JobKeeper Update
14 January 2021
December 2020 JobKeeper
The monthly declaration for December is now available. The Tax Office has extended the lodgment due date for this to 28 January 2021.
If you have not already done so, you should ensure that you complete your declaration by then.
JobKeeper Extension 2
In addition, businesses need to review their eligibility to receive the second JobKeeper Payment – Extension 2, which runs from 4 January to 28 March 2021. This must be done by 31 January 2021.
You can be eligible for JobKeeper extension 2 even if you were not eligible for JobKeeper extension 1.
From 4 January, the JobKeeper payment rate will fall to $1,000 per fortnight for those on the tier 1 rate and $650 per fortnight for those on tier 2.
To be eligible, you will need to demonstrate a decline in actual GST turnover for the December 2020 quarter.
How much should I pay my employees?
From 4 January 2021, employers must pay their eligible employees at least the correct JobKeeper amount of either $1,000 for tier 1 or $650 for tier 2. This has to be done by Sunday 31 January 2021.
If you have any questions regarding this, or would like us to review and register the JobKeeper extension on your behalf, please contact one of our team.
14 August 2020
With the release of JobKeeper 3.0 some of the eligibility rules have changed from fortnight 10.
The relevant date of employment has been moved from 1 March 2020 to 1 July 2020. This means employees who were previously not eligible, may now be eligible for the current Jobkeeper period as well as the extended periods.
To satisfy the eligibility criteria, you need to identify these employees and meet the Jobkeeper minimum wage condition i.e. $1,500 by 16 August 2020.
It’s time to revisit the eligibility of your employees to comply with the existing “one in, all in” rule.
Employees are eligible in the extension period if they:
• are currently employed by an eligible employer (including if you were stood down or rehired)
• were for the eligible employer (or another entity in their wholly-owned group) either:
– a full-time, part-time or fixed-term employee at 1 July 2020; or
– a long-term casual employee (employed on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months) as at 1 July 2020 and not a permanent employee of any other employer.
• were aged 18 years or older at 1 July 2020 (if you were 16 or 17 you can also qualify if you
are independent or not undertaking full time study).
• were either:
– an Australian resident (within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991); or
– an Australian resident for the purpose of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the holder of a Subclass 444 (Special Category) visa as at 1 July 2020.
• were not in receipt of any of these payments during the JobKeeper fortnight:
– government parental leave or Dad and partner pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010; or
– a payment in accordance with Australian worker compensation law for an individual’s total incapacity for work.
Only one employer can claim the JobKeeper Payment in respect of an employee.
The self-employed will be eligible to receive the JobKeeper Payment where they meet the relevant turnover test, and are not a permanent employee of another employer.
Employees will continue to receive the JobKeeper Payment through their employer during the period of the extension if they and their employer are eligible and their employer is claiming the
JobKeeper Payment. However, the amount of the JobKeeper Payment will change at the rates outlined below:
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 notfor-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.
Businesses and not-for-profits will be required to nominate which payment rate they are claiming for each of their eligible employees (or business participants).
To find out more see the JobKeeper extension fact sheet.
JobKeeper 2.0 Q & A Session
22 July 2020
The Government is extending the JobKeeper Payment by a further six months to March 2021. Support will be targeted to businesses and not-for-profits that continue to be significantly impacted by the Coronavirus. The payment rate will be reduced and a lower payment rate will be introduced for those who work fewer hours. Other eligibility rules remain unchanged.
The payment rate of $1,500 per fortnight for eligible employees and business participants will be reduced to $1,200 per fortnight from 28 September 2020 and to $1,000 per fortnight from 4 January 2021. From 28 September 2020, lower payment rates will apply for employees and business participants that worked fewer than 20 hours per week.
From 28 September 2020, businesses and not-for-profits seeking to claim the JobKeeper Payment will be required to demonstrate that they have suffered an ongoing significant decline in turnover using actual GST turnover (rather than projected GST turnover).
From 28 September 2020, businesses and not-for-profits will be required to reassess their eligibility with reference to their actual GST turnover in the June and September quarters 2020. They will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test in both of those quarters to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021.
From 4 January 2021, businesses and not-for-profits will need to further reassess their turnover to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. They will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test with reference to their actual GST turnover in each of the June, September and December quarters 2020 to remain eligible for the JobKeeper Payment from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021.
To be eligible for JobKeeper Payments under the extension, businesses and not-for-profits will still need to demonstrate that they have experienced a decline in turnover of:
• 50 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion;
• 30 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or
Economic Response to the Coronavirus – JobKeeper Extension Last updated: 21 July 2020 2
• 15 per cent for Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission-registered charities (excluding schools and universities).
If a business or not-for-profit does not meet the additional turnover tests for the extension period, this does not affect their eligibility prior to 28 September 2020.
The JobKeeper Payment will continue to remain open to new recipients, provided they meet the existing eligibility requirements and the additional turnover tests during the extension period.
Other eligibility rules for businesses and not-for-profits and their employees remain unchanged.
See the Fact_sheet-JobKeeper_Payment_extension to find out more in detail.
COVID-19 Q & A Session
17 June 2020
Jobkeeper monthly declarations
If you’ve enrolled for the JobKeeper Payment and identified your eligible employees you still need to make a monthly declaration to the ATO by the 14th day of each month.
As part of the declaration you will need to:
- ensure you’ve paid your eligible employees at least $1,500 (before tax) in each JobKeeper fortnight you’re claiming for.
- reconfirm your eligible employees and your contact and financial details.
- provide information on your current and projected GST turnover, this isn’t a retest of your eligibility – it will indicate to us how your business is progressing.
For more information refer to the ATO website
Cash flow boosts
The second round of cash flow boosts are set to commence when you lodge your activity statements from June 2020.
The amounts will be equal to the total amount of initial cash flow boosts you received and will be split evenly over your lodgments. If you lodge:
- quarterly, you’ll receive 50% of your total initial cash flow boost for each activity statement
- monthly, you’ll receive 25% of your total initial cash flow boost for each activity statement.
When you lodge your June 2020 activity statement, you may receive the last part of your initial cash flow boost and the first additional cash flow boost as a credit.
You can find more information here.
28 April 2020
The ATO has just announced extensions to both the time to enrol in the JobKeeper Scheme, and the time in which employers need to pay employees for the first two JobKeeper fortnights.
Employers now have until 31 May 2020 to enrol for the initial JobKeeper payments. In addition, it has extended the time in which employers need to pay employees for JobKeeper fortnights 1 and 2 until 8 May 2020. Employers should ensure that by this date, all eligible employees have been paid $3,000 for the first two fortnights.
It is important that employers also ensure that a minimum of $1,500 per employee be paid by 10 May 2020 in relation to JobKeeper fortnight 3, as no extension to this date has been announced.
Further details regarding these extensions can be found on the ATO website.