NSW Payroll Tax Extended to 2019

July 2015

The NSW Payroll Tax rebate scheme has been extended to 2019, which will assist small business owners to manage the cost of growing staff.

The NSW Government's payroll rebate scheme is coming to an end, so if you're planning on hiring staff you'll need to get your applications in before 30 June 2015.

What is the payroll rebate about?

The NSW payroll rebate scheme was introdued in 2011 to help employers take on workers in new eligible employment. The scheme entitles businesses to a rebate of up to $5000 for payroll purposes.

How is the rebate paid?

The rebate is paid in two parts, on the first and second anniversary of employment of an additional person in a new job.

New staff must start before 1 July 2015

To be eligible for the scheme, your business must be registered as an employer and paying payroll tax in NSW. Employees must be employed in a new position after 1 July 2011, have maintained employment for at least 2 years within NSW and not excluded from the scheme for any reason. If you are taking on new staff and want to take advantage of the scheme, then your new team members must be employed before 1 July 2015.

A case study: How can the rebate help your business?

The primary benefit of the rebate scheme is returning cash back into your business by looking at the composition of your staff structure and movement.

Bates Cosgrave recently worked with a client with to identify which employees would be eligible and to ensure that the business could claim the optimal payroll tax rebate for the business as it accurately reflected their business structure.

When the scheme was introduced in 2011, the business had 20 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, and over the next four years, grew to more than 45 FTE employees, a mixture of full-time, part-time and casual staff.

We identified almost $100,000 in potential rebates for the business after looking at how the staff were structured, identifying eligibility of the staff and working with the Office of State Revenue to lodge the application. In addition to the back-dated eligibility, our team also identified other opportunities to take advantage of future rebates.

The upshot? It's worth discussing your current and future staff requirements with your accountant to see if your business is eligible.

Are you eligible?

If you believe your business is eligible or want to find out if you can take advantage of the scheme, please contact us on 02 9957 4033 or or via our website.

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Disclaimer

This article is provided for information purposes only and correct at the time of publication. It should not be used in place of advice from your accountant. Please contact us on 02 9957 4033 to discuss your specific circumstances.