Do I need to apply for the deferral?

Yes. The deferral is not automatically applied.

All businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector and gyms/other businesses (within the 9111 and 8211 ANZSIC codes as well as those required to operate under the 1 person per 7 square metre density restriction) impacted by the COVID-19 trading restrictions which commenced on 27 December 2021 are able to apply for a deferral of payroll tax payments for the return periods of December 2021 to June 2022 until their 2021-22 Annual Reconciliation.

Upon lodgement of your annual reconciliation for the 2021-22 financial year, you will receive a Notice of Assessment for any outstanding payroll tax liability. This Notice of Assessment will include any deferred amounts.

Please note that a June monthly return does not need to be submitted. Your June figures should be included in the total wage component when you lodge the annual reconciliation. Your annual reconciliation is required to be lodged via RevenueSA Online and is due on the 28 July 2022.

You can nominate to defer your obligation when submitting your monthly return in RevenueSA Online, refer to the RevenueSA Online  Lodge a Monthly Return (for return periods December 2021 to June 2022) - COVID-19 (PDF 599KB).

Is this relief only for businesses that closed because of COVID-19?

No, the business does not need to be closed to be eligible for the relief, however, to qualify for the deferral, the business needs to operate in an eligible industry (i.e. tourism, hospitality and gym/fitness, within the 9111 and 8211 ANZSIC codes as well as those businesses required to operate under the 1 person per 7 square metre density restriction) and be financially impacted by the COVID-19 trading restrictions that commenced on 27 December 2021.

When is the payment due if I defer my payroll tax obligations for the December 2021 to June 2022 return periods?

Your annual reconciliation, due 28 July 2022, will factor in any deferred payroll tax obligations. You will not need to make any additional payments, other than your annual reconciliation balance.

If you wish to pay earlier, you can with any of your 2022 returns. To do so, just add the amount of deferred payroll tax you would like to pay to your payroll tax obligation for those return periods.

My business ceased trading due to COVID-19. What does this mean for my payroll tax obligations?

If your business has ceased to employ and won’t recommence trading in the future, you may cancel your payroll tax registration.

Please email RevenueSA at payrolltax@sa.gov.au advising that you wish to cancel your registration, indicating your taxpayer number and date of cancellation. RevenueSA will email you when you are able to complete your final lodgement in RevenueSA Online. For more details see our RevenueSA Online page.

If I apply for the deferral, do I still have to lodge my monthly payroll tax returns?

Yes, monthly payroll tax returns must be lodged to capture wages for each month. This is for reporting purposes only.

If my monthly tax liability is under the threshold, do I need to lodge a nil return like normal?

Yes, you still need to lodge a nil return.

I have set up future dated payments. Do I need to cancel these?

Yes, you will need to log into RevenueSA Online to cancel future payments.

View instructions on how to void a payment (108KB)

Can I still make a monthly payment if I wish?

Yes, if you have elected to defer you can still make a monthly return payment (which may be less than your payroll tax obligation). This will reduce the amount you will need to pay at the end of the deferral period.

Do I still need to make monthly payments beyond the deferral period?

It is important that even if you can’t pay the full amount of payroll tax for each month (beyond the current deferral period) that you still lodge your payroll tax returns (together with an affordable payment amount) to avoid the automatic application of interest and penalty tax.

I have paid my return for one or more of the eligible return periods, but my business is in a sector that has been provided deferral relief and I wish to apply for a refund?

If your business is eligible for a deferral and has recently made a payroll tax payment for any of the eligible return periods, you can request a refund. Please email RevenueSA at payrolltax@sa.gov.au, indicating your taxpayer number and advising that you would like to apply for a refund.

Concerned about meeting your deferred payroll tax obligations?

Upon lodgement of your annual reconciliation for the 2021-22 financial year, you will receive a Notice of Assessment for any outstanding payroll tax liability.  At this point, you can contact RevenueSA’s Debt Management Services team who will work with you to negotiate a suitable payment plan to assist you to manage any liability from the 2021-22 financial year, together with future monthly obligations for the 2022-23 financial year.

When contacting us please provide your South Australian Taxpayer Number (if known), ABN, and organisation name.

You can reach us during business hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (South Australian time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).