BAS and Cash Flow Assistance
Small and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit entities that employ people, with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million (usually based on their prior year's turnover), may be eligible to receive a total payment of up to $100,000 (with a minimum total payment of $20,000), based on their PAYG withholding obligations, in the following two stages:
- Stage 1 payment March BAS
– Commencing from the lodgement of activity statements from 28 April 2020, eligible employers that withhold PAYG tax on their employees' salary and wages will receive a tax-free payment equal to 100% of the amount withheld, up to a maximum of $50,000. Eligible employers that pay salary and wages will receive a minimum (tax-free) payment of $10,000, even if they are not required to withhold PAYG tax.
The tax-free payment will broadly be calculated and paid by the ATO as an automatic credit to an employer, upon the lodgement of activity statements from 28 April 2020, with any refund after deducting GST being paid to the employer. This means that Quarterly lodgers will be eligible to receive the payment for the quarter ending March 2020. - Stage 1 payment – Monthly IAS
Monthly lodgers will be eligible to receive the payment for the March, April, May and June 2020 lodgements. However, the payment for the March 2020 activity statement will be calculated as being three times the actual amount withheld.
The minimum payment of $10,000 will be applied from 28 April 2020 to an entity's first activity statement lodgement (whether for the month of March or the March quarter). - Stage 2 payment
For employers that continue to employ, an additional (tax-free) payment will be available in respect of the June to October 2020 period, basically as follows:
Quarterly lodgers will be eligible to receive the additional payment for the BAS due in July 2020 and October 2020, with each payment being equal to 50% of their total or Stage 1 payment (again up to a maximum of $50,000).
Monthly lodgers will be eligible to receive the additional payment for the June 2020, July 2020, August 2020 and September 2020 activity statement lodgements, with each additional payment being equal to a quarter of their total Stage 1 payment, up to a maximum of $50,000.
The ATO will automatically calculate and pay the additional (tax-free) payment as a credit to an employer upon the lodgement of their activity statements from July 2020, with any resulting refund being paid to the employer.
WARNING
The above payments are only available to employers who held an ABN and were registered as an employer before 12 March 2020.
Eligibility for the above payments is subject to a specific integrity rule that is designed to stamp out artificial or contrived arrangements that are implemented to obtain access to this measure. In particular, if an employer or an associate enters into a scheme with the sole or dominant purpose of obtaining or increasing any of the above payments for a particular employer, for a period, the employer will not be eligible for any such payments for the relevant period.
Wages subsidies for apprentices and trainees
Employers with less than 20 full-time employees, who retain an apprentice or trainee who was in training with the employer as at 1 March 2020, may be entitled to Government funded wage subsidies equal to 50% of the apprentice's or trainee's wage paid during the nine months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. The maximum wage subsidy over the nine-month period will be $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee.
Employers can register for the subsidy from early April 2020. (Email us for the contact). Final claims for payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020. Employers will be able to access the subsidy after an eligibility assessment is undertaken by an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network ('AASN') provider.
PAYG Instalments
Business will be allowed to vary to zero the March 2020 PAYG Instalment (paying tax in advance for 2019/20). The business can also claim a refund for any Instalments paid for September and December 2019. Please contact us if you receive an Instalment, time limits apply to variations.