COVID-19 payroll tax relief has ended

JobKeeper Payment (Commonwealth)

Businesses whose employees qualified for the Federal Government’s JobKeeper support payments were exempt from paying any payroll tax on the wage subsidy.

Payroll Tax Waiver for employers with grouped Australian wages of up to $4 million

Businesses and business groups with Australian (annualised grouped) wages up to $4 million received a payroll tax waiver for the months of April to June 2021 (for the return periods of March 2020 to May 2021).

Identification of whether your business was eligible for a waiver of payroll tax was based on the actual wages declared during the 2018-19 financial year.

The payroll tax waiver did not extend to government organisations.

Businesses that received a waiver still needed to lodge the annual reconciliation for each financial year.

For information about the annual reconciliation, refer to our Annual Reconciliation page.

What evidence is required to be retained?

You need to retain any evidence that your business was adversely impacted by COVID-19 including BAS Statements, financial statements, and evidence of JobKeeper payments.

Payroll Tax Deferral & Waiver for employers with grouped Australian wages over $4 million

Businesses and business groups with wages over $4 million who were adversely impacted by COVID-19 could elect to defer their payroll tax payments for the March to November 2020 return periods until 14 January 2021.

Identification of whether your business was eligible to defer payroll tax was based on the actual wages declared during the 2018-19 financial year.

In addition, businesses with employees that qualified for the Federal Government’s JobKeeper support payments between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021 also received a waiver of the payroll tax payable on all wages paid for the months of January to June 2021 (for the return periods of December 2020 to May 2021).

The payroll tax deferral and waiver did not extend to government organisations.

Businesses that received a deferral and/or waiver still needed to lodge the annual reconciliation for each financial year.

For information about the annual reconciliation, refer to our Annual Reconciliation page.

What information do I need to retain to show my business has been adversely impacted by COVID-19?

A deferral may be subject to an audit by RevenueSA. You may be requested to provide documentation to demonstrate that your business was adversely impacted by COVID-19. Evidence could include the following:

  • BAS Statement
  • Financial statements
  • Sales figure comparisons from this year compared to last year
  • Evidence that you have received JobKeeper payments.

This is not a comprehensive list. Other evidence may be provided if it clearly shows your business has been adversely impacted.

What does adversely impacted mean?

If your turnover, profit, customers, bookings, retail sales, supply contracts or other factors were negatively affected, compared to normal operating conditions you were considered ’adversely impacted’.

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