As an employer, it is important that you comply with superannuation payments for your employees and team. You are currently required to pay your employee’s superannuation at least once a quarter.
Any superannuation payments are due by the 28th day after the end of the quarter – 28 July, 28 October, 28 January and 28 April.
There are harsh penalties for employers if the super is not paid on time. In addition to interest and penalties, the employer cannot claim a tax deduction for any payments made after the due dates.
In the past, employers could sneak under the radar and claim the deduction for a late payment and the ATO would be none the wiser unless an audit was conducted.
With the introduction of Single Touch Payroll and increased use of data matching between payroll records and superannuation funds, this is a thing of the past. We have had a number of instances in the past few months of the ATO issuing review letters for unpaid superannuation and late payments.
If you miss a payment deadline, you can no longer just pay it late. Instead, you are required to complete a ‘Superannuation Guarantee Charge’ form and lodge it with the ATO. This form calculates interest and administration penalties up until the date of the form and you are required to pay this, along with your employee superannuation, directly to the ATO. They will then disburse these funds to the employee’s respective superannuation funds.
So the lesson here is to pay your super on time, every time! Got a question or would like to get some advice? Contact us here.
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