Yahoo Finance ‘Be vigilant’: End of financial year JobKeeper warning
The JobKeeper subsidy introduced by the government has meant millions of Aussies can stay in their jobs, with their employees receiving a $1,500 per fortnight wage subsidy from the government to be passed on to staff.
If you are receiving the JobKeeper subsidy, it’s important to note that this is taxable income, and it must be declared in your tax return.
However, you probably don’t need to do anything as it will be added to your group certificate as normal.
“In the case of JobKeeper, your employer should have been deducting tax as you go, and this will be reflected in your year-end Income Statement (what used to be called the Payment Summary),” H&R Block’s director of tax communications, Mark Chapman, told Yahoo Finance.
However, if you’re a sole trader, you probably wouldn’t have paid any tax on these amounts yet, so you’ll need to ensure you declare this as business income on your tax return.
Also read: What can I claim on tax this year?
Also read: How Covid-19 has changed your work-related tax deductions
I work multiple jobs, but am only receiving JobKeeper from one
If you work a few gigs but only one is paying you JobKeeper, you need to be “particularly vigilant”, Chapman said.
“That could mean your other employers have failed to deduct the right amount of tax, particularly where you got a pay rise because of JobKeeper (which will be the case for anyone previously earning less than the amount of $1,500 per fortnight),” Chapman said.
The ATO receives data from your employer, so it can easily identify who hasn’t declared their correct income.
“Make sure you’ve included the correct amounts in your tax return to stay out of trouble,” Chapman said.
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