You must pay a minimum of 9% of each eligible worker's ordinary time earnings each quarter.
For super guarantee purposes, your workers include your employees and any contractors you engage wholly or principally for their labour.
Ordinary time earnings (OTE) is usually the amount your employee earns for their ordinary hours of work. It includes things like commissions, shift loadings and allowances, but doesn't include overtime payments.
For contractors, use the labour component of their contract as the basis for their OTE.
Super is calculated quarterly - that is, every three months. For each of your eligible workers:
- multiply their ordinary time earnings for the quarter by 9%
- pay this amount to a complying super fund or retirement savings account by the quarterly cut-off date.
If you back-pay salary or wages to a former employee you have to pay super contributions on that back pay.
You can claim a full tax deduction for super payments you make for employees under 75 years old by the cut-off date.
When to pay
You have to pay super guarantee contributions for each eligible worker at least four times a year. Payments must be made by the quarterly cut-off dates:
Quarter
|
Period
|
Payment cut-off date
|
1
|
1 July - 30 September
|
28 October
|
2
|
1 October - 31 December
|
28 January
|
3
|
1 January - 31 March
|
28 April
|
4
|
1 April - 30 June
|
28 July
|
What you must do if you haven't met your obligations
If you haven't met your super obligations as an employer, you have to lodge a Superannuation guarantee charge statement - quarterly and pay a super guarantee charge to us.
You'll have to do this if you:
- don't pay enough super contributions (at least 9% of ordinary time earnings) for your worker - 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 worker'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), interest at 10% per annum, and an administration fee of $20 per worker per quarter.
Also, your business will lose the tax deduction it would normally get. Late super contributions and the super guarantee charge are not tax deductible.
Sections within Payments and reporting
Last Modified: Monday, 8 October 2012