Superannuation is the money you pay to eligible workers to provide for their retirement. Super guarantee (SG) is the minimum amount you must pay to avoid the super guarantee charge, super guarantee is 10% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings.
The payment of super guarantee can be made at least 4 times a year, this applies from the day employees start working for you and the payment due dates occur quarterly.
The superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) statement will be applied if you do not pay an employee’s super guarantee on time and to the right fund. You must lodge the SGC payment statement and pay the SGC as soon as possible to ATO.
When eligibility requirements are met, late super payments can be used to offset the SGC, pay super in the current quarter or put the payment towards future super payments.
The SGC is more than the super you would have otherwise paid to the employee’s fund and is not tax-deductible and you cannot claim at tax time.
It is important to pay on time to avoid audits. We recommend doing this every pay run through your STP software.
Quarterly super payment due dates.
| Quarter | Period | Payment due date |
| 1 | 1 July – 30 September | 28 October |
| 2 | 1 October – 31 December | 28 January |
| 3 | 1 January – 31 March | 28 April |
| 4 | 1 April – 30 June | 28 July |
Working out the SGC:
The super guarantee shortfall is made up of:
- Super calculated on salary and wages (including any overtime)
- Any choice liability, based on the shortfall and capped at $500
- Nominal interest of 10% per annum (accrues from the start of the relevant quarter)
- An administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter
If you have made a late super payment to an employee’s super fund, you may be able to use it to:
- Apply the offset to reduce the shortfall and nominal interest component of the SGC
- Pay super in the current quarter
- Put the payment towards future super payments (limited to a period no more than 12 months from the beginning of the quarter)
