2020 Income Types and Treatment

JobSeeker: how to treat in tax return

 

JobSeeker payments are taxed.

 

The ATO will automatically load this information into the ‘government payments and allowances’ section in your tax return, but it will not necessarily be there from July 1.

 

This means if the information is missing when you do your tax return, you will have to provide this information to your tax agent or wait until the data is available on ATO portal.

 

“Leaving out income can slow down your return or result in a bill later so it’s definitely best avoided.

 

JobKeeper: how to treat in tax return

 

JobKeeper payments are taxed as regular income.

 

If you have received JobKeeper payments from your employer do not need to do anything different to other “normal” years.

 

The payments will be included as salary and wages and/or allowances, in your regular income statement, which your employer provides directly to the ATO.

 

The income statement sent to the ATO can be viewed by your tax agent.

 

Sole traders that have received the payments need to include them as income for the business.

 

Stand down payments: how to treat in tax return

 

Some Australians in the past three months have received a one-off or multiple payment from their employer for being temporarily stood down from work.

 

These payments are also taxable and appear in their income statement and in their return.

 

If people aren’t sure whether these amounts have been included in their income statement, they should check with their employer.

 

Early superannuation withdrawal: how to treat in tax return

 

There is good news for those who took advantage of the relaxed rules around emergency withdrawal of superannuation funds.

 

If you received early access to your super this year under the special arrangements due to Covid-19, any amounts you’ve withdrawn from super under this program are tax-free and you do not need to declare them in your tax return.

 

Contact Expert Tax on 0449 952 855 or 1300 869 829 for further assistance.