Repayment of overpaid amounts
If you overpay a payee, see how to deal with overpayments in a current financial year or a previous financial year.
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If you overpay a payee
If you overpay a payee, you will need to know how to deal with overpayments that occur in a current financial year or in a previous financial year.
If you overpay a payee you must decide if the payee is required to repay the overpaid amount.
If you decide that the payee:
- is not obliged to repay the overpaid amount – you do not need to do anything (unless you are a state or Australian government departments or agencies, as employees may need to repay the overpaid amount)
- has to repay the overpaid amount – the action you need to take depends on whether the overpayment is identified in the same financial year or a later financial year.
If the employee is obliged to repay the overpaid amount, fringe benefits tax (FBT) may apply if you:
- allow the employee time to repay the overpaid amount
- waive the employee's obligation to repay the overpaid amount.
See also
Overpayment relates to a previous financial year
If you overpay a payee in a previous financial year and realise in a later year, you can't recover the amount withheld from the payment from us. If the employee has to repay the overpaid amount, they will need to repay you the gross amount, which will be the overpaid amount received plus any tax amount withheld.
Example 1 – Overpayment relating to previous financial year
An employee is normally paid $50,000 salary per year. However, the employee received $70,000, which is an overpayment of $20,000. An amount of $3,000 was withheld from the overpayment amount resulting in the employee receiving $17,000. The employee is required to repay $20,000 to you from after-tax income.
The employee may need to amend their income tax assessments as a result of the overpayment.
If two years have elapsed since we issued the payee's notice of assessment, the payee can request an objection to a time limit to amend an assessment.
End of exampleSee also
Reporting the overpaid amount
You should issue an amended payment summary to the employee when you discover an overpayment.
Include amounts the employee should have received in the relevant financial year. Do not adjust the amount of tax withheld on the amended payment summary.
If the overpayment occurred in more than one year, issue amended payment summaries for each relevant financial year.
Amending payment summaries
You can't change the information on a PAYG (pay as you go) withholding payment summary after you have given it to the payee or provided your PAYG summary statement to us.
You will need to correct the mistake.
See also
Overpayment identified in the same financial year
If an overpayment is identified in the same financial year it is paid, the employee will only need to repay the net amount of the overpaid amount. The net amount is the amount received by the payee.
Details of the overpayment should not be included on the employee's PAYG payment summary. The overpaid amount can be repaid in the same financial year or a subsequent financial year.
Example 2 – Repayment in the same financial year
An employee normally receives wages of $3,200 per month. In October 2014 you found out you incorrectly paid them an amount of $4,200 in September 2014, which is an overpayment of $1,000. An amount of $200 was withheld from the overpayment amount with the employee receiving the remaining $800. If the employee agreed to repay the overpayment by 30 June 2015, the employee is only required to repay $800.
End of example
Example 3 – Repayment in a subsequent financial year
An employee normally receives wages of $3,200 per month but you incorrectly paid them an amount of $4,200 in March 2014, which is an overpayment of $1,000. An amount of $200 was withheld from the overpayment amount with the employee receiving the remaining $800. You and the employee agreed that the amount was to be repaid over two instalments, being June 2014 and September 2014. The employee is only required to repay $800. The 2014 and 2015 financial year payment summaries do not reflect the overpaid or repaid amounts.
End of exampleWhen you provide payees with time to repay an overpaid amount, fringe benefits tax may apply.
Reporting the overpaid amount
If you identify the overpayment amount in the same financial year, you will need to ensure that the correct amounts are shown on the PAYG payment summary issued to the employee for the income year – do not include details of the overpayment.
You will need to revise any affected activity statements to reduce the withholding and wage figures.
If you are a large withholder reporting electronically, you reduce your next payment by the relevant withholding amount.
See also
- TD 2008/9 – Income tax: are amounts mistakenly paid as salary or wages to employees (or as income support payments or worker's compensation amounts to persons), to which they are not beneficially entitled, but are obliged to repay, 'ordinary income' under section 6-5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997?
- TD 2008/10 – Fringe benefits tax: where an employer recognises they mistakenly paid to their employee an amount that the employee is not legally entitled to, but is obliged to repay, and afterwards allows the employee time to repay the amount, is there a 'loan benefit' under subsection 16(1) of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986?
- TD 2008/11 – Fringe benefits tax: where an employer mistakenly pays to their employee an amount that the employee is not legally entitled to, but is obliged to repay, does the employer's subsequent waiver of that obligation constitute a 'debt waiver benefit' under section 14 of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986?
If you overpay a payee, see how to deal with overpayments in a current financial year or a previous financial year.