A client of mine has received $85,000 in payroll tax rebates covering the past four years and is about to receive a further $40,000 this financial year.
Yes, you read that correctly. They will receive $125,000.
How? We helped them to take advantage of the NSW Government’s Jobs Action Plan.
The plan provides businesses employing NSW workers with a payroll tax rebate when they employ new workers in new, eligible, employment. It has recently been extended to 30 June 2019 and the rebate has been increased from $4,000 to $5,000 for new jobs created after 1 July 2013. A new Fresh Start Support rebate is a another one-off amount of $1,000 that can be claimed at the first anniversary of an eligible employee’s employment start date.
To be eligible for the scheme you must be registered as an employer and paying payroll tax in NSW. The jobs have to be new, performed wholly or mainly in NSW, but they can be full-time or part-time. There’s been some recent tightening of the rules to exclude internally transferred employees which includes mergers and takeovers.
The jobs must be maintained for two years to be eligible for the full rebate and the rebate is paid on the first and second anniversary of employment. New employees should be registered with the Office of State Revenue within 30 days of employment, otherwise you won’t be able to claim the rebate. The number of Full Time-Equivalent employees in your business has to have increased at the first and second anniversary to be eligible for payment.
The payroll tax rebate is one of a number of grants and Government incentives for businesses. There is also a NSW Small Business Grant which provides money to small businesses that do not pay payroll tax but employee new staff in new jobs. As well as business wide grants there’s industry specific grants such as those for businesses in the events and tourism sector. Austrade provides expert assistance and funding. The Australian Government has a Grants Finder website that allows you to search by a range of categories.
Your accountant and financial staff should be looking at these sorts of opportunities, not just ensuring compliance, because these incentives can help you to expand your business.
