At the end of each financial year, all taxpayers are required to lodge an annual reconciliation following the end of the financial year to which the annual reconciliation return relates.
The 2020-21 annual reconciliation must be lodged from Monday 21 June 2021 to Wednesday 28 July 2021.
The annual reconciliation should include details of:
- South Australian taxable wages and the various components that make up those wages
- interstate wages if you also employ outside of South Australia.
If you are part of a group, it is important for the Designated Group Employer (DGE) to lodge the annual reconciliation first before other group members as this will allow the:
- Designated Group Employer (DGE) to distribute any unused deduction entitlement to the other group member(s)
- correct tax rate to be applied
- 2020-21 annual reconciliation to be finalised faster, as the need for any reassessments or requests for refunds due to an unallocated deduction being transferred is reduced.
The Designated Group Employer (DGE) should also declare the South Australian and interstate wages for any other group members to determine the correct deduction entitlement.
The annual reconciliation may result in either further tax being payable or a refund.
The Annual Reconciliation Checklist 2020-21 can be used to prepare the information you need for your 2020-21 annual reconciliation.
What's different for the 2020-21 financial year?
Each annual reconciliation employers are required to enter their wage component split on the SA Wages screen (PDF 395KB). To ensure relevant COVID-19 payroll tax relief is provided to eligible employers in 2020-21, you are also required to provide your total South Australian wages split into the following 3 periods on the SA Wage Details screen (PDF 285KB):
- 1 July 2020 to 30 November 2020 (period 1)
- 1 December 2020 to 31 May 2021 (period 2)
- 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2021 (period 3)
Employers with grouped Australian wages of up to $4 million
If your organisation’s 2018-19 financial year Australian wide (annualised grouped) wages were $4 million or less, your organisation will be eligible for a waiver of payroll tax for the monthly returns of July 2020 to May 2021. Payroll tax will still be payable on wages paid in June 2021.
JobKeeper payments
If your organisation received JobKeeper payments between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021 your payroll tax liabilities for the monthly returns of December 2020 to May 2021 will be waived.
JobKeeper payments are exempt from payroll tax and will need to be declared as part of the annual reconciliation for reporting purposes only.
JobKeeper payments are exempt from payroll tax in South Australia and therefore should not be included in your Total SA Wages figure on the SA Wages screen (PDF395KB).
Any top-up payments in addition to the JobKeeper wage subsidy amount paid by the Federal Government are taxable and would need to be included in your Total SA Wages figure on the SA Wages screen (PDF395KB).
JobKeeper payments between 1 July 2020 and 3 January 2021
You will be asked to declare if wages were paid to employees as part of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme between 1 July 2020 and 3 January 2021.
If you select YES, you will need to enter the amount of JobKeeper payment paid for South Australia for this period.
JobKeeper payments for the monthly returns of July 2020 to November 2020 are exempt from payroll tax.
JobKeeper payments between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021
You will also be asked to declare if wages were paid to employees as part of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme between 4 January 2021 and 28 March 2021.
If you select YES, you will need to enter the amount of JobKeeper payment paid for South Australia for this period.
Your payroll tax liabilities for the monthly returns of December 2020 to May 2021 will be waived.
Apprentice and Trainee wages
Wages paid to apprentices and trainees who commence a relevant training contract between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2022 (inclusive), will receive relief equivalent to a 12 month payroll tax exemption.
Any apprentice and trainee wages that meet the criteria are excluded from payroll tax in South Australia, the value is requested for reporting purposes only.
Apprentices and Trainees where the training contract commenced on or before 9 November 2020
Wages paid to apprentices and trainees are taxable and need to be included in your Total SA Wages figure on the SA Wages screen (PDF395KB).
Apprentices and trainees where the training contract commenced between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2022
The 2020-21 State Budget announcement provided payroll tax relief on the first 12 months of wages paid to new apprentices and trainees who commenced a relevant training contract between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2021 (inclusive). These wages should not be included in your Total SA Wages figure on the SA Wages screen (PDF395KB).
You will be asked to declare if wages were paid to a new apprentice or trainee engaged in a relevant training contract under the Training and Skills Development Act 2008 and who commenced the apprenticeship/traineeship between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2022.
If you select YES, you will need to enter the amount of wages paid to eligible apprentices/trainees between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2022.
By selecting YES, you are declaring that the requirements for payroll tax relief have been met.
You may be subject of an audit by RevenueSA and are required to retain evidence (for example, the training contract) that supports the validity of the excluded wages for a minimum of 5 years.
Information to assist you with the 2020-21 annual reconciliation
If your organisation ceased employing in South Australia during 2020-21 and will not be continuing to trade or pay wages in South Australia in 2021-22 onwards, this annual reconciliation will be your final return.
When prompted select YES to the question ‘Did you cease paying wages in South Australia during 2020-21?’
You will be asked if you want to cancel the registration for your organisation. If you select ‘yes’ you will need to enter a date of cancellation (the date your organisation ceased paying wages in South Australia) and select a reason for the cancellation (from a drop down list).
The maximum payroll tax deduction entitlement is $600,000. However this may vary based on group status and Australia wide wages.
RevenueSA Online will calculate the applicable payroll tax deduction.
Employers sometimes make lump sum payments. This can include superannuation top ups, fringe benefits and bonuses.
As a result of COVID-19 payroll tax relief being provided to eligible employers, if these payments relate to the full financial year you will need to split them across the 3 periods.
For example, an employer pays an employee a $5,000 bonus in recognition of their work through the financial year. The payment is made in June. The payment relates to the whole financial year, therefore the payment would be declared as follows:
Period 1: 1 July 2020 to 30 November 2020
$5,000 x 153 (number of days from 1 July to 30 November) / 365 (number of days in the year) = $2,096
Period 2: 1 December 2020 to 31 May 2021
$5,000 x 182 (number of days from 1 December to 31 May) / 365 (number of days in the year) = $2,493
Period 3: 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2021
$5,000 x 30 (number of days from 1 June to 30 June) / 365 (number of days in the year) = $411
Total declared = $2,096 (Period 1) + $2,493 (Period 2) + $411 (Period 3) = $5,000
If you estimate that your organisation's Australian wide taxable wages for 2021-22 will be $1.5 million or less, you will be asked at the end of the annual reconciliation (at the wage estimates screen (PDF 188KB)) if you would like to cancel the payroll tax registration. You have the option to cancel the registration or remain registered:
- To cancel select cancel registration.
- To remain registered select continue with registration.
It’s your choice whether to remain registered or cancel. If your organisation's Australian wide taxable wages are close to the threshold (currently $1.5 million), or they fluctuate year to year, you may prefer to retain the registration in case your organisation exceeds the threshold in 2021-22.
If you choose to remain registered and you would like to change the return cycle for your organisation to annual or monthly please email your request to payrolltax@sa.gov.au.
| Information Required | Non Grouped Employer (NGE) | Designated Group Employer (DGE) | Grouped Employer (GE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your current mailing address and email contact | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| If your status changed during the year the period for which each status applied | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| If you had a split status the taxable wages for each status period will be required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The South Australian taxable wages paid by your organisation broken into: salaries/wages, bonuses/allowances, fringe benefits, commissions, directors fees, contractor payments, superannuation, shares and options and other (where applicable) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
JobKeeper payments are exempt from payroll tax. If your organisation received JobKeeper payments for employees as part of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme, you will require the amount of JobKeeper payments paid for South Australia in whole dollars for the following periods:
The JobKeeper amounts paid are requested for reporting purposes only. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If your organisation paid wages to new apprentices and trainees who commenced a relevant contract under the Training and Skills Development Act 2008 and commenced employment between 10 November 2020 and 30 June 2021 (inclusive), your organisation will receive payroll tax relief on the first 12 months of wages paid to these new apprentices and trainees. You will require the amount of wages paid to eligible apprentices and trainees for the period:
The value is requested for reporting purposes only. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The South Australian taxable wages paid by your organisation split into 3 periods:
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The total taxable wage paid by your organisation in states and/or territories other than South Australia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The name of your Designated Group Employer their and their ABN | No | Yes | Yes |
The names and ABN of group members that employed during the period that each status code applied and the taxable wages of each group member for that period broken into:
| No | Yes | No |
An estimate of taxable wages to be paid by your organisation for the next financial year broken into:
NOT REQUIRED IF CANCELLING | Yes | Yes | Yes |
An estimate of taxable wages to be paid by all group members for the next financial year broken into:
NOT REQUIRED IF CANCELLING | No | Yes | No |
Once commenced, the annual reconciliation can be suspended and completed at a later date.
The July 2021 monthly return can be lodged via RevenueSA Online from 29 July 2021 and must be lodged by 9 August 2021.
We recommend you complete the 2020-21 annual reconciliation before the July return to ensure the estimated rate and deduction entitlement is calculated for the 2021-22 monthly returns.
Contact Us
When contacting us please provide your South Australian Taxpayer Number (if known), ABN, and organisation name.
| payrolltax@sa.gov.au | |
| phone | (08) 8226 3750, select option 5 |
| fax | (08) 8226 3805 |
| post | GPO Box 2418, Adelaide, SA 5001 |
You can reach us during business hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (South Australian time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
Do you want to provide feedback or lodge a complaint?
You can do so via our feedback and complaints page.