Employers need to remember that whilst most businesses receives an extension until 28 February 2020 to lodge their quarterly business activity statement, there is no extension available on the lodgement and payment of superannuation contributions.
Where employers use a superannuation clearing house, the employee’s super contribution is considered paid on the date the super fund receives it, not the date the clearing house receives it. The exception is the free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House service provided by the ATO. Please check with your clearing house to make sure you allow enough time for your payments to be processed before the quarterly due dates.
Please remember that the ATO is now collecting data regarding employer superannuation obligations via Single Touch Payroll. The ATO will be comparing this data to the information they receive from the large superannuation funds when contributions are made by employers to identify shortfalls and late payments.
If you do not meet your superannuation obligations, it is important that you lodge a superannuation guarantee charge statement with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) by the due date (being 1 month after the original due date for the superannuation). The ATO will then calculate interest on the unpaid superannuation and require payment of the outstanding superannuation, administration fee and interest to the ATO. The ATO then forwards this money to the employee’s superannuation fund. Please note that unlike superannuation paid on time, this payment is not tax deductible.
Please contact our office to obtain copies of the superannuation guarantee charge statements or for assistance in completing the forms.