The importance of staff super and payment dates.

You already know that super must be paid to eligible employees. Did you know an employee's fund must receive their super payments on or before the quarterly super due dates? Aside from being the right thing to do, it’s also the only way to avoid the super guarantee charge (SGC). 

Dates to remember. 

Payments should be made at least four times a year. This applies from the day an employee starts working for you. These are the quarterly dates for 2023. 

• Q1: 1 July – 30 September, payment due date 28th October. 
• Q2: 1 October – 31 December, payment due date 28th January. 
• Q3: 1 January – 31 March, payment due date 28th April. 
• Q4: 1 April – 30 June, payment due date 28th July. 

Making frequent payments. 

You can make payments more frequently than quarterly, for example fortnightly or monthly. If you do, ensure you pay your total super guarantee (SG) contribution for the quarter by the due date. 

Payments on weekends. 

You aren’t expected to action payments on a weekend or public holiday. So, when a super due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, your contribution must be received by the fund on or before the next business day. 

If you miss the mark. 

Business owners/directors are personally liable for super for staff. As the employer, you’ll be held accountable for missed payments, not your employees. If you miss the quarterly payment due date or make late super payments, you’ll need to lodge a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) statement and pay the SGC to the ATO. Missed or late super payments are not tax deductible. 

A note on clearing houses. 

A clearing house is a financial institution formed to facilitate the exchange of payments. When it comes to super, a clearing house distributes super contributions to your employees' funds on your behalf. 

Although convenient, it’s important to note that SG payments made to a commercial clearing house before the SG due date may not reach the super fund until after the due date. Why does this matter? Your employee's super contribution is only considered 'paid' on the date it's received by the super fund, not the date it's received by the clearing house. 

What we’re saying is, you must leave enough time for your SG payments to reach the super fund and allow for their processing times. The only exception is if you use the ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House. Here, payments may be considered 'paid' on the date they're received. 

The ATO is cracking down. 

The ATO has started double-checking payments and dates using the super clearing house and Single Touch Payroll info businesses are lodging. Their only goal here is to catch businesses not paying staff super on time. If you’re caught, there are large penalties on the way, so it’s important to stay organised when it comes to staff super. 

We’re super helpful when it comes to super. 

We help businesses across Perth with all things tax, including super implications. Contact us to talk about this in more detail — we’d love to help you understand the super obligations you have to your staff.