What if you miss a super contribution?
You are required to fix this issue by making outstanding amounts to your employee’s super fund. Even if you are unable to pay the full amount, you can pay a partial amount to the fund to reduce the SG charge that you will become liable to pay. When your super contribution is paid late, unpaid, underpaid, or paid to the wrong fund, you have to pay a super guarantee charge, and the ATO will issue you a notice of assessment. After a notice of assessment is issued by the ATO, the SG charge is to be paid to the ATO. This incorporates notional earnings and may incorporate an administrative uplift amount (up to 60% of the total of the unpaid super and notional earnings). Sometimes the ATO’s records may show that you have missed a payment because of incorrect information reported to them. You might find it difficult to handle when you miss a super contribution; that’s why it’s advisable to seek help from the best accountants in Melbourne.
Missing a contribution in the first year of Payday Super
Under the ATO’s compliance approach for the first year of Payday Super, they will not apply compliance resources to investigate employers who are:
- Paying SG for each payday
- Making corrections as soon as they can.
The ATO will focus their compliance resources on employers who don’t:
- Correct errors promptly
- Try to move to a payday contribution frequency
- Pay SG at all.
Voluntary disclosure statements
Under Payday Super, you don’t need to file a Super Guarantee Statement with the ATO to report shortfalls if you don’t pay or pay late. Instead, you can file a voluntary disclosure statement for underpaid, unpaid, or late super guarantee contributions or contributions made to the wrong fund. A voluntary disclosure statement can only be filed before you obtain a notice of assessment for SG charge, and it can minimise the amount of SG charge you are required to pay. If you would like to maximise the amount of the super guarantee shortfall in a previous voluntary disclosure statement you filed for a QE day, you can give this information to the ATO using the voluntary disclosure form.
What if you obtain an assessment of SG charge?
If you have obtained an assessment of SG charge, the amount owing is due and payable to the ATO when the assessment is made. This is the day you obtain the notice of assessment. GIC accrues on unpaid super guarantee charge, and is not deductible. You can get in touch with the ATO to request a payment plan to pay any outstanding super payments after receiving an assessment. A payment plan will not stop any late payment penalties from being imposed. Late payment penalties won’t be remitted, and they are not deductible.
When will the ATO take action?
For the first year of Payday Super (QE days from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027), the ATO will give priority to the areas of highest risk by checking employers who have not made payment of the minimum amount of super guarantee contributions or have not paid super guarantee at all for their employees.
Employers who attempt to make super guarantee contributions in full for each payday and on time, and take appropriate steps to correct mistakes when they occur, won’t be the target of ATO’s compliance action in the first year of Payday Super. ATO’s ongoing compliance approach will pay close attention to employers’ behaviours and trends, along with their compliance and payment history. Payday Super will lead to more significant consequences and penalties for ongoing and repeated non-payment of the super guarantee charge. Avoid getting targeted by the ATO and pay the super guarantee charge on time. Also, you can seek professional advice to ensure you don’t miss a Payday Super Payment.
Conclusion
The blog shares information on the consequences of not paying Payday Super Payment on time. If you forget to pay Payday Super Payment on time, you can get professional help. Getting in touch with Reliable Melbourne Accountants would be a great decision to ensure you pay the super guarantee charge on time.