If you haven’t met your super obligations as an employer, you have to lodge a Superannuation guarantee charge statement – quarterly (NAT 9599) and pay a superannuation guarantee charge to the Australian Taxation Office. Additionally, your business might lose the tax deduction you would normally get for super contributions, because the super guarantee charge is not tax deductible and neither are most late payments.
You’ll have to pay the super guarantee charge if you:
- Don’t pay enough super contributions for your employee – this is called a super guarantee shortfall.
- Don’t pay super contributions by the quarterly cut-off date for payment.
- Don’t pay super to your employee’s chosen super fund – this is called a choice liability.
The super guarantee charge is made up of the super guarantee shortfall amounts (including any choice liability), nominal interest at 10% per annum, and an administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter.
The shortfall amount is calculated on your employee’s total salary or wages not their ordinary time earnings (OTE).
What you must do
You’ll have to:
- Complete a Superannuation guarantee charge statement – quarterly.
- Work out the amount of super guarantee charge to pay.
- Pay the super guarantee charge to us by the due date for the relevant quarter.
Superannuation guarantee charge statement and calculator tool – use the tool to calculate your super guarantee charge liability and prepare the super guarantee charge statement you lodge with the Australian Taxation Office.
If you’ve paid a late contribution
If you pay a super contribution to a super fund after the cut-off date, you may be able to use this late payment as an offset to reduce the amount of super guarantee charge you have to pay. You must still lodge a Superannuation guarantee charge statement – quarterly and pay the balance of the super guarantee charge.
Director penalties
Company directors have a legal responsibility to ensure that their company meets its superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) obligations. The director of a company that fails to meet an SGC liability in full by the due date automatically becomes personally liable for a penalty equal to the unpaid amount.
Other penalties
As well as the super guarantee charge, there are several other penalties and charges that might apply, depending on your circumstances. For example, penalties apply if you:
- Don’t keep adequate records.
- Make false or misleading statements.
- Fail to provide a Superannuation guarantee charge statement – quarterly when required.
