JobKeeper 2.0 - Don’t think you’re eligible?  Think again. There are new Alternative Turnover tests which could mean you are

You will no doubt be aware that the JobKeeper scheme has been extended to 28 March 2021.

It has been widely publicised that in order to qualify for this JobKeeper 2.0 a business must have experienced a decline in GST turnover of 30% or more for the September 2020 quarter compared to September 2019 and then the December 2020 quarter compared to December 2019. 

But what if you do not pass these tests? Does this mean your business will no longer receive JobKeeper?

MAYBE…... BUT MAYBE NOT

Fortunately, the answer is not a definitive NO. There is still the possibility of qualifying for JobKeeper 2.0 based on the ‘alternative turnover tests’ that the ATO have released.

The alternative turnover tests can be used to determine whether your business has experienced an ‘actual true’ decline in turnover.  An example of this would be where the September 2019 quarter is not representative of your actual business performance.

We have listed below two of the alternative turnover tests that are available as well as an example to demonstrate the importance of reviewing all of your business data to seek the possibility of retaining JobKeeper 2.0 assistance. 

While there are seven alternate tests available which may help your business JobKeeper 2.0 eligibility, the two selected below are the most widely used:

1. Irregular Turnover Test

This test can be used where:

The difference in your quarterly business income is more than 50% from the highest to the lowest quarter
between 1 July 2019  - 30 June 2020 

or

The difference in your quarterly business income is more than 50% from the highest to the lowest quarter
between 1 March 2019 - 29 February 2020

Please note: you cannot use this test if your business income is seasonal

2. Substantial Increase in GST Turnover Test

This test can be used where:

Your business has had a substantial increase in revenue prior to the September 2020 quarter and therefore, doesn’t reflect an appropriate decline when comparing with the September 2019 quarter.

There are two parts (limbs) to this test. 

IF your business passes the first limb, it then needs to pass a secondary comparison (limb 2) to
become eligible for JobKeeper 2.0

Limb 1

This is used to test  one of the following:

• 12.5% increase in revenue by comparing the 3 months ending June 2020 to the 3 months ending March 2020

or

• 25% increase in revenue by comparing the 6 months ending June 2020 to the 6 months ending December 2019

or

• 50% increase in revenue by comparing the 12 months ending June 2020 to the 12 months ending June 2019

Limb 2

Your eligibility is then confirmed by establishing a 30% decline in revenue by comparing your September 2020 quarter with either:

The June 2020 quarter

or 

The 3 months from 1 December 2019 and 29 February 2020 

Real life example

A client of Suntax that owns a florist business did not pass the basic JobKeeper 2.0 test and she was confident she wouldn’t be eligible for this JobKeeper extension because her turnover had not fallen by 30% in the September 2020 quarter compared to September 2019.

But, in May 2020 she had a spike in sales. This increase in sales was sufficient to qualify her business to apply one of the alternate testing methods - Substantial Increase in GST Turnover.  

The results of this analysis allowed us to compare an alternative quarter's drop in turnover, making her eligible for JobKeeper 2.0

If you would like Suntax to review any of these two tests for your business, please click on button below:

Click here for Suntax to complete your JobKeeper 2.0 Alternative Testing Click here for Suntax to complete your JobKeeper 2.0 Alternative Testing

The costs to prepare this analysis and provide our expert opinion is $250 + GST.  

We cannot guarantee that your business will qualify for JobKeeper 2.0 (even after analysing your data) however, we believe it is well worth the investment to exhaust all potential avenues to gaining this significant Government support.

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Additional Tests

The other five ‘Alternate Tests for JobKeeper 2.0’ are very specific to a business's circumstances and would require even more detailed analysis.  If any of these circumstances relate to your business, please call and book in a time to assess these tests with your accountant.

• Business Commenced Test
• Business Acquisition or Disposal that Changed the Entity's current GST Turnover
• Business Restructure that changed the Entity's current GST Turnover
• Business Affected by Drought or Natural Disaster
• Sole Trader or Small Partnership with Sickness, Injury or Leave

You can find out more information on these additional tests here:  Alternative Turnover Tests

Regards

Your Suntax Team