Temporary cash flow boosts support small and medium businesses and not-for-profit (NFP) organisations during the economic downturn associated with COVID-19.
Eligible businesses and NFP organisations who employ staff, will receive between $20,000 and $100,000 in cash flow boost amounts by lodging their monthly or quarterly activity statements from March to September 2020.
The cash flow boosts will be delivered as credits in the activity statement system. They will generally be equivalent to the amount withheld from wages paid to employees for each monthly or quarterly period from March to June 2020. This means, you keep the amounts you have withheld from payments for these periods. However, there are some exceptions.
An additional cash flow boost is applied when you lodge activity statements for each monthly or quarterly period from June to September 2020. These credits are equal to the total boosts credited for March to June 2020. They will be paid out in either 2 or 4 instalments depending on your reporting cycle.
What you need to know
- For most businesses, the cash flow boost will automatically be credited to your account when you lodge your activity statement.
- You must be eligible for the initial cash flow boost to be eligible for additional cash flow boosts.
- If you lodge an eligible activity statement on or before 31 December 2021, any excess credit will be refunded to you, rather than offset existing tax debts.
- From 1 January 2022, activity statements lodged resulting in a credit will be offset against outstanding debts before providing a refund of any excess. For more information, see what you will receive.
- There are provisions in place for businesses experiencing hardship or with extenuating circumstances. For tailored support, see Support to lodge and pay.
- If you are due to receive a refund, we will generally pay it in 14 days.
- Any cash flow boost amounts you receive are non-assessable non-exempt (NANE) income and should be reported in the same way as you report other NANE income when lodging your tax return. For more information, see Tax consequences.
- On 24 March 2021, the Full Federal Court (FFC) handed down its decision in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Apted [2021] FCAFC 45. For more information, see FFC decision JobKeeper and backdated ABNs.