Your payroll

On this page

• Payroll amount and base payroll
• Payroll expenses
• Payroll increase
• Total payroll expenses for a JobMaker period
• Baseline payroll amount
• New businesses

Payroll amount and baseline payroll

Your payroll amount includes the sum of all your payroll expenses for a JobMaker period.

At registration, we'll ask you for your baseline payroll. Your baseline payroll is worked out by counting the payroll expenses in the 3 months up to and including 6 October 2020 (a 92-day period).

If you're a new business that began after 6 October 2020, your baseline payroll amount will be zero.

If your business only started employing employees part way through the 3 months up to 6 October 2020, your baseline payroll is your payroll expenses for the relevant period.

Payroll expenses

Your baseline amount and total payroll expenses include the following amounts that were actually paid in the relevant period:

• salary and wages (includes any JobKeeper top-up amounts)
• all allowances other than a reimbursement of expenses or a fringe benefit
• overtime, shift and penalties
• bonuses and commissions
• amounts withheld under PAYG withholding
• amounts applied under an effective salary sacrifice arrangement.

The following payments are not included in the baseline or total payroll expenses:

• government paid parental leave
• workers’ compensation absence (not able to work)
• reimbursements of expenses incurred by employees
• directors’ fees (that are not salary and wages)
• lump sum payments (lump sum A, B, D and E)
• exempt foreign income (exempt from pay as you go withholding)
• eligible termination payments
• fringe benefits provided to an employee which are not part of an effective salary sacrifice arrangement
• amounts you contribute as super to meet your super guarantee obligations.

Payroll is worked out similarly to the wage condition for JobKeeper Payment, although the period is worked out differently.

Payroll increase

Your payroll expenses must have increased in the JobMaker period when compared to the baseline period. If your payroll has not increased, you won't be eligible for a payment.

Your payroll increase also caps your potential payment for a JobMaker period. If your claim entitlement is more than the increase in your payroll, you'll only be able to claim the payroll increase.

Total payroll expenses for a JobMaker period

Your total payroll expenses include the sum of all your payroll expenses for the JobMaker period.

Baseline payroll amount

Your baseline payroll amount depends on the number of days in the JobMaker period that you're claiming for.

For each JobMaker period, the baseline payroll is the payroll expenses paid or applied in the same number of days that are in the JobMaker period, ending on 6 October 2020. The number of days in the baseline period and the JobMaker period being tested must always be the same.

At registration, you will provide the payroll for the 3-month period ending on 6 October 2020 (a 92-day period).

When claiming for JobMaker periods that are 92 days long (including JobMaker period 1), we will not ask you to re-enter your baseline payroll.

When claiming for JobMaker periods that have a different length (including JobMaker period 2), we will ask you to re-enter your baseline payroll. Disregard any payroll expenses that you included at registration if they were paid on days outside of the baseline payroll period for that JobMaker period.

For example, when claiming for JobMaker period 2, your baseline payroll will:

• include all payroll expenses paid from and including 9 July 2020 to 6 October 2020 (a 90-day period)
• not include payroll expenses paid or applied on 7 and 8 July, which would have been included in the amount provided at registration.

New businesses

If you're a new business that began after 6 October 2020, your baseline payroll amount will be zero.

Find out about

• How payment amounts are calculated