JobKeeper Payment - How to apply

Register your business by the 26th of April

JOBKEEPER PAYMENT

UPDATED INFORMATION FROM THE ATO

To receive the JobKeeper subsidy from the ATO for April payments you need to have registered your business on the ATO Business Portal by the 26th of April and have paid employees the $1,500 per fortnight by 30 April.

ACTION STEPS TO APPLY FOR JOBKEEPER BY THE EMPLOYER

1. Register your interest for the Jobkeeper payment:

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/gen/JobKeeper-payment/

2. Check that your business meets the eligibility requirements of:

i.          Prove that your business has had a 30% reduction in turnover compared to a period last year of at least a month or able to make a projection of future income in at least a month that will decrease by 30% compared to last year.

ii.         A casual employee needs to be employed for at least 12 months as at 1st March.

iii.         The employee is unable to receive the JobKeeper and the JobSeeker payment at the same time.

iv.        For self-employed, they need to nominate an individual to receive the payment and notify the ATO monthly of their income.

3. Send the attached JobKeeper employee nomination notice to employees to determine if the employees are eligible and agree to receive the payment. Please note this form is for your records and is not required to be sent to the ATO.  JobKeeper nominations forms can also be found:

 https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/JobKeeper-payment---employee-nomination-notice/

4. From Monday 20 April register your business for JobKeeper Payment using your Business Portal and authenticate with your MyGovID. We recommend setting up the Business Portal with the ATO if you have not previously set it up:

https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Business-Portal/Getting-started/

5. To be qualify, eligible employees must be paid at least $1,500 per fortnight. Please note that these payments are still subject to PAYG withholding.  To be entitled to the April subsidy you need to have paid 2 fortnightly payments (ie $3,000 per eligible employee) by the end of April. If the business then qualifies for the JobKeeper payment the ATO will pay the business in the first week of May for the two April payments. 

6. The ATO recommends that Single Touch Payroll is used for employees to make sure the business is paid the JobKeeper payment in a timely manner.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. I am a self-employed, do I need to pay myself a wage?

         No, you will qualify as self-employed under the Business Participation method and will be able to register at a later date with the ATO. This applies if you are a sole trader, one of the partners in a partnership or operate in a trust or company and not paying yourself a wage.

2. How will I cashflow the wages?

Some banks will assist with a short-term overdraft or loan to assist with paying the wages for a month. The ATO will only reimburse the employer after the wages have been paid.

3. My employee now earns less than $1,500 per fortnight do I have to pay them the full $1,500 per fortnight?

         Yes, JobKeeper is an all-in payment, so all eligible employees will need to be paid a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight, even if they only work a small number of hours or no hours if they have already been stood down.

4. Do I have to pay super on these wages?

You only need to pay super on wages if the employee is actually working in your business and you pay super on the normal wages that you pay them. No Super is required to be paid on the additional payment of JobKeeper wages.

5. Can I pick and choose which employees to pay the JobKeeper payment?

No, JobKeeper is an all-in subsidy, so if you register for JobKeeper, all eligible employees need to be paid a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight before tax is taken out.

6. Do I have to register for JobKeeper payments?

No, it is optional for the business to register for the system, however it can be a boost to your business to have a minimum wage for employees paid by the ATO.

CASHFLOW BOOST STIMULUS

A reminder that employers may qualify for a cashflow boost stimulus from the ATO up to $100,000 in the form of a refundable credit, (minimum payment of $20,000 with the first payment of at least $10,000 being received after lodging your March BAS) if you have PAYG Withholding payments.

The ATO will automatically calculate the amount of the Cashflow Boost and credit your account for the Boost, based on the amount of PAYG Withholding that you have been paying.

The payment will be made over the Business Activity Statements from March to September Statements.