No. Only one claim per individual for JobKeeper payments can be made. An entity cannot claim JobKeeper payments for an individual if there is already a JobKeeper claim being made by another business or employer for that individual.

No. You can only receive the JobKeeper payment once.

No. Only one eligible business participant can be nominated. This means that a business entity must choose which eligible business participant to nominate, and that entity is only entitled to one JobKeeper payment per fortnight.

Types of entities that may be eligible business participants, include partners in a partnership, adult beneficiaries of a trust actively engaged in the business or a shareholder or director of a company?

No. An eligible business participant cannot be an employee (other than a casual employee) of another entity. 

If the sole trader is both a long term casual employee of another business and also an eligible sole trader, they can choose to either let their employer claim the JobKeeper payments on their behalf, or they can claim as a sole trader, but not both.

Julie is a Cardiologist who has her own private practice, operating as a sole trader. Julie also works for Monash Health, one day per week, employed on a part time basis. As Julie is not employed at Monash Health on a casual basis, she is ineligible for the JobKeeper payment as a sole trader.

Basic Test

This test is satisfied where your projected GST turnover for the turnover test period falls short of your current GST turnover for the relevant comparison period, by the specified percentage (generally 30%).

To apply the basic test, you need to:

Step 1: identify the turnover test period

Choose whether you are comparing your monthly or quarterly turnover. You can choose to compare the relevant month or quarter, regardless of whether you report quarterly or monthly.

For qualification from the start of the scheme, the turnover month used can be either March 2020 or April 2020 or the quarter from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. To qualify at a later time, the turnover month can also be May, June, July, August or September 2020, provided that the turnover month is the month in which the first fortnight for which you claim the JobKeeper payment ends, or another earlier month.In other words, you will only be eligible for JobKeeper payments for JobKeeper fortnights that end on or after your turnover test period starts.

If turnover for a quarter is being used, it can be the quarter:

• 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020
• 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020, but only if first seeking to qualify for fortnights ending in July 2020 or later.

Step 2: identify the relevant comparison period

This must be the same period in 2019 that corresponds to the turnover test period.

There may be situations where the turnover in the corresponding period in 2019 does not provide an appropriate relevant comparison. In these situations, you will need to consider the alternative test.

Step 3: work out the relevant GST turnover

You need to determine:

• for the turnover test period – what your projected GST turnover will be
• for the comparison period – what your current GST turnover was in 2019.

Projected GST turnover and current GST turnover excludes the following:

• GST you included in sales to your customers (if any)
• sales that are input taxed sales (e.g. bank interest, sale of shares, residential rental income)
• sales not connected with an enterprise that you carry on (e.g. sale of private car)
• sales that are not made for payment (unless a taxable supply to an associate)
• payments for no supply (e.g. JobKeeper payments)
• gifts and donations (except for deductible gift recipients and ACNC-registered charities as discussed above)
• sales not connected with Australia, for example:
• sales of services made through a business you carry on outside Australia
• sales of goods purchased and sold from a place outside Australia
• sale of real property situated outside Australia

Cash or accruals basis

You may use an accruals basis of accounting to calculate both the current GST turnover and projected GST turnover as both calculations require you to include sales that you have made or are likely to make without any reference to when you are paid.

However, if you prepare your activity statements on a cash basis, the ATO will allow you to calculate both the current and projected GST turnovers on a cash basis. The basis used must be the same for calculating your projected and current GST turnover.

Estimating your projected GST turnover

You need to identify the sales you made, or are likely to make, during the turnover test period.

Given that you can test eligibility part way through a period, when applying the fall in turnover test, you need to consider what you expect to happen for the remainder of that period. Relevant considerations include:

• the period during which the business is not expected to trade because it has been closed due to the coronavirus, or its ability to trade has been restricted
• recent patterns in trading that are expected to continue
• revised business plans.

The reasons for a fall or expected fall in turnover are not prescribed and are not limited only to the direct impacts of the coronavirus.

A business may intend on making substantial changes to their structure and operations, as part of responding to the coronavirus. However, projected GST turnover excludes:

• supplies that are made by transfer of capital assets
• supplies that are made as a consequence of substantially and permanently reducing in size or scale the enterprise.

A 10% reduction is generally accepted as a substantial reduction in size and scale (a smaller reduction may be substantial depending on the particular circumstances of the enterprise). The reduction will be permanent if it is enduring but not if it is reasonable to expect the reduction will end, for example in one or two years.  This means that, for example, where an entity decides to close 1 out of its 10 stores in its business, the income from selling the store or the assets used in the store would be excluded when calculating projected GST turnover. 

This means that the turnover from structural changes may need to be excluded when calculating projected GST turnover.

Step 4: determine which shortfall percentage applies

Generally, the shortfall percentage will need to be 30% or more.

Step 5: determine if GST turnover has fallen by the specified shortfall percentage

Work out the percentage that your projected turnover has fallen, based on the shortfall in your projected GST turnover as compared to the current GST turnover for the prior comparable period.

If the shortfall percentage is greater than or equal to the 30%, you satisfy the basic fall in turnover test.

• I have a new business, or
• I wasn’t in business as a sole trader 12 months ago, or
• My practice was restructured in the last 12 months, or 
• I was on maternity leave last year?

Alternative test

We may determine an alternative test for fall in turnover for a class of entities where there is not an appropriate relevant comparison period.

However, if an entity satisfies the basic test it does not need to go to an alternative test determined by the Commissioner.

Circumstances where an alternative test applies:

• the entity commenced business after the relevant comparison period (the business did not exist in that period),
• the entity acquired or disposed of part of the business after the relevant comparison period (the business is not the same business in that period as it is now),
• the entity undertook a restructure after the relevant comparison period (the business is not the same business in that period as it is now),
• the entity’s turnover substantially increased by:

• • 50% or more in the 12 months immediately before the applicable turnover test period, or
  • 25% or more in the 6 months immediately before the applicable turnover test period, or
  • 12.5% or more in the 3 months immediately before the applicable turnover test period.
• The entity was affected by drought or other declared natural disaster during the relevant comparison period,
• The entity has a large irregular variance in their turnover for the quarters ending in the 12 months before the applicable turnover test period, excluding entities that have cyclical or regular seasonal variance in their turnover, or
• The entity is a sole trader or small partnership where sickness, injury or leave have impacted an individual’s ability to work which has affected turnover.

You can get more information on these alternative tests in the Legislative Instrument and Explanatory Statement:

• Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Alternative Decline in Turnover Test Rules 2020
• Explanatory statement: Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Alternative Decline in Turnover Test Rules 2020

The Commissioner cannot determine an alternative decline in turnover test in all circumstances. It is only where there is an event or circumstance that is outside the usual business setting for entities of that class which results in the relevant comparison period in 2019 not being appropriate for measuring decline in turnover.

The Commissioner can also only determine a test for a class of entities, and cannot make discretionary decisions for individual entities.

If you fall into more than one of the classes of entities covered by the alternative test, you can choose which alternative decline in turnover test to apply. You only need to satisfy one of the tests (it does not matter if you do not satisfy one of the other tests that applies to you).

Yes, and there is a modified turnover test.

No. You only need to satisfy the fall in turnover test once – you don't need to test your turnover in the following months or quarters. However, there are ongoing monthly turnover reporting requirements.

You will be able to declare through the registration process that your turnover has dropped by the requisite 30%. If the ATO suspects you of incorrectly claiming the fall in turnover after lodgement of your BAS/Tax Returns, they will likely request evidence of your calculation. You may need to repay any incorrectly claimed subsidies.

This is applicable to situations where there is something out of the ordinary about the relevant comparison period in 2019 that means it is not appropriate for the purpose of an entity in the class of entities satisfying the fall in turnover test. The ATO’s Commissioner can apply discretion, you will need to provide evidence to the ATO in future so be sure to keep good records.

You may use an accruals basis of accounting to calculate both the current GST turnover and projected GST turnover as both calculations require you to include sales that you have made or are likely to make without any reference to when you are paid.

However, if you prepare your activity statements on a cash basis, the ATO will allow you to calculate both the current and projected GST turnovers on a cash basis. The basis used must be the same for calculating your projected and current GST turnover.

Yes. For example, a surgeon who has been unable to perform surgery since the shutdown has not issued any new invoices but may still be receiving payments from previously raised invoices. Their cash position may not have been impacted yet, but, on an accruals basis their business has been negatively impacted by Coronavirus. If this impact is 30% or more, then they will access JobKeeper for their employees.

You will need to login to myGov (sole traders) or the ATO Business Portal (for Trusts and Companies, using myGovID) and follow the steps through Business reporting via the ATO’s online services.

Yes and No. You are eligible to claim for the staff you employ assuming you meet the drop in turnover criteria and the staff are eligible, but you are not eligible to claim for yourself as a business participant due to your other part-time employment.

The ATO has recognised there is an issue with the enrolment process on their website, that may prevent you from the enrolling. Please continue to try again over the coming days as the ATO are working to remedy this error.

Yes, as your employment income is casual you may be an eligible business participant, assuming you meet the other criteria.

This should be determined by reference to your employment contract.

Enrolment opens Monday 20 April 2020 via the ATO’s Business Portal and ATO’s Online Services using myGov if you are a sole trader. 

If you are not a sole trader and have not yet set up a myGovID, you can follow the steps to do so at this link.

How to prepare:

1. Check your business meets the eligibility requirements, including the turnover test.
2. Check your employees meet the eligibility requirements and for which JobKeeper fortnights. You must pay your eligible employees in each JobKeeper pay fortnight in order to claim back the payment.
3. Consider if you are an eligible business participant. This relates if you are a director or shareholder of company, a partner in a partnership or an adult beneficiary of a trust.
4. Re-hire or re-engage employees let go or stood down – pay them the JobKeeper payment.
5. Continue to pay at least $1,500 to each eligible employee per applicable JobKeeper fortnight.
6. Notify all eligible employees that you intend to claim JobKeeper payments on their behalf and check they are not claiming through another employer.
7. Send the JobKeeper employee nomination notice to each employee for completion and return to you by the end of April. You must keep these on file and provide a copy to your Tax Agent.

Step 1: Enrol for the JobKeeper payment

• You or your BAS agent can enrol for the JobKeeper payment.
• Log in to the Business Portal using myGovID.
• Select 'Manage employees' then the link for the JobKeeper payment.
• Fill in the JobKeeper enrolment form and provide your:
  - eligibility information
  - expected number of eligible employees
  - contact and bank details.
• Notify all your eligible employees you have nominated them.
• To ensure you receive your JobKeeper payments as early possible, you should enrol by the end of April. However, enrolments are open till the end of May if you need more time.

Step 2: Identify and maintain your eligible employees

• You or your BAS agent can identify each eligible employee that you will claim the JobKeeper Payment for and maintain their details each month
• If you have STP enabled payroll software, you can identify your employees in one of the following ways:
  - Directly into your STP enabled payroll software if it is updated with JobKeeper functionality.
  - In the Business Portal if your STP payroll software is not updated with JobKeeper functionality.
  • If you have 200 employees or less, log in to the Business Portal and select employee details that are prefilled from your STP pay reports.

• If you don't have STP enabled payroll software, you can identify your employees in one of the following ways:
  - In the Business Portal
  • If you have 40 employees or less, manually enter your eligible employees' details

Step 3: Make a business monthly declaration

• Each month, you must reconfirm your reported eligible employees. This can be done through the Business Portal or via your registered tax or BAS agent.
• If your eligible employees change or leave your employment, you will need to notify the ATO through the business monthly declaration report.
• You must also provide information as to your current and projected GST turnover. This is not a retest of your eligibility, but rather an indication of how your business is progressing under the JobKeeper Payment scheme.

What you need to do for your employees

• If you are participating in the JobKeeper Payment scheme you need to include all eligible employees.
• You need to provide these employees with the JobKeeper employee nomination notice and ask them to return it to you by the end of April if you want to claim JobKeeper payment for April.
• If your employees have multiple employers, they can usually choose which employer they want to nominate through. However, if your employees are long-term casuals and have other permanent employment, they cannot nominate you. They cannot be nominated for the JobKeeper payment by more than one employer.
• If an employee is receiving or in the process of applying for a Services Australia income support payment, like JobSeeker payment, they should contact Services Australia and let them know that their employer has applied for the JobKeeper payment. The ATO and Services Australia are working together to share information to identify instances of the incorrect eligibility for JobKeeper or JobSeeker. If your employee does not report the income or cancel their JobSeeker payment, they may incur a debt that you will be required to pay back.

Sole Traders

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/In-detail/JobKeeper-guide---sole-traders/

Employers – reporting through STP

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/In-detail/JobKeeper-guide---employers-reporting-through-STP/

Employers – not reporting through STP

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/In-detail/JobKeeper-guide---employers-not-reporting-through-STP/

As part of the JobKeeper enrollment process, you will need to notify your bookkeeper or accountant the following:

1. What entity are you registering for? Individual sole trader, company, trust or partnership. Note, for entities other than a sole trader you will need to nominate an “Eligible business participant” and complete the nomination form if applicable.
2. Are you registering for employees? If so you will need to confirm each eligible employees’ tax file number and date of birth as well as the fortnights for which you are claiming. (See important dates below for further information)
   You will need to provide this information each month to your bookkeeper or accountant.
3. For the first period in which you are making a claim you will need to state the period in which you have satisfied the reduction in income test, for example March, April 2020 or April to June 2020. (See below for further information on when you may be eligible)
4. You will need to specify the turnover for the first month you are making the claim and then every subsequent month you will need to provide this information to your bookkeeper or accountant.
5. You will need to provide an estimate of the following months turnover. Note if your turnover increases you will still be eligible for JobKeeper payments and only have to satisfy the eligibility criteria for 1 period.
6. Bank account details for which the refund will be processed by the ATO.
7. Confirmation in writing that you have satisfied the eligibility criteria and authorise DPM to enrol on your behalf from the period nominated by you.

Unfortunately, the ATO JobKeeper online enrolment system is still unable to cope with some enrolment circumstances. You will experience this issue if all of the following apply to you:

• You are a sole trader;
• You personally receive other employment income; and
• You employ staff in your business.

If this is you, you will need to call the ATO and process your enrolment manually over the phone with the ATO.

1. Call 1800 806 218;
2. Select 7#;
3. Have your TFN ready; and
4. Have your JobKeeper eligibility information ready, including the number of eligible employees and the month / quarter which has experienced or is likely to experience decline of 30% or more.

Once you have enrolled manually you should be able to log into the business portal in order to process your monthly declaration of turnover details.

Businesses waiting to find out if they’ve been accepted to receive JobKeeper payments should keep an eye out for a digital receipt from the ATO.

Keep in mind, JobKeeper is a self-assessment program, which means enrollment is really just the first stage based on the information a business has provided in their application.

If the ATO identifies a business’ application as lacking in some way, they’ll be in touch to rectify this, and have the power to claw back payments made to businesses they identify as ineligible.

The JobKeeper scheme works in dedicated “fortnights”, although businesses aren’t required to change their individual payroll cycles to bi-weekly ones, so long as they comply with the dates listed below.

• Fortnight 1: March 30 – April 12; employees must be paid by May 8.
• Fortnight 2: April 13 – April 26; employees must be paid by May 8.
• Fortnight 3: April 27 – May 10; employees must be paid by May 10.
• Fortnight 4: May 11 – May 24; employees must be paid by May 24.
• Fortnight 5: May 25 – June 7; employees must be paid by June 7.
• Fortnight 6: June 8 – June 21; employees must be paid by June 21.
• Fortnight 7: June 22 – July 5; employees must be paid by July 5.
• Fortnight 8: July 6 – July 19; employees must be paid by July 19.
• Fortnight 9: July 20 – August 2; employees must be paid by August 2.
• Fortnight 10: August 3 – August 16; employees must be paid by August 16.
• Fortnight 11: August 17 – August 30; employees must be paid by August 30.
• Fortnight 12: August 31 – September 13; employees must be paid by September 13.
• Fortnight 13: September 14 – September 27; employees must be paid by September 27.

Yes, if you do not satisfy the turnover test for the current month or quarter, you can still assess your eligibility at a later date. To qualify later, the turnover month can be May, June, July, August or September 2020, provided the fortnight you are qualifying for has ended that month or an earlier month. If the turnover for a quarter is being used, it can be the quarter:

• From 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020, or
• From 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020, but only if first seeking to qualify for fortnights ending in July 2020 or later.

Once you satisfy the decline in turnover test, you do not need to retest again, but you do need to report your monthly turnover figures.

No, you only need to satisfy the decline in turnover test once to be entitled to JobKeeper. For example, satisfying it for March 2020 (compared in March 2019) is sufficient, even if your business recovers to previous levels after this.

There are ongoing reporting obligations for current and projected GST turnover, but even where these show a recovery of turnover they don’t affect eligibility.

This does not necessarily mean you are ineligible for JobKeeper.

Your projected GST turnover is a point-in-time test and needs to be a reasonable assessment of what was likely at the time you calculated the test. If, at a later stage, it eventuates that your actual turnover for your test period is greater than your prediction of your projected turnover, you do not lose access to JobKeeper. We will accept your assessment of these turnovers unless we have reason to believe that your calculation of your projected GST turnover was not reasonable.

If there is a significant difference between your projected turnover and what eventuates, we may need to assess whether your assessment was reasonable, so you need to keep good records of your calculations.

Integrity rules are in place to deny or reduce an entitlement to JobKeeper payments if schemes are contrived to ensure payment conditions are satisfied, such as temporarily reducing or deferring turnover. Exceeding your turnover predictions by itself does not trigger these integrity rules.

The ATO compliance focus will be particularly directed toward schemes where there has not been a genuine fall in turnover in substance, but arrangements are contrived to ensure the turnover test is satisfied.

No, for April the ATO has extended the due date for entities reporting April current GST turnover and May projected GST turnover to 31 May 2020.

The approved form that entities use to report their monthly GST turnover for April is also used to identify confirm your eligible employees and/or a business participant each month. This confirmation will need to be made for the ATO to be satisfied that the entity is entitled to a JobKeeper payment. This means that if you choose to report your April GST turnover amounts later than 7 May 2020, your JobKeeper payment will also be delayed.

Yes, the extended due date only applies to your monthly reporting requirement for April. The sooner you make your Monthly Business Declaration, the sooner you will receive your JobKeeper Payment.

You should use the same method for calculating current and projected GST turnover that you used to determine your decline in turnover for eligibility purposes. That is, GST turnover with the modifications prescribed in the JobKeeper rules.

We understand that the time-frame prescribed for calculating monthly GST turnover is significantly shorter than an entity would ordinarily have for GST reporting purposes and that the calculation method prescribed in the JobKeeper rules is also different.

Entities should make a genuine effort to calculate and report current and projected GST turnover. If you later identify errors in the calculation, you will not be required to re-report to the ATO.

No. A nanny is not eligible for JobKeeper payments as they are not employees of the business and are private expense.   

Matt, a sole trader, employs a nanny to help with the raising of their children. The nanny is paid $1,000 per fortnight, pre-tax. As the nanny is not an employee of Matt’s business, the nanny is not eligible to the JobKeeper wage subsidy through Matt.

Yes. As long as you pass the fall in turnover test of 30% (assuming income of less than $1bn), you will be able to claim JobKeeper for your spouse. See our example below for a practical application.

Most GPs will change clinics in August of each year of their training. You will not be able to claim JobKeeper at the new clinic as you were not an employee at 1 March 2020. You will need to ask the employer you were working for on 1 March to keep paying you the JobKeeper entitlement. Note that it is at no cost to the employer.

Yes. Each entity is able to claim JobKeeper for one eligible business participant as well as their employees. Similarly, if your Service Entity is a Company, one director or shareholder will be able to receive the  JobKeeper payment as well as long as they meet the eligible business participant criteria. The entity is not eligible if the individual is not eligible, say if the individual is not eligible because they have employment income from salary and wages that are not casual wages then cannot nominate that individual.

You need to have commenced paying them at least $1,500 per fortnight from the 30th of March 2020. The Job Keeper subsidy is paid in arrears by the ATO meaning it is a reimbursement to the business for wages previously paid.

No. Superannuation is not payable on the JobKeeper top up amounts. In the case of stood down employees, the wage top up due to JobKeeper is $1,500 and none of this top up wage attracts superannuation.

Yes, the employee can choose to continue to salary sacrifice the JobKeeper amount into superannuation or part thereof.

Superannuation is not payable on the JobKeeper top up amounts. The employer only needs to pay superannuation at 9.5% on the ordinary wage amount. That is, if the employee was receiving $1,000 per fortnight before tax and super pre-30 March 2020, they will now receive $1,500 pre-tax and $95 must be contributed to superannuation, being 9.5% of $1,000.

The cash flow boost is automatically applied upon lodgement of your March 2020 BAS. The ATO will credit the amount to which you are entitled directly to your Integrated Client Account.

You do not need to do anything, the ATO will work out what you are entitled to and make the relevant payment directly to your nominated account in due course.

You will need to wait to hear from the ATO regarding the payment details. We advise leaving the credit on your Integrated Client Account and making payments towards BAS and instalment liabilities as normal.

No. As there is no withholding obligation you will not get the cashflow boost payment.

All cash flow boosts are tax free (non-assessable non-exempt income) and are not required to be paid back when the business’ cash flow improves. However, if the business has been paid more cash flow boosts than it is entitled to, it will be required to repay the excess.

The boost is not subject to GST as you are not making or agreeing to make a supply for the payment.

You will still be entitled to a deduction for PAYG withholding paid.

There is no effect on tax paid by employees in respect of their salary and wages.