for July & August 2020

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Accounts - Blog, Featured Articles, Key Dates for Business, News, Small Business, Superannuation

Key Dates for Business

July 2020
01 July – First day of the 2020/2021 financial year
21 July – Monthly Activity Statements (June 2020) due for lodgement and payment
28 July – Quarterly Activity Statements (April-June) due for lodgement and payment (if lodging by paper)
28 July – Superannuation Guarantee Contributions (April-June) due for payment to superannuation funds or Clearing Houses

August 2020
11 August – Quartelry Activity Statments (April-June) due for lodgement and payment (if lodging electronically)
21 August – Monthly Activity Statemnts (July 2020) due for lodgement and payment
21 August – Final day for eligible monthly GST reporters to elect to report annually
28 August – 2020/2021 Contractor Taxable Payments Annual Reports – due for lodgement

Where one of these dates falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the due date is extended to the next business day.

SINGLE TOUCH PAYROLL

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Accounts - Blog, General, Key Dates for Business, Small Business, Superannuation

1 July Employers with less than 20 employees should start transition to Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a new way of reporting tax and super information to the ATO.

If you are using a solution that offers STP reporting, such as payroll or accounting software, you will send your employees’ tax and super information to the ATO each time you run your payroll and pay your employees.

The information is sent to the ATO either directly from your software, or through a third party – such as a sending service provider.

If you have a software provider, they can tell you more about the type of STP solution they offer. For a list of available STP solutions visit the https://api.gov.au/productregister/

There will also be a number of options available for employers who do not use payroll software, such as http://No-cost and low-cost Single Touch Payroll solutions.

Options will depend on your number of employees:

Large employers with 20 or more employees should now be reporting through STP, or have applied to the ATO for a later start date.
Small employers with 19 or less employees will need to report through STP from 1 July 2019. This is a gradual transition, and the ATO is providing flexible options.
- If you’re an employer with four or less employees you will have additional options.