The ATO has release additional requirements when it comes to nominating an employee's super fund. You will have an extra step to take if you have new employees who start from 1 November 2021 and they don’t provide you with the details of their chosen super fund.
You may need to request their ‘stapled super fund’ details from the Australian Taxation Office. A stapled super fund is an existing super account of an employee that follows them as they change jobs.

This change aims to stop your new employees paying extra account fees for unintended super accounts set up when they start a new job.

What you need to know
You may need to request stapled super fund details when:
• your new employee starts on or after 1 November 2021
• you need to make super guarantee payments for that employee, 
• your employee is eligible to choose a super fund but doesn’t
You and your representatives can request stapled super fund details for your employees if you have full access to Online services for business. You need to review and update these accesses to protect the privacy and safety of your employees’ personal information.
You must meet your choice of super fund requirements and any stapled super fund obligations by the quarterly due date or you may face penalties.

What you need to do from 1 November 2021
Step 1: Offer your eligible employees a choice of super fund
If an employee joins you, you must give them a super choice form, this is critical so you get the super details of the employee so you can pay them, as non payment and late payment are one of the priority audit areas for the tax office and not having the employees super details is not a valid excuse.
Step 2: Request stapled super fund details
If the employee doesn’t give you their fund details, you can look up on the ATO to see if the employee has a fund listed with them and then make payment to that super fund. This is what has changed, you can now see if the ATO has fund details on record. If you need to do that step, our admin and bookkeeping team can support you. 
The criteria thing is after 28 days, if you don’t have the employees fund details from them then look them up with the ATO. The employee will get an SMS and/or email if you look up their info if they are registered with a MyGov account.
Step 3: Pay super into a default fund
You can pay into a default fund, or another fund that meets the choice of fund obligations if:
• your employee doesn’t choose a super fund, and
• The ATO has advised you that they don’t have a stapled super fund.

ASIC has launched a new number by which a company director will be identified. This ID number has been created to help prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities, and as a precursor to the amalgamation of ASIC and ATO into a new system called the Modernising Business Register or MBR, arriving in 2023. 

The 15-digit number will be known as the Director Identification Number (DIN or Director ID)  and is a unique identifier that a director will only need to apply for once as it will always be linked to them.
A director will keep their DIN even if they stop being a company director, change their name or move interstate or overseas. 

When to apply
The dates for when you need to apply, depend on when you become a director. 
1. Existing directors (appointed prior to 1 Nov 2021) have until 30th November 2022 to apply.
2. If you become a director between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022, you will need to apply within 28 days of your appointment. 

How to apply for a DIN
Although all existing directors only need to apply by 30 November 2022, we strongly recommend you do this one-time set up now to avoid any future penalties.
Please follow this link to apply. (The link will take you to the official Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) website).
In order to login to the ABRS website and apply for the DIN, you will need to Setup a MyGovID app on your phone if you don’t already have one. 
Note: MyGovID is different to MyGov, which is your personal government portal.

Should you need assistance with applying for the myGovID or the DIN, please let us know at support@prestoncorporate.com.au. 

Late Superannuation Contributions are a Bad Deal for You 
We would like to save you the pain and expense of making late superannuation contributions for your employees, or not paying them at all.  There have been recent changes to the way the ATO applies penalties when superannuation contributions are paid late, and we would like you to be aware of the significant expense that can result. 
 
When must superannuation contributions be paid? 
Superannuation contributions must be received by the superannuation fund within 28 days of the end of a quarter.  There is a common misconception that superannuation contributions must be paid by the employer by the 28th day after the end of the quarter.  This is not correct.  It is the date of receipt by the superannuation fund that is important.  However, if you are using the ATO Small Business Clearing House and if the contributions are received by that clearing house by the 28th day following the end of the quarter, you will be treated as having made the contributions to the superannuation fund on time.
 
Why it is a bad deal to pay late or not at all? 
The Australian Superannuation Guarantee system is designed to penalise severely employers who pay superannuation contributions late or who don’t pay the contributions.  This is because the employer must pay, at least, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (“SGC”).  For a quarter the penalty would be at least:

1. The late superannuation contributions; plus
2. Extra contributions due to a higher earnings base being used; plus
3. 10% interest calculated from the beginning of the quarter to the time of lodgement of the Superannuation Guarantee Statement or assessment; plus
4. A $20 charge per employee.

 
In addition to the SGC, penalties can be levied if you have not lodged with the ATO a Superannuation Guarantee Statement.  These penalties can be up to 200% of the SGC. 

Both the SGC and the penalties are not tax deductible. In other words, you are unable to claim a tax deduction in your 30 June tax return for any late paid superannuation contributions made through the year.  It will often be the case that the combined after-tax amount of the SGC and penalties is many multiples of the superannuation contributions paid late.

EXAMPLE:
During one quarter of a year, you have 10 employees. Your total wages are  $150,000 of which $100,000 is subject to superannuation, so you owe $9,500 in super as well as the balance of $50,000 for overtime (which does not attract superannuation). The following is the result of late payment of your superannuation:

1.) Shortfall amount of $9,500 (this is the original superannuation you didn't pay or paid late)
2.) Extra contribution for the overtime - late payment means this is now subject to superannuation ($50,000 x 9.50%) $4,750
3.) Interest - A minimum of $1,425 (this assumes that the SGC Form is lodged 1 year late) 
4.) Administration Charge (10 employees x $20) = $200
***Therefore, you have now increased the original amount owing $9,500 to $15,875 (an avoidable increase of $6,375).
5.) Assuming the ATO contacted you about and applied the Part 7 penalty, this additional amount would then be $28,500 ($9,500 + $4,750 multiplied by 2)

The total is now $44,375

How do the items above affect your tax? Items 1, 2, 4 and 5 are not tax deductible, so this means you pay an extra $2,850-$13,312 in tax depending on your tax rate (assumes a 30% tax rate).

Should you have any queries in relation to the above information please don’t hesitate to contact our office on 9367 4199 or at support@prestoncorporate.com.au.

​The Australian End of Financial Year (EOFY) is coming up. It’s a busy time, especially for accountants, bookkeepers and businesses. There’s a lot to organise so that taxes can be properly filed and paid.
However, while there is the same deadline every year, most businesses put off dealing with the accounting until the last minutes. We’ve been working with Perth businesses for years, so here are a few things to help make your end of financial year easier.