Jobkeeper Update
Firstly I would like to say thank you to all of our clients who have been patient and understanding these past few weeks. The JobKeeper stimulus package has been very challenging and its certainly kept us on our toes with enrolments and trying to keep updated with the daily changes.
There are a couple of recent changes by the ATO that are important to note:
The ATO have recently extended the deadline for April JobKeeper payments. You now have until 8th of May to pay employees for the month of April and you have until 31st May to register for JobKeeper and be eligible for April payments.
In an update on Wednesday 29th April, the ATO has advised that if a business chooses to use a different GST accounting method to the one it normally uses in calculating turnover (ie cash versus accruals) the Tax Office may contact you to understand why you have done so. If you normally account for GST on a cash basis, but seek to calculate on an accruals basis (or vice versa). The ATO’s latest guidance looks to prevent businesses using a cash or accruals basis to skew outcomes because of a timing anomaly. This stops businesses delaying April invoices being issued in May to meet the 30% decline in turnover test.
I can’t emphasise enough that you should not alter your turnover in anyway in an attempt to meet the turnover test. The ATO integrity measures state there will be severe penalties for any contrived arrangements.
The ATO have advised JobKeeper payments will commence in the first week of May. To make sure your payments are processed as quickly as possible we recommend you complete the monthly declaration on 4 May and enrol your eligible employees as soon as possible. This can only be done via the Business Portal using your MyGov ID. For those clients who do not have a MyGov ID and have been enrolled by our office we will be completing your monthly declarations on 5th May as Monday is a public holiday here in Queensland.
If any clients are experiencing difficulty paying their GST, PAYG or income tax liabilities please contact our office so we can arrange either a payment deferral or monthly instalment plan. The ATO are currently allowing deferrals up to 14th September however they do encourage voluntary payments where possible.
I understand some clients have had to pay JobKeeper top ups with their wages which has affected cashflow so hopefully the ATO will be prompt in issuing JobKeeper payments, however if there are delays for unknown reasons you can contact our office to investigate but please be patient as we are fielding a large number of calls and emails.
