ATO Assistance for Businesses Affected by COVID-19

We have put together the below list of assistance measures that the ATO will be implementing (subject to passage of legislation) as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. These measures will be in conjunction with the economic response that the Government announced last week which we emailed you about on Friday. Most of the measures being implemented require action – this is where we can help.

We understand that you may be feeling overwhelmed as a business owner during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Rubiix Team are still available to support you, and we are happy to answer any questions or listen to any queries or concerns.

Payment deferrals

If you or your business has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, we can work with the ATO to defer some payments and vary instalments you have due, such as income tax, activity statement (including PAYG instalments), FBT and excise payments by up to four months.

Monthly GST credits

If your business is on a quarterly reporting cycle, we can elect to change your GST reporting and payment to monthly, to get quicker access to GST refunds you are entitled to. Changes are required from the start of a quarter, so a change now will take effect from 1 April 2020.

Changing your GST reporting cycle to monthly doesn’t mean you have to change your PAYG withholding reporting cycle, however, once changed, reporting monthly is required for 12 months before being able to elect reverting back to quarterly reporting.

If GST turnover is more than $20 million you must pay and report monthly.

If you’re registered for fuel tax credits, and change your GST reporting from quarterly to monthly, you will also need to claim your fuel tax credits monthly.

 Pay as you go instalments

If you are a quarterly pay as you go (PAYG) instalments payer you can vary your PAYG instalments for the March 2020 quarter. In order to do this, we will need to lodge a revised activity statement before your instalment is due and before you lodge your income tax return for the year.

Businesses that vary their PAYG instalment rate or amount can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters.

To discuss this option and to see if you are eligible, please contact our office to discuss further.

Remitting interest penalties

The ATO have advised that they will consider remitting interest and penalties applied to tax liabilities incurred after 23 January 2020 if the business has been affected.

Low interest payment plans

The ATO have advised that they will considering assisting businesses affected by COVID-19 to pay your existing and ongoing tax liabilities by entering into a low interest payment plan.

Super guarantee payments

Employers still need to meet super guarantee obligations for their employees.

By law, the ATO cannot vary the contribution due date or waive the super guarantee charge where super guarantee payments are late or unpaid.

We hope the above list of action points is helpful in providing some reassurance in these uncertain times.

Please do not hesitate to phone us on (03) 9603 0066 to discuss further.

We hope you and your families remain safe.