Geelong Bookkeeper on the JobKeeper payments in simple terms.
The government has now released the 3rd and most substantial phase of the economic stimulus package. A phase that finally sees relief for self-employed individuals and NZ citizens living in Australia . The $130b package will provide $1,500 per fortnight (before tax), per employee/per self-employed individual for 6 months commencing from 30 March 2020.For the Employer to be eligible to receive and subsequently pass the payments onto employees, their turnover must be less than $1b per annum but more importantly, their turnover must have dropped by 30% relative to a comparable period from the prior year. E.g. Turnover for the month of March 2020 must be more than 30% lower than March 2019. The same concept applies to the self-employed. Further, the employer must register for the payments direct with the ATO (process to be opened in coming days) and must report to the ATO on a monthly basis.
The payments will be effective from 30 March 2020 however the ATO will not be providing payments back to the employer until the first week of May 2020. So businesses will need to fund the scheme from their own cash reserves for the month of April.
For an Employee to be eligible to receive the payments from an employer, they must have met the following criteria:
• are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
• were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020;
• are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
• are at least 16 years of age;
• are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder, a non-protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder; and
• are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer.
Ensure that each eligible employee receives at least $1,500 per fortnight (before tax):
• For employees that were already receiving this amount from the employer then their income will not change;
• For employees that have been receiving less than this amount, the employer will need to top up the payment to the employee up to $1,500, before tax;
• For those employees earning more than this amount, the employer is able to provide them with a top-up; and
• Once receiving the JobKeeper payment, the JobSeeker payment becomes redundant.
Where the tax free threshold is claimed and before tax amount is kept to $1,500, the after tax amount equates to $1,308. The government have left it up to the employer if they would like to pay superannuation on the JobKeeper component of an employee’s fortnightly pay.
For the self-employed which includes sole traders, partners in a partnership and beneficiaries of a trust who take their income as drawings (as opposed to wages), the process looks to be quite straightforward:
• An active ABN and TFN must be provided;
• An individual must be nominated to receive the payment
• A declaration provided to the ATO confirming recent business activity
Contact us at: Contact
Stay Safe everyone xx