Superannuation guarantee amnesty ends 7 Sept
COVID-19 effects
You may wish to apply for the superannuation guarantee amnesty (the amnesty) and may be concerned that, as a result of COVID-19, your circumstances may change and you will not be able to pay the liability.
However, we can work with you to establish a payment plan that is flexible to help you to continue making payments. These arrangements include:
- flexible payment terms and amounts which will be adjusted if your circumstances change
- the ability to extend the payment plan to beyond 7 September 2020, the end of the amnesty period. However, only payments made by 7 September 2020 will be deductible.
If, after all of that, you are unable to maintain payments, the law requires the ATO to disqualify you from the amnesty and remove the amnesty benefits. However:
- the disqualification will only apply to any unpaid quarters
- you will be advised which quarters are unpaid – for these quarters the ATO will re-apply the administration component of $20 per employee included in the disqualified quarter
- your circumstances will be taken into account when deciding whether a Part 7 penalty should be applied to your disclosure – a review of your circumstances may result in the Part 7 penalty being reduced to nil.
For some employers, applying for the amnesty will result in them receiving a refund. In particular:
- for those employers who are eligible and lodged a super guarantee charge (SGC) statement between 24 May 2018 and 6 March 2020, the ATO is amending returns as quickly as possible so that any refunds can be paid
- if you have made payments of SGC or contributions to employee super funds in 2017–18 or 2018–19 that are eligible for income tax deductions, you should include this deduction in your tax return for the relevant year. Once your return has been amended, the ATO will pay any refund due as soon as possible. Generally this will be within 14 days.
To allow the issue of refunds in a timely manner, make sure that your financial institution account details are updated and correct. You can do this via the Business Portal or by phoning the ATO on 13 28 66.
We acknowledge the difficult times the community has been experiencing recently with COVID-19 and the 2019–20 bushfires. However, the law does not allow the due date to be varied for lodgment of an amnesty application.
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