What Coronavirus cash payments can you receive from the government to help your business?

The Australian federal and state governments are offering aid to businesses in a variety of ways with new measures being announced weekly, sometimes even daily.

It is their top priority to balance both our health crisis happening as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the economic crisis happening as a result of isolating and temporarily shutting down businesses.

This leaves business owners stressed, confused, and even a little scared as to how they are going to continue to operate when revenue is disappearing.

As the world says, cash is king and businesses have had to shut their doors when their cash flows lag. It is essential that business owners are looking after their cash and accessing help in any way they can.

Below are the 5 ways to receive support from the government in the way of cash payments:

$20,000 to $100,000 pay-as-you-go withholding cash payments

The federal government is refunding a minimum of $20,000 to a maximum of $100,000 in pay-as-you-go withholdings on wages relating to the March, June and September quarters. There are a number of eligibility requirements to access this refund including lodging your activity statements and being an active employer. Payments are expected to be received during the April to October period.

See the treasury’s fact sheet here for more information.

$1,500 per employee per fortnight JobKeeper cash payments

The federal government is also paying businesses a wage subsidy for their employees! Starting the first week of May, eligible businesses impacted by the Coronavirus who employ will receive $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee as a wage subsidy. The subsidy will act as a form of Centrelink payments for these employees, but the government has used the ATO and employers as a method of getting these payments out. Register your interest with the ATO to receive updates here.

Cash refund of payroll tax from Victoria’s State Revenue Office

If you pay payroll tax on your wages and your wages are less than $3m for the 2020 financial year, you can now receive a refund of the payroll tax you have paid thus far from the State Revenue Office in Victoria. You will also have zero payroll tax due for the 2020 financial year, and you or your accountant should contact the Victorian SRO to start processing the refunds. Other states are offering similar measures, so contact your accountant for more information.

$10,000 cash paid as a grant from the State of Victoria to eligible businesses

The State of Victoria is also paying a one-off grant of $10,000 to businesses impacted by the non-essential activity directions imposed by the state. The businesses must employ staff and have turnover levels from $75,000 to $650,000. View applications for eligible businesses here.

Cash loans with 50% government guarantee

Still need more cash? Businesses can now obtain a small business loan up to $250,000 and have that loan be 50% guaranteed by the Australian government. A small business loan may be all a business needs to get through the few months to see the other side of this Coronavirus pandemic. Here at Sharp Accounting, we have already helped numerous clients with applying for and renegotiating loans.

Ring us today to have a chat about how we can help your business, and for more details relating to the above, refer to our blog post here on Support for Small to Medium Businesses.