Superannuation guarantee (sg) amnesty
Superannuation Guarantee Recap
The Superannuation Guarantee is the compulsory amount of superannuation that must be paid on an employee’s wages.
This is calculated at 9.5% of Ordinary Times Earnings (OTE), for most employees, and some contractors, with payment of the amount to be deposited into the employee's super fund by 28 days after the end of the relevant quarter.
The following website provides an overview to help you determine your obligation:
Superannuation Guarantee Charge - Normally
If you are late in making the SG contribution you are required to pay the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) being:
9.5% of Salary and wages (ie including overtime, allowances etc)
10% Interest – which is allocated to the employee, calculated on the entire amount owing from the start of the relevant quarter until the SGC form is lodged with the ATO.
An administration charge of $20 per employee per quarter
Penalties (Part 7) up to 200% of the amount of SGC charge payable
Super guarantee amounts paid late are not tax-deductible
Superannuation Guarantee Charge - Under Amnesty
This amnesty allows employers with outstanding SGC obligations to lodge SGC Amnesty Forms with the ATO to disclose the amounts, which were unpaid or late paid, during the period from the start of SG requirements, 1 July 1992 to 31 March 2018.
You MUST use the ATO provided excel form and lodge it via online services or Business Portal.
You MUST NOT use the SGC Calculator on the Business Portal
You cannot lodge the PDF that is produced by the ATO online SGC calculator
During this one-off amnesty the following benefits will be available:
No administration component of $20 will be charged
No Part 7 penalty will be applied to outstanding SG amounts reported
Super Guarantee amounts paid during the amnesty period will be tax-deductible
Amnesty Ends 7th of September, 2020
After this date, Part 7 Penalties will not be able to be reduced below 100% for pre-2018 undisclosed SGC.
Superannuation Guarantee obligations AFTER the 31st of March 2018 are not covered by this amnesty.
Payments of Amounts Owing
Can be made directly to the superannuation fund and offset on the form, these must be made prior to lodging the SGC Amnesty form.
Can be paid to the ATO electronically.
The amnesty is cancelled if the amount owing is not paid, or if no payment arrangement is entered with the ATO to pay the amount owing, or if you fail to comply with a payment arrangement.
We strongly recommend a full review of any late payments, and that a form is lodged for any individual quarter that has a late payment.
What You Need To Do
If you have outstanding Super Guarantee amounts, or made late payments during the period to 31 March 2018, SG Amnesty form/s will need to be prepared for the relevant quarters, and payment arranged or made in full.
If you don’t take advantage of the amnesty, the Part 7 penalty of up to 200% of the SGC amount will apply, with a minimum penalty of 100% and no tax deduction.
SG amounts for the June 2018 quarter and the following, are subject to penalties of up to 200%, but with no minimum.
Super Guarantee Audits Undertaken by the ATO
The Amnesty will not apply to employers who have at any time before preparing SGC statements for a quarter, been informed that the Commissioner is examining, or intends to examine, the employer’s compliance with their obligation to pay SG charge in relation to the quarter.
Audit Insurance
If an audit or review is undertaken in relation to an employer’s Super Guarantee obligations, those employers who have audit insurance will only be covered in the instance of an ATO review, if the Part 7 Penalty is below 70%.
This means that if you have insurance and don’t take advantage of the amnesty period, the costs of the review normally covered by insurance will not be covered, as there is no discretion for penalties below 100% on obligations incurred during the amnesty period.