Administered by the Tax Office, the scheme will run for 12 months from 7 October, with registrations through ATO online services, the Business Portal, or through registered tax and BAS agents now open.
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The scheme will see eligible employers able to access up to $200 per week for each eligible additional employee aged 16 to 29 years, and up to $100 per week for each eligible additional employee aged 30 to 35 years.
To be eligible, the employee will need to have worked for a minimum of 20 hours per week, averaged over a quarter, and received the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (Other) or Parenting Payment for at least one month out of the three months prior to when they are hired.
Employers cannot be receiving JobKeeper payments at the same time and must also meet a number of eligibility conditions, including being registered for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding, holding an Australian business number (ABN), being up to date with their tax lodgement obligations, and be reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP).
Entities exempt from STP reporting will need to meet additional requirements and provide these details by contacting the ATO by phone.
The hiring credit is paid every three months in arrears, with claims for the first quarterly payment to open on 1 February 2021.
ATO deputy commissioner James O’Halloran has encouraged businesses to check their eligibility and take the first step to register for the scheme from this week, noting that they cannot claim the credit if they are not registered.
“We encourage employers to register from now to ensure their hiring credits can be paid promptly from when the first quarterly claim period opens in February 2021,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“Employers are reminded that new employees must have received the Parenting Payment, Youth Allowance (Other) or JobSeeker Payment for at least 28 consecutive days (or two fortnights) within the 84 days (or six fortnights) of being hired to allow for a claim to be made by the employer.
“There are some key dates to keep in mind, and simple steps employers can take now, but please remember that not everything needs to be done from next week.”
Last week, Mr Frydenberg registered the rules of the scheme, while the Commissioner of Taxation registered a legislative instrument setting out the reporting obligations required under the scheme.
Jotham Lian
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Jotham Lian is the editor of Accountants Daily, the leading source of breaking news, analysis and insight for Australian accounting professionals.
Before joining the team in 2017, Jotham wrote for a range of national mastheads including the Sydney Morning Herald, and Channel NewsAsia.
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