Certificates Scheduled Downtime

Issued 24 Jun 2014

RevenueSA will be performing end of financial year updates between 5pm Thursday, 26 June 2014 to 9am Tuesday, 1 July 2014. During this period you will be unable to request or update certificates.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

State Budget 2014-15

Issued 19 Jun 2014

The following taxation measures were announced by the Government as part of the 2014-15 State Budget handed down today, 19 June 2014:

• Introduction of the Transport Development Levy (TDL).
• Introduction of a $8500 Seniors Housing Grant (SHG) for new homes where contracts are entered into between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2016 inclusive.
• Removal of general remissions on the fixed property Emergency Services Levy (ESL) from 1 July 2014 for most property owners but not for eligible pensions and concession card holders.
• Targeting of eligibility criteria for the $46 fixed property pensioner remission to eligible pensioners and concession card holders from 1 July 2014.
• Removal of general remissions on the mobile property ESL for cars, motorcycles, historic and left-hand vehicles from 1 August 2014.

Further information is available in Information Circular 69.

Off-the-Plan Concession Changes

Issued 05 Jun 2014

Changes to the off-the plan apartment concessions will come into effect from 1 July 2014.

For eligible off-the-plan purchase contracts, entered into between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2016 for apartments with a value of $500,000 or less, stamp duty will be payable on the deemed unimproved value of the apartment plus the value of any construction already undertaken at the date of the relevant contract and not the full market value of the apartment.

For apartments valued at over $500,000, a concession will apply of up to $15,500.

Today, the relevant descriptions of the stages of construction have been published in the Government Gazette and are also outlined in Information Circular 68.

Further information in relation to the concessions can be found in Information Circular 48 and Information Circular 65.

Payroll Tax Returns Due

Issued 02 Jun 2014

Don't forget, payroll tax returns for May 2014 are due by 7 June 2014.

Payroll Tax Returns Due

Issued 06 May 2014 

Don't forget, payroll tax returns for April 2014 are due by 7 May 2014.

Taxpayer Information Sessions

Issued 29 Apr 2014

A number of free taxpayer information sessions will be conducted on Wednesday, 18 June 2014 for legal, accounting and conveyancing professionals, and employers with payroll tax obligations.

Sessions being held include:

• payroll tax - annual reconciliation process
• payroll tax - how to comply with harmonised payroll tax legislation
• stamp duty and land tax update

For more information and bookings please visit our taxpayer information sessions page.

Payroll Tax Webinars

Issued 07 Apr 2014

Are you newly registered for payroll tax or do you want to refresh your payroll tax knowledge?

Why not register for one of the Harmonised Payroll Tax Webinars which are held on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm (South Australian time). There are four webinars in the series:

Webinar 1 - Understanding the Basics - what it is, how it works
Webinar 2 - Allowances, FBT, Exemptions and Rebates
Webinar 3 - Contractors
Webinar 4 - Groupings

Click here for further information and to register.

Stamp Duty Land Holder Guide to Legislation

Issued 13 Mar 2014

The Stamp Duty Land Holder Guide to Legislation has been released, providing a general guide to the provisions of Part 4 of the Stamp Duties Act 1923, more commonly known as the land holder provisions.

Please click here to access.

BizLinks Seminar

Issued 20 Feb 2014 

The South Australian Small Business Commissioner is hosting a BizLinks Seminar on Thursday, 6 March 2014.

The half day seminar provides information about government services available to your business. Along with RevenueSA, there will be presenters from the ATO, ABS, ASIC, ACCC, WorkcoverSA and more.

Click here to register for this free event.

Stamp Duties Act 1923 Section 60A(1)

Issued 19 Dec 2013

PLEASE NOTE: Revenue Ruling SDA008 originally issued on 17 December 2013 has been reworded to more accurately reflect the Ruling's intent.

On 16 December 2013, Cabinet approved the drafting of retrospective amendments to Section 60A(1) of the Stamp Duties Act 1923 to confirm and reflect RevenueSA's long-standing interpretation of this section. That is, that the 'date of sale' is the date the property in question is conveyed or transferred.

For further information please see Revenue Ruling SDA008.

Housing Construction Grant

Issued 18 Dec 2013 

To qualify for the Housing Construction Grant (HCG) an applicant must have entered into a contract to purchase a new home or a contract to build a new home between 15 October 2012 and 31 December 2013.

You have twelve months from the date of the purchase/construction of a new home in which to apply.

The HCG application form does not need to be submitted to RevenueSA by 31 December 2013 to be able to claim this grant.

Please see the HCG page for further details of the HCG.

Stamp Duty Section 71CC Ex Gratia Scheme

Issued 16 Dec 2013 

Section 71CC of the Stamp Duties Act 1923 provides an exemption from stamp duty on the transfer of primary production land and associated farming goods between certain relatives (family members) and/or their trustees.

RevenueSA has received advice that the exemption cannot be applied to transfers involving trusts which have more than one beneficiary, therefore, any transfers of primary production land involving trusts with more than one beneficiary are subject to ad valorem stamp duty. This advice is a significant departure from RevenueSA's long-standing assessment practices.

Having regard to the intended reach of the exemption and the existing practices of RevenueSA applying the exemption to discretionary trusts, unit trusts and self-managed superannuation funds, the Treasurer has approved an ex gratia scheme to provide stamp duty relief so that RevenueSA's existing assessing practices in relation to Section 71CC can be maintained, pending consideration of appropriate legislative amendment.

For further information please see Revenue Ruling SDA007.

Christmas/New Year Opening Hours

Issued 13 Dec 2013

Over the Christmas/New Year period, RevenueSA will only be closed on the three public holidays:

• Wednesday, 25 December 2013
• Thursday, 26 December 2013
• Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Our online services will continue to operate 24/7.

Due Date for December 2013 Payroll Tax Returns

Issued 11 Dec 2013 

Please note the due date for the December 2013 payroll tax return has been extended from 7 January 2014 to 14 January 2014.

HCG and Succession Duties

Issued 05 Dec 2013

The First Home and Housing Construction Grants (Eligibility Criteria) Amending Act 2013 and the Succession Duties Repeal Act 2013 were assented to by His Excellency the Governor today.

The First Home and Housing Construction Grant (Eligibility Criteria) Amending Act 2013 adjusts the eligibility criteria of the First Home And Housing Construction Grants Act 2000 to ensure the Government's policy of providing the Housing Construction Grant to purchasers of new homes is achieved where other parties may also be eligible. See Information Circular 66 for future details.

The Succession Duties Repeal Act 2013 extinguishes any residual matters that may still arise even though succession duties were abolished as from 1 January 1980. See Information Circular 67 for further details.

TDL Draft Bill Consultation

Issued 22 Nov 2013

The Government previously announced the introduction of a Transport Development Levy (TDL) in the Adelaide central business district, from the 2014-15 financial year.

Consultation has now opened for the draft Transport Development Levy Bill 2013. Comments on the draft Bill can be provided to RevenueSA until Friday, 31 January 2014.

Further information is available in the TDL Explanatory Memorandum located on the Transport Development Levy page.

HCG Ex Gratia Scheme

Issued 08 Nov 2013

The Treasurer has approved an ex gratia scheme to extend the housing construction grant to new homes located in residential parks and retirement villages. See Revenue Rulings FHOG003 and FHOG004 and the housing and construction grant  for further details.

2013 RevenueSA Taxpayer Survey

Issued 04 Nov 2013 

The 2013 Taxpayer Survey has been released.

We would appreciate it if you would spend five to ten minutes to complete the survey. The survey can be accessed by clicking here. The survey will close at close of business on Friday, 29 November 2013.

Your feedback is important to us and we encourage you to be honest and constructive in your responses. Results from the survey will be published on our Internet site.

Please do not feel that you need to wait until our annual Taxpayer Survey to provide comments. We want to hear from you if, for any reason, you are dissatisfied with any services we provide you. We also want to hear your ideas on how we can improve our services. Naturally we would also like you to let us know when our service exceeds your expectations, as we need the range of feedback to continually improve our services and develop new standards.

Extension of the Off-the-Plan Apartment Concession

Issued 29 Oct 2013 

The Government has announced today a broadening of the eligible area, for the stamp duty concession for off-the-plan apartments.

See Information Circular 65 for further details.

Information Circular Released

Issued 19 Sep 2013 

Information Circular 64 has been released to provide guidance in calculating the market value of a property, in relation to first home owner grant and housing construction grant applications, where a comprehensive home building contract has been entered into.

The Information Circular outlines a number of components which may be deducted from the consideration payable for the building work when determining the market value of the property.

Stamp Duty Information Circular Released

Issued 10 Sep 2013

The Stamp Duty Regulations 2013 came into force on 1 September 2013. Further information can be found in Information Circular 63.

Payment of the Housing Construction Grant

Issued 16 Aug 2013

Revenue Ruling FHOG002 regarding payment of the Housing Construction Grant has been released.

Financial Institution Change

Issued 14 Aug 2013

RevenueSA will be changing financial institutions from Westpac to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on 19 August 2013

How does this affect me?

If you make payments to RevenueSA (including those made at Service SA, Bpoint, and Australia Post) via:

• cheque or money order;
• BPay;
• direct debit/electronic payment authorisation (i.e. RevNet and debt management payment arrangements); or
• credit card (including telephone payments);

you do not need to do anything differently.

If you make payments to RevenueSA for payroll tax via electronic funds transfer (EFT), you will need to update the BSB details if you have saved the transfer details in online banking. Upon lodgement of your return on RevNet the EFT Payment Advice will generate with the new BSB details. No change has been made to the account number or name.

Failure to update the BSB will result in a rejected payment, with the transfer reversed and funds refunded into your account.

Will there be any processing delays?

During the transition between financial insitutions, minor delays may occur in processing RevNet direct debit payments. It is expected that:

• RevNet payments made up until Wednesday, 14 August 2013 will be processed on Thursday, 15 August 2013; and
• RevNet payments made after Wednesday, 14 August 2013 will be processed on Tuesday, 20 August 2013.

Taxpayers will not be penalised for late payments due to delays in processing during this transition.

All other payments will be processed as usual.

I have a cheque from RevenueSA, will it still be valid?

If you have received a cheque from RevenueSA in relation to payroll tax (e.g. a refund) which was issued by Westpac, we request that you bank it as soon as possible.

Amounts relating to outstanding payroll tax cheques (issued by Westpac) which have not been cleared by 1 December 2013 will need to be claimed through unclaimed money.

Will the descriptor on my bank statement change?

In some cases, you may notice a slight change in the description on your bank statement, however reference will still be made to RevenueSA.

New RevenueSA Website Launched

Issued 08 Aug 2013

RevenueSA has today launched a new-look website with improved navigation to help you find what you are looking for faster.
We welcome any feedback.

Payroll Tax Website Launched

Issued 25 Jul 2013

The Commissioners from Revenue Offices in each Australian state and territory have today launched a joint payroll tax website.

This website will complement the work undertaken over the last six years for the harmonisation of both payroll tax legislation and administration and illustrates the significant gains made by all Australian State and Territory Revenue Offices in this area.

The website provides easy access to harmonised payroll tax documentation, legislation, state and territory contacts and education opportunities, comprising:

• a one-stop location for harmonised payroll tax information and payroll tax return lodgement/payment portals;
• information required by an employer registered in multiple jurisdictions regarding harmonised payroll tax components;
• links to specific state and territory revenue office payroll tax information, and
• a uniform presence for all revenue offices payroll tax information.

The address for the website is www.payrolltax.gov.au

Guides to Legislation Released

Issued 22 Jul 2013

The 2013-14 Guides to Legislation have been released for land tax and payroll tax:

• 2013-14 Land Tax Guide to Legislation
• 2013-14 Payroll Tax Guide to Legislation

In addition, Information Circular 62 has been released, which outlines the payroll tax rates for 2013-14, along with the prescribed rates for motor vehicle and accommodation allowances.

Payroll Tax Revenue Ruling Updated

Issued 17 Jul 2013 

Revenue Ruling PTA013[V2] has been updated to ensure consistency with other harmonised jurisdictions.