Employees and contractors topics

payment summary issued for the wrong year by employee

toby — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 08:09:00 GMT

Hi,

I worked for a company that issued me with a second payment summary after changing their payment system and needing to reconcile it. eg they had misreported to the ATO and in fact, I had earnt a few thousand more, this is true the first payment summary was short of my full earnings. I am fine with this, mistakes happen. However, what the issue is, is that they put the second payment summary in the next tax year. I did not work in this tax year for them. In fact, my employment had finished months earlier. Details are as follows I finished work in February 2018 as I was made redundant issued with payment summary all ok. Then in 2019, they issue another payment summary as they had underreported in 2018. This has tax implications for me which I do not feel I should have to bear the costs for as it was not my mistake. Is there anything I can do, so my tax filed can be true to the income I earnt it in.

Wages paid to Individuals who are employees of another company

ijaz_aziz — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 04:32:23 GMT

This is a hypothetical question with these facts:

Company A would like to pay the wages/withholding tax/super etc to employees of company B.

The employees would be formally employed by Company B however, Company B is not set up for payroll, they require Company A to perform the payroll function of company B until such time that Company B is set up for payroll, e.g. single touch payroll, IT withholding, super etc.

During this time, Company A would charge Company B a fee for all costs associated with this arrangement.

Is there an issue with this arrangement? In particular, can company A pay and report the wages paid to employees of Company B in its payroll if the employees are not formally employed by Company A.

Thanks,

Jaz.

hobby income basketball referee

johndunneone — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 07:05:54 GMT

from a tax declaration iam a hobby

iam a basketball referee i do that for basketball sa in south australia

i like to now were i stand when i and going to earned $250 a week for this year which equates to $16,000 dollar per year

I must a some stage pay tax which i am at a loss try to get some sense out of ATO

i dont have a contract with basketball sa i dont have a ABN or tax file number

iam currently on a dissibility support pension iam aloud to earn $1240.00 per month without affecting my dsp

plz can someone point me in the right direction as i dont wont to get in trouble with the ato

i dont have a money to speak to a tax ccountant

wages due on public holiday

1Christine1 — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:54:44 GMT

Hello, is there any sort of legislation that states when payment for wages fall on a public holiday, that payment should be made the day before? Is it ok to pay the day after?

Sub contractor

Kat1981 — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 10:53:34 GMT

Hi All
My husband became a sub contractor this month. He uses his abn that he registered for a business for doing little jobs in the community I.e mowing lawns a couple of years ago. He is using this abn number now working in construction. We checked it was still valid before putting on his invoice.
His boss showed him how to write out his invoices. It included GST. Boss emailed today to say that the abn is not registered for tax so just means he can’t charge it in his invoices moving forward. He doesn’t earn over $75000 per year so he doesn’t need to register for GST or should he register?
Does hubby call ato to get an account number to put his weekly tax into. Not sure how this sub contracting stuff works. Where do we put his tax money??
Thanks

TFN Declarations not made to ATO

Joachim — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 03:22:49 GMT

Hi, I have another issue on which I would like to receive community's support .

Per ATO , when an employee joins a business , the employee needs to provide a signed TFN declaration to employer and employer in turn

need to lodge this with ATO within 14 days.

I may have come across a scenario where the employee has properly provide the declaration and the employer has processed pay based on the declaration's details, but have not lodged the declaration with ATO.

In this kind of a situation is the employer liable for any penalties. Can the employer now lodge all declarations that were not lodged before without any penalties ? . Thank you

Actors & Artist PAYG Tax

NaseemK — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 02:44:52 GMT

1) Can you please help us to understand the difference between Artists and Actor and their withholding tax on income

Employer pays for 457 visa

gossss80 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 04:24:16 GMT

Hi there,

I am sponsoring an employee and I (employer) was required to pay part of his visa application costs.

Is this visa fee a business expense and tax deductible?

Thank you!

GST

BDD — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 22:49:04 GMT

i am going through an opportunity with an overseas company where they would like to engage me for a 2 year period, and pay a fixed amount of money direct into my account. I will be working at their direction. I will have to pay the local PAYG and Super. The overseas company does not have a local base and are looking to expand in Australia. i am now in the final stage of negotiation. i would like to know if this arrangement will attract GST or it can be deemed as an employer/employee relationship where i meet all the statutory obligations.

Kind regards

Working for a Company without an Australian Office

daniloong — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:10:57 GMT

What are the requirements if one intends to work for an international company that doesn't have any presence in Australia yet? Do you need an ABN for this? Also, how will the tax be deducted/calculated? Likewise, the super will be paid voluntarily as well?

sales commission payable on gst component of item sold

bloggs — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 01:08:47 GMT

Am I entitled to be paid a sales commission on an item I sell for my employer which includes a GST component. EG I sell an item for say $19,800 which includes GST of $1800

I am being told that I dont get paid my 10% commission on the entire $19.8K only the

$18K before GST is added.

My workplace agreement simply states I get 10% on all sales.

There is no mention of the GST rubbish outlined.

Another salesman told me he thought they paid the commission on the GST component

into our Super fund.

This was not authorised by me.

These figures are not the exact price of the item sold, merely a simple mathematical example.

Employer not paid tax

Mcginty1 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 00:07:17 GMT

I am on a WHM visa 417. I was employed by a small business in January 2019 that qualified as regional work to complete my 88 days for the 2nd year visa. I worked there from January 2019-July 2019, before having to return home to the UK to apply for the 2nd year visa. My visa was accepted and I returned to the same employer in September 2019. I worked there until February 2020. During my time I received no payslips. I have asked for them and been in touch with the fair work ombudsman in relation to this. Upon further investigation using MyGov which I have linked to the ATO. I have not had any tax lodged for the duration of my employment. I was employed as a full time employee on an award rate. How do I solve this matter.

Superannuation

1Christine1 — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 02:20:24 GMT

If staff are rostered on for 4 x 12 hour night shifts per week and it is considered their regular night shift work (their "normal" shifts), does SGC then apply to those hours or merely 38 hours?

Thanks

Christine

OT meal allowance and super

Kendz28 — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 01:27:13 GMT

Hi,

I’m questioning OT meal allowance and super. I am a casual nightshift worker but it seems my super is calculated on day shift rates and only for Monday - Friday, however the business I work in operates 7 days a week. Is this legal to calculate super on a day shift rate even though my evening rate is time and a half, therefore I’m realistically not getting the right amount of super?

Also can some one please clarify OT and meal allowances, I always generally get meal allowance now I’m working on a different site and did over 60 hours this week and my company has said no you don’t get meal allowance because the site you’re on. Can someone please explain this or show me a legal document stating the rules of OT meal allowances?

Thank you!

Superannuation

1Christine1 — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 00:35:38 GMT

If staff are rostered on for 4 x 12 hour night shifts per week and it is considered their regular night shift work (their "normal" shifts), does SGC then apply to those hours or merely 38 hours?

Thanks

Christine

Using overseas contractors

georgiebell — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 04:34:12 GMT

Hi there,

I work for a business that hires independant contractors overseas. Per Australian law they are contractors, most of them run their own businesses or freelance for us. They are located in South America, New Zealand and the Philippines. As they are contractors we don't pay their tax or Super but as they are working for an Australian company are they obligated to pay Australian tax or are they only bound by the laws of their country? Do we, as a company have any obligation to make sure they are complying with Australian or local law? None of these contractors are Australian citizens.

Thanks.

Salary Sacrificing - Local Council

juliakendall32 — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 02:47:29 GMT

Hi,

I work for a Regional Council and have been tasked with setting up the Salary Packaging Policies and Procedures on behalf of the Council, and I was wondering if you could provide me with some information?

Who does salary Sacrificing extend to in a council setting, is it only full time, permanent employees, or can casuals access salary sacrificing as well?
What percentage of an employee’s wage, or amount can be salary sacrificed by an employee?
Are there any Fringe Benefit Tax implications on Council or Council staff?

Thanks.

Consulting and asked to take on part-time role

Normal_person — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 04:20:58 GMT

I have been running my own consultancy (Pty Ltd company, with ABN) for the past six years. I and my partner are the only two consultants. Over the past couple of years I have been providing consistent consulting services, billed on an agreed hourly rate for specific projects for a single company. The amount of work is around 60% of my total consulting annual income, and not subject to personal services income.

The company has recently asked me to join as a part-time employee for 1 or 2 days per week to provide supervision of other employees, with the balance of time (say 8-12 hours/week) to be charged on an hourly consulting rate for the technical aspects of the role (providing consulting advice to the company's clients. The part-time role would be as an employee, with accrued leave & super entitlements.

My question is whether this legal/allowed to have a 'split' role as I have described? What are the tax implications?

Out of Pocket Expenses

1Christine1 — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 22:10:13 GMT

Good morning, quick question - is it compulsory for an employer to reimburse an employee for out of pocket expenses such as car parking expenses?

Thanks Christine

Car park expense

1Christine1 — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 02:59:39 GMT

Is it compulsory for an employer to reimburse an employee for car park when visiting clients for business?

Gratuities

Seeoex — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 14:06:22 GMT

Gratuities are commonly mentioned in the ETP area of the ATO website alongside Golden Handshakes. Could you please tell me in what situation would a gratuity payment be made to an employee? I am struggling to find a definition of gratuity payments.

Work Experience

1Christine1 — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 00:40:59 GMT

Should a student on work experience be put on payroll?

They are being paid $40 a day.

Thanks,

Christine

Working for my Australian Company, but based in UK. What are the rules?

ClareUK — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 23:18:57 GMT

I am currently employed by an Australian company, however am relocating to the UK for a 2 year period this March. The company is keen to keep me working for them from my UK base at 30 hours/week. What are the rules around this? Do I need to return to Australia every 3 months? Do I continue to pay tax and lodge Austrlaian Tax Return? Do I need to pay UK tax or lodge UK tax return? Would I be an employee or contractor? Thanks for your advice.

Employee or contractor

Csains — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 08:44:59 GMT

I work for a small company as a full time employee. There are several other employees and the rest are subcontractors on ABN . My employer has asked if I would be interested going on to ABN. Is that allowed ? Everyone on ABN that works there works full time and only for him. My understanding is that if you work for someone full time you are an employee not a contractor

Letter Box Phamplet Distribution

Parra09 — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:24:03 GMT

I am soon turning 65 and am retired however I wish do do Letter Box Phamplet Distribution for a 30 day period ,in order to satisfy the works test to be eligible to claim a super deduction. As I will be considered a sub contractor, do I need an ABN and where will I declare this income on my tax return.

Thanks

locum GST invoicing

ratrace — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 07:02:51 GMT

Hi guys,

I am a locum veterinarian.

I am confused regarding the GST.

I have an abn that is registered for GST as I run a mobile business as well.

So when i invoice clinics/ clients I use the same ABN.

When i invoice clients i need to add the GST amount which is 10% is that right?

What is the best way of invoicing clients. or what is best for me.

I take it i charge $50/hr without GST that would be the best scenario for me vs $50/hr with GST included?

Meal Allowances for Casuals

bobch — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:37:17 GMT

Under the Building & Construction Award, are casual employees entitled to meal allowances and if so when does this apply?

Travel allowances for employee in small business

AVA — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 06:57:29 GMT

I'm a small business owner that provides consulting services overseas and across Australia. I pay my employees a travel allowance (equal to the reasonable travel allowance rate) for the time that they are away and thus don't withhold tax for this allowance (i.e. the exception applies as stated in TD 2019/11).

Is my understanding correct - that they are not required to retain their reciepts to substantiate their expenditure and prove that they used their entire allowance, given that the amounts are within the 'reasonable travel allowance' and they are not claiming any travel related deductions?

Tax on Unused Annual Leave and unused Long Service Leave

KerryG — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 04:37:35 GMT

I have an employee leaving after 27 years (resignation), they have unused long service leave and unused annual leave to be paid out. There are only 25 days accrued before 18/8/93 and the balance on/after 18/8/93. Do I add up the total gross payable of both unused lsl and annual leave and then tax according to the marginal rate for amounts accrued after 18/8/93. It just seems like a lot tax to be withheld. And also, what do i put on payment summary.

Thanks in advance

Directors Fees

1Christine1 — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 21:55:04 GMT

Just a quick question - is it a requirement that a company pays wages to directors?

Thanks, Christine

Obligations on new Australian resident earning income from NZ company

RM1 — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 05:59:50 GMT

I am about to become an Australian tax resident having permanently moved from New Zealand six months ago. My NZ employer wishes to continue to engage me for my services, either as a contractor or an employee. The services I provide all relate to personal labour and skills I provide to the NZ company, which derives its income from predominantly NZ clients. If I set up as a sole trader consultant to the NZ company:

(a) what are the NZ company's obligations (if any) to pay the superannuation guarantee into an Australian fund?

(b) would I be entitled to a credit for any amounts of withholding tax withheld by the NZ company under the double tax treaty?

What would be the impact of remaining an overseas employee of the NZ company? In particular what super obligations, withholding tax implications and employee entitlements need to be considered?

(The NZ company does not at this stage wish to set up an Australian subsidiary due to costs and administration time.)

Donations to employees affected by fires

leannefield6 — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 03:19:29 GMT

We want to gift $1,500 to a few staff that have lost their homes as a result of the recent bushfires. We don't want to disadvantage the person in terms of any govt benefits they receive, we do not want to create a liability for FBT nor do we want to cause an income tax liability for them. Is there a particular way to donate the money to them to create the greatest benefit possible? eg. does the money need to be restricted in use (only for food, essential supplies). We are a charity and have DGR status.

Sole Trader v Employee

SF76 — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 12:31:29 GMT

Hi everyone, please help if you can.
I already have an ABN from past ventures. I currently work casual 2/3 days a week as an employee and have just been offered a second casual job working 2 days a week. With the tax implications on having a second job I'm wondering can I /should I do both these jobs as a contractor and manage my own taxes, Super etc. Being casual I know there is no leave, sick pay nothing so I'm not concerned about that. But I just get so confused reading all the info on hand. I can venture to different places of work being a contractor.
Please in the simplest of terms help me ....or do I stay as an employee at my 3 day a week job and go contacting on the other?

Superannuation Guarantee payments

TashT — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 01:50:04 GMT

Hi,

I have a superannuation guarantee which is due for payment for an employee who has not provided a date of birth or a choice of super fund. The employee only worked for a few days and has provided a TFN, address etc. I have tried to contact the employee several times and have not received any response

As I do not have his date of birth I am unable to make his superannuation payment using the Superannuation Clearing House. How am I able to make the payment if I do not have all of his details?

Foreign company Fairwork compliance

bizuc — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 21:43:12 GMT

Does a foreign company need to comply to Australia's Fairwork policy to pay a resident employee salary? Does it have to pay a minimum wage and be covered by an award or enterprise agreement? Or, is it okay to be paid according to the country the foreign company is based on?

P.S. The foreign company has no presence in Australia.

Second income Help debt payments - Uber

Aul_well — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 15:36:40 GMT

Hi,
I am considering driving Uber part time to supplement my current income. I currently earn above 90k in my primary job and was wondering if/ how I would need to calculate Help debt repayments on my secondary income?

Contractor versus employee question

Nett — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:19:32 GMT

My son is just starting out in the work force and is hoping to secure an apprenticeship. He has been taken on as a contractor for 3 months while they decide. He was asked to obtain an ABN which we went through the procedure and the requirements entered showed he was not entitled to one. The employer however has gone and used his TFN to set one up for him.

Is this legal?

They have advised him he is covered under their insurance but they have not asked him to sign or supplied him with a contract. All research I have done shows he should be classed as an employee not a contractor. How do I go about fixing this? I dont want to runi his chances of getting an apprenticeship but am concerned with him being used in this way. They have also agreed to pay him aset rate of $500.00 per week and he needs to send them a 'work statement' each week. He is currently at the end of his second week and has not received any money.

Employee cents/km paid

Proactive — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 07:04:37 GMT

We pay employees 66c per kilometer through payroll. Are we correct in paying this as an allowance, and that the employee is then taxed? My understanding is that if they don’t claim from their employee that they can then claim in their tax return, which will be included as taxable income anyway.
Further, an employee has argued that its a reimbursement so shouldn’t be taxed. I doubt this to be the case but thought I’d check.
Thank you.

coffee an incidental

emilycornes — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 04:25:19 GMT

Hi,

My work has a policy regarding travel that states:

"Incidental expenses that you would normally incur at your normal place of work, e.g. coffee, snacks,
should not normally be claimed on the corporate credit card."

However, I do not normally go for a coffee while at my normal place of work, only when I am travelling interstate. Can, I still claim that as an incidental? Please note that in this sentence 'you' has been used. All other notes to do with travel expenses refers to "employee". In this context, its reasonable to assume that 'you' refers to an individual rather than an employee in general.

But normally, would a cup of coffee be an incidental?

Contractor paid by a single entity

BES — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 07:46:16 GMT

Hi there,

I am a tradesman and have my own ABN. Currently, I am only sub-contracted by a single entity and have received all of my income from this entity. I am happy to do so as they have always got work for me and i pay my own super and PAYG. What are the laws surrounding this and implications for both parties?

Thanks

FIFO worker claims

LeoH — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 21:27:43 GMT

If a person works FIFO and is only provided access to RO water manufactured from sea water; are they able to claim for bottled water purchased whilst at work?

Tax agreement for receiving salary directly from a client

parev — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 23:25:05 GMT

Hi there,

I'm currently negotiating an agreement with my company to receive a variable salary rather than a fixed one. The salary will be the total proceeds from one of the company's US-based long-running clients. The proceeds will be forwarded directly from the client's to my account each month. This agreement also ensures I receive a minimum salary each month if the proceeds are lower than expected, paid by the company.

My questions:

1. Is a variable salary possible or should any amount except the minimum salary be considered bonus/commission?

2. Since the payment will be deposited under the name of my client and not my company, will this be a problem when establishing my employee status with my company later on? I believe salary deposits with the employer's name is also a requirement.

3. Is the agreement with my employer enough or do I need to create a similar agreement with the client stating the client will be forwarding payments to me on behalf of my company? And, does it mitigate the issue in Question 1?

Highly appreciate if you could help me with the questions.

Thanks.

SALARY PACKAGING

MS_1234 — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 06:34:14 GMT

I need a payroll expert to help me. I have got 2 different answers from accountants, so I need an ATO payroll expert to help me figure out an remote housing query.

eg. IF > SALARY WITHOUT REMOTE HOUSING

PAYROLL PERSON 1 = SALARY = 85000 PER YEAR

So: Per f/night payrun would show:=

Salary / f/n = $3269.23

PAYG = $804.31

Net Pay = $2464.92

Super Guarantee = $310.57

HOWEVER

NOW: IF THIS PAYROLL PERSON 1 RECEIVES A REMOTE HOUSING BENEFIT of 15k per year

I understand this to be worked out the following way:

Salary per f/night = $3269.23

Less the (15k/26) remote housing benefit amount per fortnight = ($576.92) > this is so that the tax on salary less benefit is calculated as I understand this to be a tax benefit for the employee= 2692.31

PAYG on $2692.31 = $606

Add back the $576.92 (to make the salary $3269.23 again)

So nett Salary = $2663.23

Super = $310.57 (only on salary not on remote housing as I understand remote housing is not to be Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE))

Plus the $576.92 paid directly to property manager or employee = this is paid outside the payroll software. and is Exempt FBT

So ending with the following costs on Payment summary at the end of the year

Gross Payments = $85000

Total TAX withheld = $15756

Nothing on the payment summary re: remote housing benefit as it is tax exempt and fbt exempt.
Nothing on the payment summary re: super as it is SGC

On the P&L it should show:

P&L = Wages & Salaries = $100,000 (which is the $85k+$11k)

BS = PAYG = $15756

On Payroll Tax declaration (full year):

Gross Wages & Salary> $100k + Super >$8074 = $108074 Total wages

So am I wrong in any of my assumptions - can someone please review and help me. As I said earlier, one accountant said I had to include the remote housing as part of the super calc. Another said I had to include the remote housing in order to calculate the payg tax. So both gave me different info.

Employee ABN

AllysonRice — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 06:19:44 GMT

Hi all,

I'm urgently interested to know how to go about getting an ABN as an employee for the company, Menulog, as it has been deemed a requirement for application. As a student leaver, I am unsure of how an ABN works and if it's at all possible to have an ABN without being a sole trader. If anyone has any answers, I'd love to know as soon as possible!

Thank you!

- Allyson

Workers Comp

JanetAnne — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 02:35:20 GMT

I have an employee who hurt themselves at work and thinking they would be okay in a day werent asking for workers comp. However in hindsight the injury required more time and treatment.

They were paid initially using their sick leave but i now have to change to workers comp. I relaise i have to reverse the sick leave in payroll but then how do i process the workers comp.

I am sure i read somewhere on site that workers comp is NOT taxable and doesnt have super paid is that correct?

If so how do i process in my book keeping system is it still done thru payroll and how do i shoe it as being tax free. There doesnt appear to be a tax tracking type for it or does it go in as a lump sum?

Thank you

Working remotely from France

lfhodzl — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 06:00:02 GMT

I am currently an Australian resident working in Australia. I intend to move to France with my family for 1 year on a VLS-TS (Private and family life) visa, which allows me to stay and work in France for 1 year without having to apply for a work permit (equivalent to a residence permit). We will rent out our family home in Sydney for the year while we are abroad (noting the rental income will need to be declared). We will return to Sydney before the French visa expires.

1) Can I work remotely from France for my current Australian employer and still get paid into an Australian bank account?

2) Would I still be an Australian resident for tax purposes?

3) If I am an Australian resident for tax purposes, does my employer simply need to withhold tax and make super contributions in the same manner as they do now?

PAYG - HECS

1Christine1 — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 01:00:47 GMT

If an employee wishes to salary sacrifice and has a HECs debt, which amount is the tax calculated on?

Allowances

1Christine1 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:38:34 GMT

Is it a requirement to show allowance separately on payment summaries?

Allowances

1Christine1 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:21:41 GMT

If I receive an allowance, how can I claim a deduction - shouldn't the allowance cover any additional costs I might incur for work?

mygovid and RAM

danhendo888 — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 05:47:23 GMT

Does each user have to install mygovid phone app on their mobile device or is it only required for the Administrator?

Our employees will need access to ATO Business Portal

Super Guarantee and Novated Pre Tax

Swingshift — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 01:48:46 GMT

Does my pre tax deduction for Novated Lease which is deducted from OTE effect what my employer pays me in Super Guarantee fund?

A new place to ask.

LAME — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 00:55:23 GMT

My industry has had rapid growth in the use of Labour Hire Firms - labour for inspection/service of machines.

Most of these firms (I am only aware of one that does not) questionably classes it's workers as Independent Contractors.

It is very clear on the ATO website that regardless of being classed as a Casual Employee or a Independent Contractor the Labour Hire Firms should be withholding tax from individual workers - but they do not.

Are there exemptions to this withholding tax requirement?
Why is it so common?

Annual leave payout upon commencing unpaid maternity leave

paigegibson13 — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 04:34:46 GMT

I have been paid out all of my annual leave hours as I have commenced unpaid maternity leave today. I am still employed for 12 months whilst on leave. On my payslip I’ve noticed that my employer has paid superannuation from my annual leave, is this correct??

Employee Salary and Wages Withholding

Kubik — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 08:17:24 GMT

Looking to structure a retention incentive for employees to work in remote area (per ATO definition of a remote area) for continuous service periods of 6 and 12 months. Been searching to confirm but I believe a payment of this type will be subject to normal PAYG withholding and there are no relevant exemptions. Is this correct?

theft of company monies

RJ — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 01:04:05 GMT

Hi,

We have an employee who has stolen money from the Company.

My boss wants to recoup this when processing the final pay.

I don't believe this is legally possible - Rather, it's a company expense.

Can someone confirm this for me please?

With thanks

payroll

1Christine1 — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 22:59:29 GMT

Is it a legal requirement to have the word "wages" referenced when making a direct payment for payroll.

Annual Leave

1Christine1 — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:20:52 GMT

If a part time employee, whose normal hours include a Saturday, goes on leave, are they still paid their penalty rate?

Vehicle Expenses D1 or D2

Joshuadavies2 — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 04:32:25 GMT

I am an electrician and carry all my tools to and from site each day. Storage is provuded however it is shared so not very secure. In addition to this, i am working on a tunnel and start at the Northern site some days and the Southern site others. The sites are over 30 mins apart during peak hour. For this reason i take all my tools home each day. Is this sufficient justification?

Also, i am confused by the D1 or D2 deduction if the vehicle has a carrying capacity over 1-tonne. If it is under 1-tonne and i use D1 then i can keep a logbook and claim all vehicle expenses including depreciation. However, i cannot find any mention of claiming depreciation under D2.
Doesn't this mean that i am losing out by owning a ute as a tradie?

TPAR and landlords

JRBS — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 08:48:42 GMT

Do Investor Companies deriving income from rental income only need to submit a TPAR? No building/construction activities involved.

Thank you,

Riva

reimburse employees for car using cents per km method

EdCompass — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 08:42:27 GMT

Hello

we reimburse staff at 80cents per km for using their personal vehicle for work purposes in accordance with their award.

are we required to record these amounts and disclose them on the workers pay slip and annual group certificate or can we just reimburse in real time using an expense application as we do other expenses such as meals?

Superannuation

Kashiko123 — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 05:40:51 GMT

Hi All

Let say a client signed a contract/agreement with an employer, in which there's a clause that says the client can delegate the work to other people. The client was then treated as an independent contractor and was not paid superannuation.

However, in reality, the employer does not allow the client to delegate his work. This is not documented and seen as a norm. The client himself does not delegate any of his work. He's paid per hours worked.

In this case, will the client be eligible for employer's supperannuation? Are there other factors to be considered?

Thank you

Claiming Tax Free Threshold twice from same employer

Jenniefrances — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 14:56:14 GMT

Hi,

We have recently changed our employee from permanent staff to casual staff and she is asking for the tax free threshold again. Should we set her up in MYOB as the tax free threshhold pay rates ? She has not earned $18,200 in this financial year yet.

Thanks,

Jennie

Annual leave accrue

bunify — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 07:16:02 GMT

If a salary staff that gets salary worked 3.8 hrs, will their Annual Leave Accrue be 2.9231 ÷ 38 (hours per week) = 0.0769 hours per hour paid times 3.8 hrs they worked?
Or do salary workers get a fixed amount of annual leave accrue regardless if they worked less than the standard 7.6 hours?

Superannuation and Overtime

jMackinson — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 10:56:24 GMT

Hi Everyone

I had a question after utilising the resources from the ATO website on superannuation and overtime payments if someone could clarify. I would like this answered in the view of an employer paying their employee.

Should an employee be covered under a modern award and be receiving a salaried amount of $70,000 per year which incorporates applicable overtime that could be worked. The employee is getting paid as per the award but because the full salaried amount does include some reasonable overtime, how would you calculate superannuation? Would it be on the $70,000 or the ordinary hours (OTE) amount agreed for a full-time employee (let's say $60,000 for ordinary time so that the remaining $10,000 is considered overtime). This is a scenario where we do not know how much overtime the employee will be working but they will be paid $70,000 regardless of actual time worked.

Another situation which is similar would be if the employee (also covered by a modern award) had a salaried amount reflective of 45 hours a week (38 hours of ordinary time as stated in the award and 7 hours worth of overtime). This amount is $65,000 per year of which we have stated in the contract also. Would this $65,000 be subject to superannuation despite 7 hours being overtime or would we calculate the rate for 38 hours with superannuation and overtime would not be applicable as OTE?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Unused Annual Leave and Long Service Leave upon Death - Is a Payment Summary Required

JReberger — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 02:32:14 GMT

Hi there,

We have had an employee who has passed away. Currently they have Unused Annual Leave and Unused Long Service Leave which we will need to pay to either the Trustee of the Deceased Estate or their Dependant (Waiting to found out from Solicitor).

After reading i am quite sure that these Payments for Unsused Annual and Long Service paid after death attract No Withholding Tax, is this correct and essentially they are tax free?

I have seen on various ATO articles that these payments are not ETP Payments so i do not need to complete an ETP Death Benefit Payment Summary?

How should i record the Payment for Unused Leave? Is a Payment Summary required to be submitted to the ATO for these payments even if they are Tax Free? Or should we just pay directly to the Estate/Dependent and nothing further is required?

Many thanks

SGC for deceased employees

JM_84 — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 01:28:32 GMT

Are you able to provide some guidance on how to pay SG and SGC relating to a deceased employee (from practical perspective)? SGAA s23(9A) makes provision for payment to the legal personal representative which is suppported by ATO ID 2014/31. However,

- the SGC form does not provide an option for a deceased employee nor that the payment was made to the legal personal representative?

- what is the payment to the legal personal representative classified - eg death benefit superannuation payment or death benefit ETP?

- what paper work is required to be provided to the legal personal representative and what is required to be paid to the ATO?

Sole trader Invoice

beetles67 — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 04:28:00 GMT

As a sole trader with an abn & gst registration. My employer is deducting my super payments from my invoices. My accountant has advised that the super is to be paid by the Employer & not from my invoiced total.

I am classed as an employee for super purposes however, seems I'm paying for my super from my invoice except the Company is paying so I have no deductions to claim super payments I can use against my business.

Tax on Redundancy Payment

Concerned — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 23:31:15 GMT

Earlier this year the company I worked for had a restructure and my role was made redundant. Upon leaving the company in July I received a redundancy payment. Due to the number of years I worked at the company the payment had a tax free component.

I have now started to look for work and have approached an agency to ask about contract work. There is potentially some contract work via the agency which is available at my old company which will commence in February next year and run for 10 months. However, I am concerned that if the agency places me at my previous employer it may affect the tax free component of my redundancy component. The role they would put me in is not the same as my old role when I was a permanent employee at the company. It is for another department and carries different responsibilities/deliverables to what I did previously.

If the agency arranges for me to work at my old company 6 months after I left, will this affect the tax free component of my redundancy payment? What are the conditions in relation to doing work for an old company and still retaining a genuine redundancy?

LAHA

Adzy12 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 03:53:54 GMT

Just wondering if it is legal for my employer to profit out of us employees whilst we are living/working away from home?
We do get paid and our accomodation is paid for but it doesn't equal upto to what it gets billed out as
Ive hears different responses

Cents per KM Question

CC14 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:52:05 GMT

Hi,

I have recently become a subcontractor and I receive cents per KM from the business I do work for. My question is do I need to pay income tax on the cents per KM I receive or is it tax free?

If I do need to pay income tax on this amount would that mean I can claim fuel and depreciation costs?
If I don't pay tax on this component I would assume I couldn’t claim anything against travel?

Thank you

TPAR lodgement via business portal

Philisy_2020 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 22:24:47 GMT

Hi

How can I upload a pdf of TPAR report for 3 different years to the ATO via business portal?

I am not a tax or bas agent just an accountant working for a construction company for building dwellings..
I have tried upload tpar of pdf file but the format wasnt accepted. Where and how can i convert to the rigth format? quickbooks online only supports pdf..

Hiring foreign independent contractors or Employees

OD — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 09:00:30 GMT

Hi,

I want to hire employees or contractors from outside australia. What all I have to keep in mind before doing that?

Transfer of Long Service Leave

Saga15 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 03:50:11 GMT

I have an employee who has requested for their Long Service Leave (in dollars) to be transferred to their new employer. Their new employer is agreeable to accepting this transfer. My concern is whether I am legally still allowed to make this transfer of LSL. My second concern is if I make the transfer, should PAYGW be taken from this transfer as well. Does anyone have any answers for these two questions?

One off/ Infrequent work - should add as employee ?

Joachim — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 03:46:57 GMT

Hi , Thanks for having a look at this. One of my friend was out of state for a while a( week ) and a friend of his managed his business in his absence. The owner now wishes to make a payment as a gift for looking after his work. The friend of his was not an employee and and an outsider.

Should my friend add him as an employee or can this be just recorded as an allowance paid. Even if not employee should it be reported in BAS . I feel that if reported in BAS the amounts per STP will vary with BAS as she is not an employee. Thanks a lot.

Child Support and Novated Lease

BGoodwill — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 03:24:20 GMT

I currently receive child support payments from my ex because I am 100% caregiver to our daughter.

I am now having to rent and can barely afford that so I have to be really careful when it comes to money.

Someone at work mentioned that I should sell my car (which I own outright) and get a novated lease.

Doing this will free up some cash from the sale of my car, but it also apparently will increase the amount of child support I receive.

This seems to good to be true. Can anyone please advise if this is true.

Am I eligible to claim tax free threshold when I'm on a bridging visa for partner visa?

kkpenas — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 02:19:48 GMT

I've worked out that I am an Australian Resident for tax purposes as I am waiting for my partner visa. But can I claim the tax free threshold while on a bridging visa A?

Tax File Declaration Forms for returning casuals

em12 — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 01:28:25 GMT

Hi,

If we have a casual employee who may only work for a couple months each year do we need to fill in a new tax file declaration form whenever he returns to work or if there have been no changes can we just continue to pay him as per the previous form.

A lot of times we believe he won't return back to work then he does and we don't want to continue to fill out paperwork each time.

Thank you.

Foreign contractor

LeslieAnne16 — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 01:00:00 GMT

Hello,

I am a UK resident (for tax purposes) and I have done some contracting work for a month in Australia (teaching a course at a university, with a contractor contract).
I was recently paid for my work, with no tax withheld. I would like to know what is the process to follow to pay my taxes in Australia?

With many thanks for your help,
Leslie

Backdating GST

martina — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 22:12:45 GMT

Hi, one of our contractors has just notified us that he will be registering for GST and wants to backdate his invoices and add GST to them for us to pay. Is he able to do this and do we need to pay the backdated GST given that we have already paid for the invoices?

Thanks,

Martina

Contractor tax deductions

Jim67 — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 03:56:21 GMT

I am a Locum Optometrist. I travel to different locations to provide Optometrist services. My agreement with each location is via my Trust, and I am deemed a contractor.
Can I claim travel and meal expenses?
Many thanks,
James

Superannuation, OTE, Flat rate, set hours

LA1 — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 03:18:33 GMT

I Work in Mining maintenance on a FMG site and feel my employer is not paying the correct amount of super. I work a 2&1 roster doing 84 hours a week when on site, paid at a flat rate. My employer is only paying superannuation on 38 hours for the 2 weeks on site. My payslip states 38 OTE and 46 hours overtime. Overtime paid at the same flat rate as OTE. The shifts are a set 12 hours and this never differs. I can't see how my employer is able to say that I only do 38 ordinary hours a week. I also receive nothing for my week off. From my understanding the employer either has to pay an overtime allowance or super on all hours. I earn about 130k for the year yet only get around 4.5k in super. Other people working for different contractors on site do exactly the same hours but get superannuation paid on all hours. Either I'm not getting paid proper super or there is a flaw in the system that lets companies get away with this.

Parental Leave

1Christine1 — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 01:21:01 GMT

Can anyone help please????

If an employer decides to pay the difference to an employee on paternity leave (ie. the difference b/w employees normal pay vs govt pmt) is there super payable on payment? And is there leave accrued?

Trade support loan

ldg — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 03:12:22 GMT

I have a new employee who has ticked the box @ number 10 on the Tax File number Declaration. Do I have to do anything different when paying/deducting tax etc for this employee?

Im unsure ?

claireh12 — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 22:58:46 GMT

I dont know if this is the right forum for this type of question ...

I have started a new job where I was told it is full time .... I ticked Full time employment on my tax form when I first started as per instructions.. However I am being paid as a casual ( with no benifits) .... is this right ??

GST and PAYG

darolmoore — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 08:06:06 GMT

hi i read a few of your other posts but still unclear to me, i have a full time employment 75000+ and i have just applied for a sole trader ABN so i can conduct contracting work on the side, i will be getting paid in GST exclusive amounts, so my question here is do i need to pay GST and start PAYG regardless or only if my total income from both is over the threshhold? thanks

Tax Deduction

Chris152 — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 02:46:30 GMT

I need a HR licence for my job as a farm hand. Are lessons tax deductible and is the examination tax deductible?

Babysitting + tax?

Rina123 — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:43:11 GMT

Hi, I’ve recently been babysitting/nannying for a family for the last few weeks at $20/hour as a way to get side income while I’m receiving Youth Allowance. I believe I’m a contractor as the family and Centrelink has told me so and had me fill out a Mod F form. I’ve also applied for an ABN. However, I’m confused as the employee/contractor tool has said that I’m an employer. But I’m not guaranteed hours, I had set my pay rate, my hours are varied week to week (some weeks I don’t earn any money while other weeks I receive around $250), I can choose to refuse/accept work, and I do not rely on this income. I also plan to find more families to nanny for. Also, what’s the course of action if I’m a contractor? Do I have to pay tax? I don’t believe I earn enough but just to make sure. Thanks!

Superannuation reporting with few details of employee

Doone — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 03:27:42 GMT

Employee never returned forms so dont know DOB or address. I have a TFN which has not been verified. How do I set them up in the SBSCH? Is there a default birthdate?

USA company with Aus employees- how do I pay tax?

e11ablack8 — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 02:41:42 GMT

we are a USA based company but some of our employees are in Australia. How do I pay their tax and super?

Recieving A Bonus Payment As A Contractor

TomSmith — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 21:39:26 GMT

Hi,

I work as an independent contractor and I am registered for GST. I recieved a one of bonus payment of $5,000 from one of the companies that I do work for. Do i declare this as regular income? Do I need to pay GST on this? I wasn't expecting this so do I need to create an invoice for the amount to reconcile it?

Regards,

Tom

Apple Watch - tax deductible?

srutton — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 13:12:51 GMT

Hi, I currently work as a financial adviser. I need a watch that I can use to check my emails and make calls, especially because I drive around to visit clients a lot as part of my job. Is the portion/time that I use the watch for work purposes tax deductible? Cheers

Is Super payable on unused Long Service Leave at time of volunatary termination of employment

LM11 — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 03:25:50 GMT

Is Super payable on unused Long Service Leave at time of volunatary termination of employment

Tax on purchased leave

AshleyMartin — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 05:53:34 GMT

We allow our employees to purchase additional annual leave and deduct it from their pay throughout the year.

Is purchased annual leave a pre or post tax deduction?

work uniform

DeePink1471 — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 03:58:01 GMT

I dont know if anyone is able to answer my question so here goes

I want to know more about how many items of clothing are listed available to staff. I work for a small company that provide a clothing allowance and a list of approved items of clothing for staff to choose from. e.g. polo shirts, jumpers, jackets, hat.

I have asked for a more suitable shirt be made available to maintenance staff that has long sleeves and is UPF40 rating, I am told this shirt can not be added to the approved list as the ATO only allow a certain number of items to be available depending on the size of company.

Please can you confirm if that is correct?

Thanks in advance

PAYG witholding no ABN - Annual Report

jleeds — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 04:57:04 GMT

Hi There

Just wondering if we need to lodge a PAYG withholding no ABN Annual Report if we have not withheld for the last financial year.

We have previously always withheld hence lodged the Annual Report.

Would we lodge a NIL annual report or just not submit a form altogether.

Thanks

How do I add authorised contact in the Business Portal?

danhendo888 — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 00:08:21 GMT

How do I add authorised contact in the Business Portal?

Employer paying visas and travel flights

AussieRox — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 01:58:12 GMT

Dear Sirs,

I appreciate if you can clarify the account where to allocate payments of Visas or flights for arriving new workers. Our list of account in MYOB contains an account Employment Expenses. Is this account the right one?

Thank you so much.

hiring and paying remote overseas employees

NRZ — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 03:35:48 GMT

Hi ATO community,

I have setup a training business in australia and plan to hire remote employees outside australia. i donot intent to register companies in these countries, as these employees will be working online from home (providing services globally). The mode of payment for these employees will be paypal. what are the compliance requirements here? do i need to withhold any tax or superannuation? please advice.

Thanks,

NRZ

Working away from home allowance

Lenny66 — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 04:23:37 GMT

HI,

I current work for a company that has sent me to Canberra from Sydney many times for 3 or 4 days overnight for many years.

They have since taken the company Credit card from me and all staff.

I must get some kind of pre paid allowance for my accom and meals etc.?

Can anybody send me some information on the law for this please.

Thanks in advance Lenny

Employing a non resident living in India

SelinaJ — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 06:32:24 GMT

We have a staff member whose Visa has expired and his application for permanent residency wasn't accepted. He needs to go back to India for 9-12 months and re-apply based on marital status. We wish to continue to employ him but I haven't been able to find any information on our obligations in regards to Tax and Superannuation. Or are we better off engaging him as a contractor during this time??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Selina