How to enrol for and claim the JobKeeper payment for businesses
Enrolments for JobKeeper open
Enrolment for the JobKeeper payment is now open and has been extended to 31 May 2020.
For the tens of thousands of businesses that registered their interest, you can now follow some simple steps to enrol and ensure you meet the record keeping requirements. Some of the more basic steps include eligibility requirements for both the business and nominated employees.
Other requirements include notification of the nominated employees and record keeping of required notice, as well as paying nominated employees the specific JobKeeper amount for the first two fortnights (30 March – 12 April and 13 April – 26 April) by 8 May 2020.
Eligible employers
If your business is one of the tens of thousands of businesses to register for the JobKeeper payment early, there’s good news, claims for the payment are now open. There are a few steps involved in claiming, so make sure you have all the relevant documents and supporting information before you start.
Firstly, you will need to check whether your business and nominated employees (i.e. those who you are claiming the payment on behalf of) meet the eligibility requirements. To recap, an eligible employer is broadly one that has:
- carried on a business in Australia on 1 March 2020;
- employed at least one eligible employee on 1 March 2020;
- eligible employees are currently employed by the business for the fortnights the claims are for (including those who are stood down or rehired);
- the business has a fall in turnover of 30% for those businesses with an aggregated turnover of $1bn or less (note that businesses with an aggregated turnover of more than $1bn will need to demonstrate a 50% fall in turnover, while ACNC registered charities will only need to demonstrate a 15% fall in turnover).
Note that the turnover calculation is based on GST turnover and applies even if your business is not registered for GST. If you’re running your business as a sole trader, you’ll also be eligible if your business has experienced a downturn according to the eligibility criteria.
Remember the JobKeeper payment also applies to business owners that are actively engaged in the business or a director that is actively engaged in the business (including in the form of a company, trust or partnership). However, the payment is limited to one entitlement for each entity even if there are multiple business owners or participants.
Notifying eligible employees
Secondly, you’ll need to notify eligible employees that you intend to participate in the JobKeeper scheme. You’ll also be required to send eligible employees an “Employee Nomination Notice” to complete and return to you to confirm that they agree to you being nominated as the employer to receive JobKeeper payments from.
Generally, eligible employees are either permanent full-time, part-time, or long-term casual employees as at 1 March 2020. However, only Australian residents or those under a specified visa are deemed to be eligible. Once you receive the “Employee Nomination Form”, you will need to keep the form on file for 5 years.
Pay your eligible employees the minimum $1,500 per JobKeeper fortnight
Thirdly, it is important to note that you will need to pay the minimum $1,500 to each JobKeeper eligible employee per fortnight starting from 30 March 2020. Alternatively, you can make one combined payment of $3,000 for the first two fortnights (ending 12 April 2020), provided it is paid by 8 May 2020.
This means that you’ll need to pay your employees first before the ATO pay your business the JobKeeper payment in the first week of May 2020.
If you don’t continue to pay your eligible employees for each JobKeeper fortnightly pay period throughout the duration of the JobKeeper scheme (ending 27 September 2020), you will cease to qualify for the JobKeeper payment.
Enrol for JobKeeper via the ATO Business Portal
Finally, when you’ve done all of the above, you will need to enrol for the JobKeeper payment using the ATO Business portal and authenticate with myGovID.
Note that myGovID is an app you will need to download onto your smart device which lets you prove who you are online and is different to a myGov account.
Need help with JobKeeper?
If you would like to claim the JobKeeper payment, time is running out. You only have until 31 May 2020 to enrol.
We can help you work out whether your business qualifies for the JobKeeper payment and if your employees are eligible.
Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general information purposes only and is not specific to any particular person or situation. There are many factors that may affect your particular circumstances. We advise that you contact Mathews Tax Lawyers before making any decisions.