Payroll tax on superannuation contributions

Employers need to pay payroll tax on superannuation contributions they make for employees and directors.

Superannuation contributions include monetary contributions (e.g. cash payments and electronic transfers) and non-monetary contributions (e.g. marketable securities, property and forgiveness of loans) made to a superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme.

If you include a non-monetary contribution in your taxable wages, you must provide evidence of the value if we ask for it.

Taxable contributions

Taxable contributions include those made:

• to a superannuation fund
• to another form of superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme
• as a superannuation guarantee charge (including nominal interest and administration component charges)
• under salary sacrifice arrangements
• as lump sum payments.

You need to include these contributions when calculating your taxable wages. When you lodge your periodic return, include these contributions as part of your Queensland taxable wages. When lodging your annual return, enter these contributions in the ‘Employer superannuation contributions’ field as part of your Queensland taxable wages.

Non-taxable contributions

Superannuation contributions paid or payable to exempt employees (e.g. apprentices and trainees) are not subject to payroll tax.

Other superannuation guarantee charges (i.e. general interest and penalty charges) are also not taxable.

When you lodge your:

• periodic return, include contributions for apprentices as part of your apprentice and trainee wages
• annual return, include
  • contributions for apprentices and trainees in the corresponding ‘Wages for apprentices’ and ‘Wages for trainees’ field as part of your Queensland non-taxable wages
  • other non-taxable contributions in the ‘Other non-taxable payments’ field as part of your Queensland non-taxable wages.

Read the public ruling on penalty charges under superannuation guarantee charge (PTA030) for more information.

Types of superannuation funds or schemes

• Employer-sponsored funds
• Industry funds
• Personal superannuation funds
• Defined benefit funds
• Defined contribution funds
• Wholly or partially unfunded funds or schemes
• Retirement saving accounts

Defined benefit funds

Under defined benefit funds, you must contribute an amount that’s enough to guarantee a defined benefit to your employee.

A short-term contributions holiday may be granted if the fund has enough assets to meet the employee benefits without any further employer contributions; an actuary must review the fund’s assets to work out if this is possible.

During this period, you don’t have to pay payroll tax because you are not making any contributions. You’ll need to pay payroll tax once contributions resume.

Top-up contributions you make to meet employee benefits are taxable, as they’re considered to be additional contributions.

Also consider…

• Learn more about calculating payroll tax.
• Read about taxable wages for payroll tax.