Payroll – COVID-19 frequently asked questions

I am a not-for-profit employer and I provide salary-packaged meal entertainment to my employees. Can my employees use their exempt (or rebatable) cap during the FBT year ending 31 March 2021 given restaurants and public venues are currently closed due to COVID-19?

We also confirm that for the FBT year ended 31 March 2020, we will not apply any compliance resources to scrutinising expenditure under these arrangements during the period where restaurants and public venues were closed.

This question was last updated on 17 April 2020.

Will I need to pay FBT if I provide an employee with items to allow them to work from home due to COVID-19?

If you allow your employee to use a monitor, mouse or keyboard they otherwise use in the workplace, or if you provide them with stationery or computer consumables or pay for their phone and internet access, the minor benefits exemption or the otherwise deductible rule may apply.

The minor benefits exemption may apply for minor, infrequent and irregular benefits of less than $300.

The otherwise deductible rule allows you to reduce the taxable value of benefits by the amount for which your employee would be able to claim a once-only deduction.

This question was last updated on 9 April 2020.

Will I need to pay FBT if I provide an employee adversely affected by COVID-19 with emergency accommodation, food, transport or other assistance?

• The benefit given to your employee is emergency assistance to provide immediate relief.
• That employee is, or is at risk of being, adversely affected by COVID-19.

In the context of COVID-19, we will accept that the FBT emergency assistance exemption applies if you, as an employer, have provided emergency accommodation, food, transport or other assistance to an affected employee.

Exempt assistance would cover, for example:

• expenses incurred relocating an affected employee due to COVID-19, including paying for flights for overseas to return to Australia
• expenses incurred providing food and temporary accommodation if an affected employee is unable to travel due to travel restrictions (including domestic, interstate or intrastate travel)
• benefits provided that allow the affected employee to self-isolate or be quarantined
• transporting or paying for an affected employee’s transport expenses including car hire and transport to temporary accommodation.

This question was last updated on 9 April 2020.

My employees work on a fly-in fly-out and a drive-in drive-out basis. With the travel restrictions arising from COVID-19, some are not able to return to their normal residence on the days they aren’t working. I’m paying for their temporary accommodation and meals while they can’t return home. Do I have to pay FBT for the accommodation and meals I am providing?

This question was last updated on 9 April 2020.

If I give my employees gloves, face masks, sanitisers and anti-bacterial spray to protect them from contracting COVID-19 while at work, do I need to pay FBT on these benefits?

Examples of this type of work include the:

• medical industry (such as doctors, nurses, dentists and allied health workers)
• cleaning industry
• airline industry
• hairdressing and beautician industry
• retail, café and restaurant industry.

If your employees’ specific employment duties are not of the kind described above, the minor benefits exemption may apply if you provide an employee with minor, infrequent and irregular benefits of less than $300.

This question was last updated on 9 April 2020.

Will I need to pay FBT if I provide emergency health care to an employee affected by COVID-19?

• by an employee of yours (or an employee of a related company)
• on your premises (or premises of the related company)
• at or adjacent to an employee’s worksite.

If you pay for your employee’s ongoing medical or hospital expenses, FBT applies.

However, if you pay for transporting your employee from the workplace to seek medical assistance, the cost is exempt from FBT.

This question was last updated on 17 March 2020.

My employees are unable to get the influenza vaccine at the workplace as they are working from home due to COVID-19. Will I need to pay FBT if I provide my employees with a voucher or reimbursement for getting the flu vaccine from a GP or chemist?

Providing a flu vaccination to employees is exempt from FBT as it is the provision of work-related preventative health care. It does not matter that you cannot provide the flu vaccine at the workplace because some or all of your employees are working from home due to COVID-19.

If only some of your employees choose to receive the flu vaccine at the GP or chemist, the voucher or reimbursement will still be exempt from FBT, as long as you offered it to all employees

This question was last updated on 8 May 2020.

Will I need to pay FBT if I provide testing for COVID-19 to my employees prior to them entering the workplace?

The provision of this test will be exempt from FBT as it is work-related medical screening, due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19, and that any employee is equally susceptible to contracting the virus.

If only some of your employees are provided with COVID-19 tests, the tests will still be exempt as long as you offered them to all employees.

This question was last updated on 8 May 2020.

I can’t afford to pay my employee’s super guarantee contributions by the due date because of COVID-19. What do I need to do?

Pay as much as you can by the due date, even if you can’t pay in full. This will reduce the super guarantee charge.

If you didn’t pay the full super guarantee by the due date:

• lodge a Super guarantee charge statement
• pay the charge to us.

If you do this within the month, there will be no penalties. Interest will still apply.

If you have trouble paying the super guarantee charge, we can work with you to set up a payment arrangement – see Pay in full or set up a payment plan.

This question was last updated on 20 March 2020.

My employees are temporarily working overseas because of COVID-19. Does this affect my super guarantee obligations?

The situation may be more complicated if your employee ends up staying overseas for a lengthy period. We encourage you to first consider our existing advice on these issues. If you are unsure of the effect in your circumstances contact us for further guidance.

This question was last updated on 20 March 2020.

I’m an Australian employer and my employee is not an Australian resident. They are working in Australia temporarily as a displaced employee because of COVID-19. What are my employer obligations?

The same withholding rules apply to both your domestic employees and your displaced foreign employees.

Regarding foreign employees, some of these employees will not have an Australian tax liability on their employment income earned while in Australia (see Not an Australian resident, temporarily in Australia). If this is the case, there are no PAYG withholding obligations.

We understand in the current environment you may have a larger workforce temporarily situated in Australia because of COVID-19. However it is important to ensure that your displaced foreign employees are supported in the same manner as your domestic staff. We are happy to work with you in setting up to meet your obligations to displaced employees.

This question was last updated on 20 March 2020.

My employee was temporarily working in Australia because of COVID-19 and I paid superannuation on their behalf. When they leave Australia can they withdraw that super?

Generally your employee can claim a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) if the following apply:

• They accumulated superannuation while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa issued under the Migration Act 1958 (excluding Subclasses 405 and 410).
• Their visa has ceased to be in effect (for example, it has expired or been cancelled).
• They have left Australia.
• They are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia.

This question was last updated on 20 March 2020.