JobMaker Hiring Credit

The Federal Government has introduced its latest wage subsidy scheme – the JobMaker Hiring Credit

This Federal Government scheme is aimed at supporting employers to create new jobs within their business and to employ additional people, specifically those aged between 16 and 35 years old.

This government support payment is paid to employer businesses and it is not required to be on-paid to the employee.  Please read this informative snapshot.

To be an eligible employee, the employee must have received the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance (Other), or Parenting Payment for at least 28 consecutive days within the 84 days prior to the start of employment.  In addition, employees must have worked an average of at least 20 hours per week during the quarter for the employer to be able to get the payment.

If you are a new business, you cannot claim it for the first person you hire, but you can claim for employees hired afterwards until 6 October 2021.  You must demonstrate you have increased the overall number of employees within your business by at least one person, and your payroll has increased accordingly.  If you hire someone on 6 October 2021 you can still get the payments for 12 months after that.

Employers will receive the following for each new job they create over the 12 months 7 October 2020 to 6 October 2021:

$200 per week for eligible additional employees aged 16 to 29 years old inclusive

$100 per week for eligible additional employees aged 30 to 35 years old inclusive

Employers must:

  • operate a business in Australia
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN);
  • be up to date with income tax and GST lodgement obligations;
  • be registered for Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding;
  • be reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP);
  • keep adequate records of the paid hours worked by the employee for whom you are claiming the hiring credit

Similar to JobKeeper, to receive JobMaker employers need to report their employees’ payroll information to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) through Single Touch Payroll.

Unlike JobKeeper, there is no need to demonstrate a decline in turnover, rather just demonstrate an increase in people employed by the business over the quarter.

The JobMaker Hiring Credit will be claimed quarterly in arrears by the employer from the ATO commencing from 1 February 2021. Employers will need to report information about their entitlement quarterly. The first quarter will run from 7 October 2020 to 6 January 2021.

Eligible businesses can register for the scheme from January 2021 until 30 April 2021.

For further information in relation to this initiative see the Australian Taxation Office website click here

Please let your Hanrahans Client Services Manager know if you need assistance in assessing your eligibility or to register for the JobMaker Hiring Credit.

The material and contents provided in this publication are informative in nature only. It is not intended to be advice and you should not act specifically on the basis of this information alone. If expert assistance is required, professional advice should be obtained.

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