Important Reminders

Monthly declaration Jobkeeper

You will have to provide a monthly declaration to the ATO – this can be done from the 1st to the 14th day of each month, to receive reimbursements for the payments you have made to your employees in the previous month.

The declaration requires you to reconfirm your eligible employees and provide information on your current and projected GST turnover. You will also need to notify the ATO if your eligible employees change or leave your employment.

Tax consequences

JobKeeper payments form part of the business entity’s assessable income. Of course, an employer can claim a deduction for wages paid to employees even if subsidised by JobKeeper.

STP exemption for small employers

If you are a small employer (19 or fewer employees), the ATO has extended to 1 July 2021 the Single Touch Payroll (STP) exemption in relation to closely-held payees. A closely held (related) payee is someone who is directly related to the business, company or trust that pays them, such as family members of a family business, directors or shareholders of a company or beneficiaries of a trust.

This STP exemption for closely-held payees applies automatically and you do not need to apply to the ATO to access it. However, you should keep records to support your decision to apply the concession. Alternatively, you can notify the ATO and apply for the exemption through the Business Portal. Your registered tax agent can also apply for an exemption on your behalf.

If you have any other employees (also known as arm’s length employees), they must be reported through STP on or before each payday, unless you are eligible for a micro employer (1-4 employees) reporting concession.

Micro employers who need more time to move to STP reporting can ask their registered tax or BAS agent to report on their behalf on a quarterly basis. This can continue until 30 June 2021.

End-of-year finalisation through STP

You need to make a finalisation declaration by 14 July each year. If you have 19 or fewer employees, you have until 31 July 2020 to make the finalisation declaration.

Employers with closely held payees

If you have 20 or more employees, you should be reporting closely held payees each pay day along with arms-length employees. The finalisation due date for closely held payees is 30 September 2020.

If you have 19 or fewer employees and are voluntarily reporting your closely held payees, you can also finalise by 30 September 2020 for the 2019–20 financial year.