PAYG Deductions Other considerations HELP Tax Offsets Allowances ATO Advised Rates Non Residents

Application of HELP to fees All students who are offered Commonwealth-supported places or Fee-paying places Fees calculated as at census date each semester: Not all Uni’s the same census dates Semester ONE – mid to late March Semester TWO – mid to late August The packages of assistance: HECS-HELP for supported students FEE-HELP for fee-paying students OS-HELP for overseas Australian students VET-FEE HELP for certain VET programs

Methods of payment Method 1 Method 2 Method 3 Pay up-front with a 10% discount Method 2 Defer the debt – Must provide a TFN Total income includes negative gearing losses and reportable fringe benefits. No interest but debt indexed when outstanding for more than 11 months Method 3 Make a voluntary payment If over $500 then a 5% bonus amount is added to the repayment.

PAYG - HELP Repayment – calculated at income tax time HELP Repayment Income x Rate Help Repayment Income includes Taxable income Reportable Fringe Benefits Exempt Foreign Income Add back Net investment loss Reportable Super contributions

PAYG HELP Employer Obligations If employee has answered ‘yes’ to question 11 on TFN employer must withhold additional $ based on wages. Use HELP weekly tax tables to determine how much p389 text

PAYG Cont Tax Offsets Directly reduce the amount of tax to be paid. Generally 3 types Provide tax relief for personal circumstances (senior Austn, people living in remote areas) Give credit for an amount effectively already paid (credits on franked dividends) Provide an incentive (private health insurance and mature age workers)

PAYG & Tax Offsets Employers obligations Reduce PAYG withholding when employee answers ‘yes’ to question 9 and/or 10 on TFN declaration and supply a withholding declaration. Use ready reckoner on Weekly tax tables to convert full year reduction to weekly deduction (p380)

PAYG Allowances – Do we withhold? Receiving an allowance doesn’t automatically qualify you for a deduction. Must still meet the basic rules to make a claim Yes

PAYG cont ATO Advised Rate Why a different rate? Must receive advise directly from the ATO Will only be for a set period – must then revert to normal