Forecasting

• Prepare a short-term cash flow forecast (3 months) broken down into weekly cash movements. Include assumptions such as a 20% and 40% drop in revenue.
• Identify the impact on your cash flow and consider potential strategies to adopt around costs savings, and protecting and growing revenue.
• Work with your BlueRock advisor to quickly ascertain your situation
  

Cash flow

• Know your cash flow position.
• Consider how your product mix and sales strategy may need to change to reduce the impact of, or take advantage of, current conditions.
• Revisit your marketing plan and strategy to investigate low to promote your business in low-cost way.
• Eliminate all non-essential or discretionary expenditure.
• Reduce your labour costs – refer to the Staff section below.
• Consider your operating hours to reduce the running costs of your business.
• Discuss reducing or deferring rent with your landlord.
• Discuss converting your debt to interest-only with your bank or seeking a repayment holiday.
• Review cash flow relief and support options provided by the ATO and SRO.
• Identify other options for short-term sources of finance.
• Reduce stock levels.
• Sell surplus assets that do not have debt attached to them.
• Consider payment plans or deferral for personal expenses such as school fees.
  

Staff

1. Speak to staff about short-term job sharing or moving to part-time employment rather than redundancies.
2. Consider short-term salary cuts for higher salaried employees.
3. Communicate with staff about your policy, expectations and interactions with clients and customers – Read our Coronavirus and the Workplace Article for more info on this topic.
4. Consider workflow planning should there be personnel disruptions, managing casual staff, and paying full-time wages while on leave.
5. Consider work-from-home requirements on a case-by-case basis.
6. Consider Fair Work requirements for employees that may have been exposed to the virus.
   

Debtors

• Offer discounts for payment.
• Agree to payment plans where required.
• Seek upfront payments for services where appropriate.
• Make sure your terms and conditions are structured adequately and protect your right to recover debts.
  

Suppliers

• Proactively communicate with key suppliers and delay payments or negotiate extended payment terms.
• Reduce the number of suppliers who are owed funds by clearing smaller debt as this will reduce the number of suppliers you may be required to negotiate with.
• Negotiate payment discounts.
  

JobKeeper Subsidy Payment

The JobKeeper Payment Scheme is operated by the ATO. Enrolment for this program opened on 20 April 2020.  We highly recommend that you talk to your accountant on the eligibility of your business and employees, along with collating the required documentation prior to starting the enrollment and subsequent application process. 

To help you better understand the JobKeeper Payment Scheme we have crafted two rather large and up to date F.A.Q

Guide to the JobKeeper Payment Scheme - 09 April 2020 

Guide to the JobKeeper Payment Scheme - 10 April 2020 - Hint: his guide contains vital updated information around payment of the JobKeeper subsidy and information on non-employee eligibility criteria like sole traders and directors!

If you'd like assistance with applying and managing your JobKeeper obligations please contact a BlueRock adviser today. 

What is the JobKeeper Payment Scheme?

The JobKeeper Payment Scheme is a wage subsidy to be paid to Businesses, Sole Traders, Businesses Without Employees, Not for Profits and Charities. For those with a turnover of more than $1b, a loss of at least 50% is required. For those with a turnover of less than $1billion, a drop of 30% is required. Not for Profits and Charities require a 15% drop. There are a variety of turnover tests to determine eligibility. The payment will be made to employers at a flat rate of $1,500 per fortnight. 

Payments will be made in arrears from the first week of May, backdated to 30 March (for those eligible), and will continue for a maximum of 6 months. These payments are designed to keep employees on the payroll and connected to their business. Businesses will be required to prove that they are using the funds to subsidise wage payments to their employees. This will be done by Single Touch Payroll or a manual form.

Enrolment for this program opened on 20 April 2020.

JobKeeper Payment Scheme Enrolment & Application Process

The first stage of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme has recently opened. There are two stages to this process. Enrolment (stage 1) has opened as of 20 April 2020.

It was announced that the deadline for JobKeeper enrolments has been extended from 30 April 2020 until 31 May 2020; however, payments for the first two JobKeeper fortnights are required to be made by 8 May 2020.

If you've been struggling to get on top of everything, this means you'll have some more time and still be able to claim payments for the fortnights in April and May, provided you meet all the eligibility requirements for each of those fortnights. This includes having paid your employees by the appropriate date for each fortnight.

For the first two fortnights (30 March - 12 April, 13 April - 26 April), the ATO will accept the minimum $1,500 payment for each fortnight as being paid by the employer, even if it has been paid late, provided it is paid by 8 May 2020. If the employer does not make this payment to staff by this date, they will not be able to claim JobKeeper for the first two fortnights.

Companies with eligible employees – open

Sole trader and other entities – open

For eligible participants in the scheme, during the enrolment you will need to provide your bank account details. If you have eligible employees you will need to advise the number of eligible employees.

The second stage is the Monthly Reporting Stage which opens on 4 May 2020.

Companies with eligible employees will be required to identify eligible employees either by:

• selecting employee details that are prefilled from their STP pay reports (if they report payroll information through an STP enabled payroll solution) or
• manually entering employee details in ATO Online services for agents or the Business Portal (if they do not use an STP-enabled payroll solution).

The ATO has advised that it will remit funds to employers for all eligible employees after receiving the application.

Eligible Business Participant

Your non-employee individual is an eligible business participant of your entity for the fortnight if they meet all of the following:

They are an individual not employed by your entity.

They are actively engaged in the business carried on by your entity (at 1 March 2020 and for the fortnight you are claiming).

They are one of the following (at 1 March 2020 and for the fortnight you are claiming)

• a sole trader
• a partner in the partnership
• an adult beneficiary of the trust
• a shareholder or director in the company.

Eligible business entities

Your entity is eligible if:

on 1 March 2020, it carried on a business in Australia

it satisfies the 'fall in turnover' test for the relevant period

it satisfied certain conditions as at 12 March 2020, being  

• a 2018–19 income tax return showing that it had an amount included in its assessable income in relation to it carrying on a business, or
• an activity statement or GST return for any tax period that started after 1 July 2018 and ended before 12 March 2020 showing that it made a taxable, GST-free or input-taxed sale.
  

Note: A discretion to give further time after 12 March 2020 may apply in limited circumstances such as if you did not have a requirement to lodge your 2018-2019 return until after 12 March 2020, or you have deferred your lodgement under an extension of lodgement date the ATO initiated.

Sole Trader & Other Entity Monthly Reporting

Each month, you must reconfirm your reported eligible employees and eligible business participant. If your eligible employees change or leave your employment, you will need to notify the ATO through this monthly declaration.

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.

Employer Obligations

• Demonstrate that your business has or will experience the applicable turnover decline.
• Apply using the ATO application process and register your business.
• Notify your employees in writing if they are eligible for the JobKeeper payments.
• Each eligible business participant and eligible employee must complete the ATO approved form.
• Provide information to the ATO on eligible employees engaged as at 1 March 2020 (including those stood down or rehired).
• Ensure that each eligible employee is paid at least $1,500 per fortnight (before tax).
• Notify all eligible employees that they are receiving the JobKeeper Subsidy Payment and have been nominated to the ATO in writing.
• Continue to provide information to the ATO on a monthly basis, including the number of eligible employees employed by the business.

Intending on giving your eligible employees a JobKeeper Enabling Direction or JobKeeper Enabling Request?

The new Part 6-4C inserted into the Fair Work Act now gives employers temporary powers to issue:

‘Jobkeeper enabling directions’; and

'Jobkeeper enabling requests' for employees to:

• work reduced days or alternative hours of work;
• take accrued annual leave and agreements to take annual leave at half pay.

What is a “Jobkeeper enabling direction”?

A “Jobkeeper enabling direction” can only be given by an eligible employer to an eligible employee, where both qualify for the JobKeeper Payment Scheme.

A “Jobkeeper enabling direction” temporarily authorises an employer to:

• give a stand down direction to an employee to work fewer days or hours (including nil) where the employee cannot be usefully employed for their ordinary days or hours because of a business change attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic or Government initiatives to slow down COVID-19 transmission; and
• give directions to employees to change their work duties (where the duties are within their skill and competency) or to perform duties at a place different from their normal place of work (including the employee’s home).

What is a “Jobkeeper enabling request”?

A “Jobkeeper enabling request” authorises an employer to:

• request an employee perform their duties on different days or at different times (provided that it does not reduce their ordinary hours of work); or
• request an employee take paid annual leave (provided it does not reduce their annual leave balance to below two (2) weeks).

Communicate Legal Employment Changes to Your Staff With These Affordable JobKeeper Templates

The following templates are available to help you communicate JobKeeper updates with your staff:

1. JobKeeper Enabling Stand Down Direction (to reduce an eligible employee's hours, including to nil)
2. JobKeeper Enabling Direction – Alternative Duties (to change an eligible employee’s usual work duties)
3. JobKeeper Enabling Direction – Change of Location (to change an eligible employee’s usual place of work)
4. JobKeeper Enabling Request – Different Hours/Days (to change an eligible employee’s days or work hours, compared to their usual hours/days. This arrangement does not reduce their ordinary hours).
5. JobKeeper Enabling Request – Paid Annual Leave
6. Notification of termination and redundancy

Cost: $200+GST or $750+GST for all 6 templates

Eligible Employees

Eligible employees are employees who:

• are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);
• were employed by the employer at 1 March 2020;
• are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
• are at least 16 years of age;
• are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder, a non-protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder; and
• are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer
  

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 must choose the permanent employer and cannot nominate you.

Businesses Without Employees

Businesses without employees will need to provide an ABN for their business, nominate an individual to receive the payment and provide that individual’s Tax File Number and provide a declaration as to recent business activity.
People who are self-employed will need to provide a monthly update to the ATO to declare their continued eligibility for the payments. Payment will be made monthly to the individual’s bank account.

Frequently Asked Questions that relate to the JobKeeper Subsidy Scheme

1. What if the employee has been stood down?

• If the employee was employed as of 1 March 2020, the employer remains eligible to reinstate the employee and receive the payment.

2. What if the employee has been made redundant?

• If the employee was employed as of 1 March 2020 the employer remains eligible to reinstate the employee and receive the payment. The government has noted that leave entitlements paid as part of the redundancy are yet to be worked through.

3. Is superannuation payable on the JobKeeper Subsidy Scheme?

• If the employee is usually paid $1,500 per fortnight before tax, the employer is required to pay superannuation on their full wage including the $1,500 supplement.
• If an employee earns less than $1,500 per fortnight before tax, the employer is only required to pay superannuation on the amount the employee earned as their normal wage, not on the additional amount received as part of the $1,500 payment that is in excess of the normal pay.

4. If my employee works part time and is usually paid less than $1,500 per fortnight, does the business still receive the full $1,500 per fortnight?

• Yes, the employer will receive the full $1,500 per fortnight for the employee and the full $1,500 is required to be passed onto the employee.

5. If my employee earns more than $1,500 per fortnight, does the business receive more than the $1,500 per fortnight?

• No, it is a flat $1,500 per employee, per fortnight, regardless of their income level.

6. What if the employee has already applied for support through Centrelink?

• Provided the employee was employed as of 1 March 2020 they can transition back to the employer and be eligible for the payment.

7. Are casuals eligible for the payment?

• If the casual has been employed with the employer for 12 months or more they will be eligible for the payment.

8. Are those on temporary work visas eligible?

• The government has advised New Zealanders on 444 Visas are eligible for the payment. All other temporary visa holds will not be eligible at this point in time.

9. When does it apply?

• Payments will be paid from the second week of May with payments backdated to the 30 March 2020.

10. How does my business apply for the payments?

• The business will need to complete a self-declaration that their revenue has reduced in line with the eligibility criteria via the ATO website. Your BlueRock adviser can assist you with this.

11. Can an employee access both the Centrelink benefits and the JobKeeper Payment Scheme at the same time?

• No, the employee receiving the JobKeeper Payment is not eligible to also receive the JobSeeker Payment.

12. My employee works part time in my business and as a casual in another business. Do they receive two payments of the $1,500?

• No, an employee may only receive the JobKeeper Payment from one employer

13. When does an employer need to notify an employee they will be entitled to the JobKeeper Payment? 

• The employer must notify an individual employee in writing that they are eligible. Once the nomination form has been completed, the employer can register the employee via Single Touch Payroll. Once registered via Single Touch Payroll, it is a requirement that the employer notifies the employee within 7 days that the employee and employer are eligible and they have been registered.

14. When do I need to notify the ATO that we elect for our business to participate in the JobKeeper Payment Scheme?

• For an entitlement arising in the first (30 March –12 April) or second JobKeeper fortnight (13 April – 26 April) you must notify the ATO by 30 May.

15. Are partnerships eligible for the Jobkeeper Payment? 

• Yes, if the eligibility criteria set out earlier is met. However, only one partner can be nominated to receive the JobKeeper Payment. All eligible employees of the partnership will also be entitled to the JobKeeper Payment if they meet the criteria, noting a partner cannot be an employee.

16. Are company directors that receive director fees eligible for the Jobkeeper Payment? 

• Yes, if the eligibility criteria set out earlier is met. However, only one director can be nominated to receive the JobKeeper Payment and that individual may not receive the payment as an employee. All eligible employees of the company will also be entitled to the JobKeeper Payment if they meet the criteria.

Did You Know That JobKeeper Audits May Be Covered By Your Insurance?

Good news! If you're a client of BlueRock Accounting and you use our audit insurance product, Audit Shield, then future JobKeeper audits and reviews are covered by your existing insurance. If you're a BlueRock Accounting client but are yet to sign up to Audit Shield, it may be worth exploring to save a lot of stress in the event of an audit. Feel free toget in touch with Adam Gibbins, our Director of General Insurance, if you have any questions.

Income Support For Individuals & Sole Traders

• Two $750 stimulus payments are available to pensioners, social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders. The first of these payments was announced on 12 March 2020 and the second will be automatically made on 13 July 2020. The payment will be tax-free and will not count as income for social security, farm household allowance, and veteran payments.
• From 27 April 2020, the government is also temporarily expanding eligibility to income support payments to include sole traders and is establishing a new time-limited Coronavirus Supplement to be paid at a rate of $550 per fortnight for the next 6 months on top of existing entitlements.  
• The Coronavirus Supplement will be paid to both existing and new recipients of the JobSeeker Payment Scheme, Youth Allowance, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance and Special Benefit and be in addition to the payments made on under these allowances. 
• The Jobseeker Payment is currently $550 per fortnight and the addition of the Coronavirus Supplement increases this payment to $1,100 per fortnight.
• Sole traders and casual workers who are currently making less than $1,075 a fortnight will be eligible to receive the full supplement.

As of 30 March 2020, people who are self-employed are eligible to apply for the JobKeeper Payment Scheme. If you are self-employed you will need to provide a monthly update to the ATO to declare your continued eligibility for the payments. Payment will be made monthly to the nominated bank account.

Apprentice Relief

• The government has introduced a wage subsidy to support small businesses to retain their apprentices and trainees.  Businesses may be eligible to receive 50% of their apprentice’s wages, capping at $21,000 per apprentice, for the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.
• Employers will be able to access the subsidy after an eligibility assessment is undertaken by an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider. Like other assessments, this is expected to be completed via a SmartForm on the Australian Apprenticeship website.
• Employers can register for the subsidy from 31 March 2020, and final claims of payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020.
• Please note that if the employer is in receipt of the JobKeeper Payment for the relevant apprentice, they are not entitled to the apprentice relief.
  

Staff considerations

Employee Leave Queries

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic on 11 March 2020.   With the impact of COVID-19 changing the business landscape daily, it is unsurprising that employers have been left asking “but what does this mean for my business and workforce?”

Please note we do have employment law specialists on hand who are more than happy to assist with specific queries.

Workcover & Working From Home

• An important point to note is that when your employees are working from home, their home becomes a place of work and is therefore covered by Workcover.
• Australian Government Checklist to help you identify any risks associated with working from home.

Fair Work Requirements

• The Fair Work Ombudsman has released information that addresses Coronavirus and Australian Workplace Laws.
  Fair Work Corona Virus media release 
  

Early Release of Superannuation

The government will allow individuals in financial stress to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in the 2020 financial year and a further $10,000 in the 2021 financial year. 

To be eligible for early release of superannuation you must be either have:

1. To be eligible for early release of superannuation you must be either have:
2. Been unemployed, or
3. Been eligible to receive Jobseeker payment, Youth Allowance for job seekers, Parenting Payment, Special Benefit or Farm Household Allowance, or
4. Been made redundant on or after 1 January 2020, or
5. Had your working hours reduced by 20% or more, or if you were a sole trader had your business suspended or experienced a reduction in your turnover of 20% or more

Those who are eligible are able to apply through the myGov website  from mid-April 2020 to access the funds before 1 July 2020 for the first $10,000 and have 3 months after this date to access more.  These funds will not be taxed and will not affect Centrelink or Veterans' Affairs payments.

Superannuation Pensions Minimum Drawdown Rates

The government is temporarily reducing the superannuation minimum drawdown requirements for account-based pensions and similar products by 50% for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years. This will provide more flexibility as to how superannuants manage their superannuation assets.

Employer Super Obligations

Employers will still need to meet their ongoing super guarantee obligations for their employees.

Social Security Deeming Rates

The government is reducing the deeming rate adopted for Age Pension income testing by a further 0.25 percentage points to reflect the latest rate reductions by the RBA.  As of 1 May 2020, the upper deeming rate will be 2.25% and the lower deeming rate will be 0.25%.

Bank Care Package

• he Australian Banking Association (ABA) has announced a relief package that includes a deferral of principal and interest repayments for all term loans and retail loans for 6 months for small business customers with less than $3 million in total debt owed to credit providers.
  
  
• At the end of the deferral period, businesses will not be required to pay the deferred interest in a lump sum.  Either the term of the loan will be extended, or the level of loan repayments will be increased. The package applies to all ABA member banks who agree to participate (listed below).  

To read more about how the banks are assisting, click on the below links.

• ANZ
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Macquarie Bank
• National Australia Bank
• Westpac
• Bank of Melbourne
• Suncorp Bank

Funders outside of the (ABA) who are providing support are also listed below:

• ING
• Bankwest
• ME Bank
• Judo Bank
  

Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme

• This scheme is designed to provide working capital support to SMEs (businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million) to get through the impact of the coronavirus.
• Under the scheme, the Federal Government will guarantee 50% of new SME unsecured loans issued by eligible lenders up to the value of $250,000.  This effectively represents a guarantee of $125,000.
• The government will encourage lenders to provide facilities to SMEs that only have to be drawn if needed by the SME, and will remain available into the future, with interest only on the funds that are drawn down.
• The scheme commenced in April 2020 and loans will be made available by participating lenders until 30 September 2020.  The loans will be made under a term of 3 years with an initial 6-month repayment holiday.  No assets will be required as security for these loans. 
• These conditions apply only to new loans, not refinanced loans.
• No fees will be payable on the establishment of the loans.
  

Payroll Tax

There have been some updates to the payroll tax concessions available across the country.

Below is a summary of the latest developments as of 7 April 2020.

• Full payroll tax refunds for the 2019-20 financial year are available to small and medium-sized businesses with taxable wages of less than $3 million per member entity of a group.
• Payments should now have been refunded and the assistance is a refund, not a loan or deferral.
• Eligible businesses must continue to lodge returns but do not need to make further payments for this financial year.
• The State Revenue Office will directly contact eligible businesses in relation to reimbursement for payroll tax already paid in the financial year.
• The same businesses will also be able to defer any payroll tax for the first 3 months of the 2020/21 financial year until 1 January 2021.

New South Wales

• The NSW Government has announced that they will waive payroll tax for businesses with payrolls of up to $10m, for the months from April to June 2020.
• Also, the payroll tax threshold will be raised to $1m in 2020/21, thereby bringing forward another round of payroll tax cuts for eligible businesses.

Western Australia

• The government will waive payroll tax for the 4-month period between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 for eligible businesses.
• To be eligible, the business has to qualify as a small or medium business, with Australia-wide annual wages of less than $7.5m in the 2019/20 income year. This payroll tax relief will replace the payroll tax deferral previously announced.
• Eligible business with Australian taxable wages of less than $5m as at 29 February 2020 need not apply for the waiver as it will be automatically applied. The OSR has clarified they simply need to lodge their March to June return and enter their taxable wages as normal and record them as “exempt (other) wages”. Other eligible businesses will need to apply to the OSR for the waiver.

Queensland

• The QLD Government has announced additional payroll tax relief measures in addition to the deferral of March to June payroll tax returns until 3 August 2020.
• All businesses specifically impacted by COVID-19 will be refunded 2 months’ worth of payroll tax, and
• Small and medium enterprise businesses will be given a 3-month payroll tax holiday and a further 6-month payroll tax deferral.

South Australia

• The SA Government is offering a 6-month waiver (from April to September 2020) for all businesses with an annual payroll (grouped) up to $4m.
• Employers with grouped annual wages above $4m will be able to defer payroll tax payments for 6 months on the demonstration of significant impacts on cash flow of COVID-19.

ACT

• There will be a 6-month waiver on payroll tax for the hospitality, creative arts and entertainment industries.
• There will also be access to interest-free deferrals of payroll tax commencing on 1 July 2020 for all businesses up to a payroll threshold of $10m in Australian taxable wages.

Tasmania

• The TAS Government has extended payroll tax relief as part of its additional social and economic support package to assist those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The payroll tax waivers previously announced for businesses in hospitality, tourism and seafood sectors, as well as businesses with payrolls less than $5m, will be extended such that these businesses will not need to pay payroll tax for the entire 2019/20 year. This will include refunds and waivers to provide cash flow to businesses.
• Affected businesses in other sectors with an annual payroll not exceeding $5m in Australian wages can apply for a waiver of payroll tax for the 3 months of April, May and June 2020.
  

ATO Relief – PAYGW Refunds

• These tax-free payments are to help businesses cover employee wages and apply to businesses and Not For Profit entities with a turnover of less than $50 million that employ staff, between 1 January 2020 and 31 October 2020.
• 100% of PAYG withheld between January 2020 and June 2020 will be credited to a maximum of $50,000 for the 6-month period. The minimum amount an employer will be able to receive is $10,000, up to a maximum of $50,000 for this period.
• An additional payment is also being introduced in the July to October 2020 period equal to the total of the PAYG withheld refunded in the previous 6 months to provide a total refund of up to $50,000 per entity.
• PAYGW credits will apply on a per entity, ABN basis. Therefore, if you have 2 entities conducting business in your group structure, each entity is eligible for PAYGW BAS credits of up to $50,000,provided each entity has paid $50,000 in PAYGW during the period 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020.
• The maximum total refund per entity is $100,000
• Upon lodgement of the March 2020 quarter Business Activity Statements, the ATO will automatically apply a credit to the entities Running Balance Account in the amount of the PAYG tax withheld reduction from 28 April 2020.
• The ATO has advised that where these credits result in an entity having a net refundable amount, refunds will be paid within 14 days to the entity’s nominated bank account.
• For employers with monthly Activity Statement lodgements, the March 2020 credit will be calculated at three times the rate, to cover for the January and February months.

Monthly BAS Lodgement Example:

• A business that employs staff, lodges monthly BAS’s.  
• All staff are on salary, and a monthly PAYGW of $15,000 is declared each BAS.
• On the March 2020 BAS, the $15,000 is claimed in W2.  The ATO will automatically apply a credit in the Running Balance Account of $45,000 ($15,000  January BAS, $15,000 February BAS and $15,000 March BAS).
• On the April 2020 BAS, the $15,000 is claimed in W2.  The ATO will automatically apply a credit of $5,000, being the balance of the amount receivable under the announcement.
• On the May and June 2020 BAS’s, the $15,000 is claimed each month. There will be no credit to the Running Balance Account in these months as your entity has already “received” the maximum allowable benefit.
  

ATO Relief – Tax Payment Deferral Options

• Businesses can defer by up to 4 months the payment date for BAS amounts due (including PAYG installments), income tax assessments, FBT assessments and excise.
• Businesses can vary PAYG installment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter; businesses that vary their PAYG installment to zero can also claim a refund for any installments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters.
• Businesses can remit any interest and penalties, incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to outstanding tax liabilities.
• The ATO will work with affected businesses to help them pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low-interest payment plans
• The ATO will allow businesses on a quarterly reporting cycle to opt into monthly GST reporting in order to get quicker access to GST refunds they may be entitled to.