COVID-19 payroll tax relief (closed)

All relief measures announced during the pandemic are now closed.

Four relief measures were announced by the Victorian Government:

1. Waiving 2019-20 payroll tax for employers with annual Victorian taxable wages up to $3 million.
2. Exempting additional payments under the JobKeeper program from payroll tax.
3. Deferring 2020-21 payroll tax for employers with Victorian wages up to $10 million until the 2021-22 financial year.
4. Waiving 2020-21 and 2021-22 payroll tax for eligible employers who applied for the New Jobs payroll tax credit. This measure closed on 30 June 2024.

1. Waiving 2019-20 payroll tax for eligible employers

Employers with annual Victorian taxable wages up to $3 million were eligible to have their 2019-20 payroll tax waived. This tax relief measure is closed. Applications and refund claims were to be submitted by 30 April 2021.

2. Exempting additional payments under the JobKeeper program from payroll tax

The JobKeeper program was an Australian Government subsidy for businesses significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme started on 30 March 2020 and ended on 28 March 2021.

JobKeeper eligibility requirements were set by the Australian Government.

Additional payments made to ensure employees qualified for JobKeeper payments were exempt from payroll tax.

Employers did not need to apply for this emergency relief measure. In line with existing payroll tax arrangements, employers were responsible for:

• calculating their payroll tax liability and treating the additional payments as exempt wages
• lodging monthly returns and paying the relevant payroll tax on taxable wages
• maintaining accurate records
• providing evidence that the correct amount of tax was paid if requested by us.

3. Deferring 2020-21 payroll tax liability for eligible employers until the 2021-22 financial year

Employers with Victorian wages up to $10 million in 2019-20 could defer their 2020-21 payroll tax until the 2021-22 financial year.

4. Waiving 2020-21 and 2021-22 payroll tax after applying for the New Jobs payroll tax credit

This measure closed on 30 June 2024. Further relief is no longer available, except if you are lodging or amending taxable wages for the relevant years because of:

• a request made by an employer or their representative to us before 1 July 2024, or
• an investigation we started before 1 July 2024.

Employers who were eligible for the New Jobs payroll tax credit received a part or full waiver of their 2020-21 and 2021-22 payroll tax liabilities. Eligible employers received a credit of 10 cents for every dollar of Victorian taxable wages paid in the relevant financial year that were above their previous financial year’s wages.

To be eligible for the New Jobs payroll tax credit, employers needed to:

• have total Australian taxable wages of $10 million or less
• demonstrate an increase in Victorian taxable wages in the relevant year.

For employers in a payroll tax group:

• the combined Australian wages of all group members had to be $10 million or less
• a designated group employer was required to apply on behalf of the group
• eligibility may have varied if the group’s membership changed during the designated or previous financial year.

Amendments after 1 July 2024

If you request an amendment to your taxable wages for the 2020-21 or 2021-22 financial years after 1 July 2024, you will not be eligible for further relief.

However, you may still receive a credit up to the value of your original credit. The credit will be recalculated based on your amended wages. You will receive the lesser of the recalculated credit or your previous credit.