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_ayden_398(Newbie)Newbie
3 Aug 2021

When I signed my contract, I notified my employer and singed that I have a HELP debt and that they employer will withhold funds to contribute to my student debt.

After reaching out to HR I was told they were not withholding funds and would correct this for the future.

Now a mandatory repayment is in my tax return (in red), should my employer recontribute the correct amount they have not this past financial year?

14,296 views
1 replies
14,296 views
1 replies

Most helpful response

Most helpful replyATO Certified Response

_KaraBATO(Community Support)Community Support
ATO Certified Response5 Aug 2021

Hello @ayden_398


I'm sorry to hear that your employer did not withhold the correct amount of tax from you even though you completed your tax file number declaration correctly.


Your employer does not pay your HECS/HELP compulsory repayments.


They are supposed to withhold extra tax from you to contribute towards this tax liability each pay.


In your situation, rather than withholding the extra percentage, your employer paid it to you with each payslip.


This means that your employer does not have the lump sum to recontribute as they paid it to you.


Even though you advised your employer to withhold the extra amount in tax to cover your HECS/Help compulsory repayment, and they didn't, the obligation to make this payment still belongs to you.


You can check your employer is withholding the appropriate amount from you each pay using our Tax withheld for individuals calculator and matching the amount of tax withheld on your payslip.

All replies

Most helpful replyATO Certified Response

_KaraBATO(Community Support)Community Support
ATO Certified Response5 Aug 2021

Hello @ayden_398


I'm sorry to hear that your employer did not withhold the correct amount of tax from you even though you completed your tax file number declaration correctly.


Your employer does not pay your HECS/HELP compulsory repayments.


They are supposed to withhold extra tax from you to contribute towards this tax liability each pay.


In your situation, rather than withholding the extra percentage, your employer paid it to you with each payslip.


This means that your employer does not have the lump sum to recontribute as they paid it to you.


Even though you advised your employer to withhold the extra amount in tax to cover your HECS/Help compulsory repayment, and they didn't, the obligation to make this payment still belongs to you.


You can check your employer is withholding the appropriate amount from you each pay using our Tax withheld for individuals calculator and matching the amount of tax withheld on your payslip.

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HECS\HELP debt - employer not withholding funds | ATO Community