While the rules regarding superannuation payments have not changed, in recent months and weeks the ATO has significantly intensified its efforts to ensure that employers are meeting their super requirements.
Late or unpaid super payments result in significant penalties, and the ATO is starting to become more aggressive in enforcing compliance in this area.
What are the superannuation due dates?
Superannuation payments need to be received the employee’s super funds within 28 days of the end of the quarter (that’s right, received by, not paid from your account by). As such, we’d recommend that superannuation payments are processed by the 22nd to allow enough time.
Quarter | Due Date | Recommended latest date to process |
January - March | 28 April | 22 April |
April - June | 28 July | 22 July |
July - September | 28 October | 22 October |
October - December | 28 January | 22 January |
What if super payments were made late/not at all?
If super payments are made late (or not at all), the ATO requires that the employer lodge Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) Statements. These statements outline the details of the late or unpaid super contributions, and they are a crucial step in demonstrating compliance with super obligations.
The components of SGC statements are:
An administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter
Superannuation on overtime payments, which will be included in the calculations
Interest on the overdue contributions (currently 10% per annum)
It’s important to note that even if the superannuation contributions are paid after the due date, the interest on the overdue amount will continue to accrued until the SGC statement is lodged with the ATO. This means that prompt lodgement of the SGC statement is essential in order to halt the accumulation of interest.
Ensuring compliance with these requirements is crucial to avoid unnecessary penalties and potential legal consequences. To best navigate these changes and maintain good standing with the ATO, we recommend the following steps:
Review your current processes for calculating and remitting superannuation payments to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
If you discover any late or unpaid superannuation, promptly calculate the necessary amounts for the SGC statement, including the admin fee, super on overtime, and interest.
Lodge the SGC statement as soon as possible to stop the accrual of interest.
We’re here to help!
If you have any questions or concerns about this, or need assistance with calculating and lodging SGC statements, please do not hesitate to reach out. As trusted accountants, we are here to help you navigate these requirements.
Our expertise in this area could save you significant amounts of money – in fact, we recently saved a client over $15,000 by assisting them with lodging the SGC statements rather than them doing it themselves!
In particular, we encourage you to contact us if you have multiple quarters paid late, or if you have already made the payments for quarters, but have not yet lodged SGC statements.
