JobKeeper Reporting Guidance Via STP

Guidance is available from the ATO if employers require assistance reporting qualified employees and/or topping-up JobKeeper payments through STP (Single Touch Payroll).

Employers need to inform the ATO for every employee that qualifies:

• when a qualified employee begins receiving JobKeeper payments;
• when topping-up a payment to an employee that earns $1500 or less every two weeks; and
• when a certain employee isn’t eligible any longer, and therefore, JobKeeper payments warrant stoppage.

According to the ATO, this process can be managed via the “Pay Event” section when using the STP. They simply need to enter a relevant description (as explained below) into the field marked “Other Allowances.”

When reporting a JobKeeper’s start fortnight:

• Type in “JOBKEEPER – START – FNXX” as a description. XX is representative of a JobKeeper fortnight starting from the day the initial payment was made.
• Have the amount reported as either $0.01 or “zero.”

When reporting a payment that was topped-up for a qualified employee that usually earns $1500 or less every two weeks:

• Type in “JOBKEEPER – TOPUP” as a description when asked for the amount that was topped-up.

To report when an employee is no longer eligible for a JobKeeper fortnight:

• Type in “JOBKEEPER – FINISH – FNXX” as a description. XX is representative of a JobKeeper fortnight for the final payment.
• For instance, if an employee quits, and their final payment was made on May 12, 2020, it will fall under the 04 JobKeeper fortnight (12/05/2020 to 25/05/2020). “JOBKEEPER – FINISH – FN04” must be typed in as the description. Doing so will inform the ATO about the employee no longer qualifying for FN05’s JobKeeper.

Making Adjustments to JobKeeper Information Previously Reported (Start/Finish)

The guidance provided by the ATO addresses multiple scenarios where reporting errors in a JobKeeper’s start/finish details might warrant adjustments. It establishes ways of going about this.

Specifically, guidance is offered for making adjustments where:

• the incorrect employee had been reported as either finishing or starting;
• a later finish or start fortnight is reported incorrectly;
• an earlier finish or start fortnight is reported incorrectly; for
• a finish or start fortnight with a future date is reported.

Employers are urged by the ATO to exercise caution in order to make sure that the information reported is accurate from the beginning. Numerous corrections can’t be made in the field marked “Other Allowances” on the STP’s Pay Event.

Note to the editor: if you need more assistance or information when reporting STP JobKeeper payments, kindly get in touch with our office.

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