To help employers meet their superannuation guarantee requirements, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has extended the deadline for employers to obtain benefit certificates for staff in defined benefit superannuation funds to December 31, 2008.
The ATO has announced it won’t apply any super guarantee charges for employers trying to meet their super guarantee requirements for the quarter ending September 30, 2008.
According to the ATO, the changes to the way super guarantee contributions are calculated means that existing benefit certificates that use an earnings base lower than ordinary time earnings (OTE) beyond July 1, 2008, must be replaced with certificates that incorporate OTE requirements from July 1, 2008.
Charges will not be applied for employers who have contributed the required amount under a previous benefit certificate by October 28, 2008, obtained a new benefit certificate by December 31, 2008, and topped up any super guarantee contributions within 28 days of receiving the new benefit certificate.
