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H1 Credit for interest on early payments - amount of interest

Last updated 12 February 2019

Show at H1 the calculated interest amount of 50 cents or more for early payments. Do not show the amount of the early payment.

Interest may be payable where an actual payment is made on account of certain amounts more than 14 days before the due date of payment. Amounts that may attract early payment interest include payments of:

  • income tax
  • shortfall interest charge
  • interest payable under section 102AAM of the ITAA 1936.

Amounts that you do not pay directly to us, but which are reduced by the crediting or applying of an amount, do not attract early payment interest. These amounts include:

  • credit for instalments payable under the PAYG instalment regime
  • credit for amounts withheld from withholding payments under the PAYG withholding regime
  • an overpayment of other income tax liabilities
  • a running balance account (RBA) surplus
  • any other credit entitlement arising under a tax law.

Early payment interest is also not payable on any part of the payment that:

  • exceeds the amount due or
  • attracts interest on overpayment.

Early payment interest is calculated from the date the early payment is made to the date the amount becomes due and payable. However, if you pay an amount early on account of a tax liability, and we refund it before the due date of the liability, interest will not accrue for the period after the date on which we refund the amount.

Date of payment is either:

  • the date shown on the receipt
  • the date the payment is mailed to us, plus three working days
  • the date shown on the taxpayer’s bank statement if payment is made through direct debit, that is, electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Table 5: Interest on early payments

The rates of interest on early payments for 2015–16 are:

Quarter

Interest rate (pa)

Jul–Sep 2015

2.15%

Oct–Dec 2015

2.14%

Jan–Mar 2016

2.22%

Apr–Jun 2016

2.28%

If the early payment extends over two or more quarters, calculate the interest for the number of days in each quarter.

For 2015–16, interest for a quarter is calculated as follows:

Interest

=

number of days in quarter
366

x

amount of payment for that quarter

x

interest rate for that quarter

Keep a record of the amount of early payment interest payable. This interest is assessable income in the income year in which it is paid to the fund or credited against another fund liability.

QC48112