1. Cash flow assistance for employers – Cash Flow boost

The payments will be delivered by the ATO as an automatic credit in the activity statement system from 28 April 2020 for employers lodging eligible upcoming activity statements.

The business must hold an ABN before 12 March 2020 and have derived assessable income from carrying on a business in the 30 June 2019 income year or lodged an activity statement after 1 July 2018 and ending before 12 March 2020.

If a business pays wages to employees but is not required to withhold any tax then a minimum payment of $10,000 will be made in the first phase and a further payment of $10,000 will be made in the second phase.

If the cash boost credit exceeds your liability to the ATO you will receive the credit within 14 days.

First Cash Flow Boost

This is payable by the Commissioner in relation to periods ending from March 2020 to June 2020.  The total payments for the first cash flow boost is subject to both a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $50,000.

The amount of the first cash flow boost payment is equal to 100 per cent of the PAYG withholding amount for the March 2020 and June 2020 quarter, subject to a maximum of $50,000 for both quarters.

For example, if the PAYG Withholding for your employees is $25,000 for the March 2020 and June 2020 BAS, you will receive a credit of $50,000 in total for the two quarters.

For monthly PAYG withholding lodgements, the payment for the month of March 2020 is equal to 300 per cent of the PAYG withholding amount withheld.

For example, if the PAYG withholding for your employees for the month of March 2020 is $8,000, you will receive a credit of $24,000.  For the months following March 2020 to June 2020, you will receive a credit up to 100% of the PAYG withholding, subject to a $50,000 maximum.

Second Cash Flow Boost

The second cash flow boost payments are available to all entities that received any amount of the first cash flow boost, even if the circumstances of the entity have subsequently changed, provided the entity lodges a BAS return for the relevant period.

For monthly PAYG withholding lodgements, payments of the second cash flow boost will be equal to a quarter of their total initial Boosting Cash Flow.

For example, if you received a total of $50,000 in the first cash flow boost, you will receive $12,500 per month following the lodgement of your June 2020, July 2020, August 2020 and September 2020 activity statement.

For all other entities, the second cash flow boost payments are made in two equal amounts for the quarters ending June 2020 and September 2020, equal to the full amount of the first cash flow boost payments they received. For example, if you received a total of $50,000 in the first boost, you will receive $25,000 for June 2020 and $25,000 for September 2020.