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Scott Pape: Just on that I've got from The Man. He says,
'How do I check that a super fund is a complying fund?'
Michael Davison: There you go.
Christine Dacey: Oh, like in a general sense?
Scott Pape: In a general sense, yeah.
Christine Dacey: Well you can just go online to is it ASIC
or APRA? APRA, if it's an APRA regulated fund. Michael Davison:
Or Super Fund Lookup. Christine Dacey:
Yeah, Super Fund Lookup and there's quite a simple and straightforward process.
Michael Davison: I think Super Fund Lookup is available through
the Tax Office website? Christine Dacey:
Yeah. Michael Davison:
And the APRA website? Christine Dacey:
Yeah. Michael Davison:
And you can basically put in the name of any ů
Christine Dacey: The fund.
Michael Davison: ů details you've got on the fund. It will
come up with their super fund number, contact details et cetera. If the fund's on the list
it's a complying fund. Christine Dacey:
Yeah, it's a complying fund. Scott Pape:
Yep. I have a question from Taylor who says, 'Are there any services available to help
me meet my super obligations?' Christine Dacey:
The Tax Office has lots of tools and calculators and then we have people like Craig who help
us out as well. Craig Boyd:
That's right, with the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, again going back to 19 or
fewer employees, an ABN, a free service offered by government that assists in meeting those
obligations. So down to one simple payment all done online. And you're able to report
back. You can do it at any time you like. One of the other good benefits is you don't
only have to use the Clearing House quarterly. So if you're a small business and you want
to manage cash flow or your affairs in such a way that it suits you, then you can do it
whether it's monthly, fortnightly, when you make pay.
Michael Davison: That's a really important point.
Scott Pape: Yeah. This is a question from Joe which picks
up on that. He says, 'Please clarify the payment due date of the 28th of the month following
the quarter for the SG guarantee. Is the 28th a deadline for posting the cheque or has the
amount has to be received by the fund and credited to the account?'
Craig Boyd: So it's actually the latter except for the
Clearing House, but I'll come back to that. So as a general rule it has to be received
and cleared into the super fund by the 28th, but the Small Business Superannuation Clearing
House offered by government through DHS, once the Clearing House accepts the payment from
the employer ľ the business owner, then their Super Guarantee obligation is considered met.
Scott Pape: And just on that again from Bob. He says,
'Can I pay my super more often than quarterly?' Craig Boyd:
Absolutely. Michael Davison:
And I'd like to add to that, that I think it's important that you do. I mean it makes
a lot of sense from a cash flow point of view but also from an employee relation point of
view and an administration point of view. Pay your super when you're paying your pay.
So if you're doing monthly, weekly, fortnightly pay periods pay your super at the same time
and you're not stuck with having to manage your cash flow at the end of the quarter.
Scott Pape: It's actually a good point as a small business
owner seeing at the end of the quarter that money coming through.
Michael Davison: It's a big lump of money after the end of
the quarter. Do it as often as you can. Scott Pape:
Yeah. And with the Small Business Super Clearing House you're able to do that.
Craig Boyd: Absolutely. And you can print out reports
that show that for your own records, tax time, tax returns, employees if they ask.
Scott Pape: Now Bob says, 'What if I don't do that and
I make a late payment? What are the ramifications of that?' Christine.
Christine Dacey: Look you'll have to get in touch and lodge
something called a Superannuation Guarantee Charge statement. And basically that says,
'I missed the cut-off, the 28th day after the quarter and I'm paying it late.' And there's
a couple of implications from that. You'll need to pay interest because you've missed
the payment. There's also a small admin fee. The big one though is that you then can't
claim it as a deduction on your tax. So there's a huge incentive for actually paying it on
time. Forget the relationship that you want to maintain
with your employees. There's actually a business cost to you in paying it late.