Hawkesbury Bookkeeping

Affordable Bookkeeping Solutions for your Small Business

Payroll

Have you lodged your March BAS yet?

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Eligible employers have already received a cash flow boost on their March activity statement account. This is generally $10,000.

If you haven’t lodged your March BAS yet, don’t worry, you’ve still got time. If you’re eligible, the cash flow boost will automatically be credited when the March activity statement is lodged.

The cash flow boost will be credited against anything you owe on that BAS. For example, if you have PAYG withholding and GST payable, the boost will be credited against those amounts and excess credit will be refunded to you.

To find out if you’re eligible, Book a Chat with us or call on 0416 09 33 94. Now is a great time to get your books up-to-date.

SG Amnesty – a chance to set things right

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If you haven’t paid the right amount of super guarantee (SG) to your workers, the SG amnesty is the time to come forward. If you disclose your SG shortfalls during the amnesty, you can rectify past unpaid SG without incurring charges or penalties.

The SG amnesty runs until 6 September 2020 however, given this is a Sunday, applications are accepted until 11.59pm on Monday 7 September 2020.

SG shortfalls for any quarter between 1 July 1992 and 31 March 2018 may be eligible if you have not been told we are examining your SG obligation for the period your disclosure relates to.

If you disclose your SG shortfalls and are found eligible:

  • you must pay the SG shortfall plus interest
  • any payments you make before 11.59pm on Monday 7 September 2020 in your local time are tax deductible, including payments through a payment plan.

However, you must pay your SG shortfalls (or payment instalments) to remain eligible. If you default on your payment plan, you will no longer be eligible for the amnesty.

It’s important you act on this opportunity now to get your obligations up to date. If you’re aware of any unpaid SG for the periods covered under the amnesty and choose not to come forward, the consequences will be significant. Penalties include:

  • up to 200% penalty on top of the SG and interest you owe (minimum 100% penalty)
  • administration charges ($20 per employee per quarter).

If you’ve been impacted by recent bushfires, we understand that your priority is on your family and community at this time. However, the law doesn’t allow us to vary the due date for lodgment of an SG amnesty application.

Please view other resources:

ATO: Superannuation guarantee amnesty

If you need assistance in lodging SG shortfalls, please Contact Us or Book a Chat.

Information provided by ATO Small Business Newsroom

Want to know more about Superannuation Guarantee?

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Are you confused about Superannuation Guarantee or want to make sure you are getting it right for your employees?

The ATO website has loads of information plus the products and tools to help you understand what you need to do for super as an employer.

They have recently published a free online course on Super Guarantee Employer Obligations. It is designed to help employers understand their obligations to pay super for eligible employees.

The course is free and is available on the ATO website. The course takes around 2 hours to complete and will result in the following learning outcomes. You will understand:

  • the importance of paying super guarantee
  • the circumstances in which it is payable
  • the steps to setting up super for your employees
  • how to calculate super guarantee
  • how to lodge and pay super guarantee
  • what to do when a super guarantee payment is late or missing
  • your record-keeping requirements.

Click here to access the free ATO web course.

You can also find out more about Super for Employers by clicking here.