Employment growth rebate for payroll tax

A payroll tax rebate of up to $20,000 is available to eligible employers who can demonstrate a net employment increase in the number of new Queensland full-time positions over a full financial year.

The rebate is:

• available from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2021
• claimed per employer, per year
• calculated as part of the annual return.

The public ruling on the employment growth rebate (PTAQ000.4) has more information, including examples of when the rebate does and does not apply.

The subsidy component of the Australian Government JobKeeper payment is not taxable for payroll tax.

What you need to do

To claim the rebate in your annual return, you need to keep the following records.

Total Queensland full-time positions

• A baseline total of all Queensland full-time positions as at 1 July 2019 and 1 July 2020
• A comparison total of all Queensland full-time positions as at 30 June 2020 and 30 June 2021

These positions:

• are filled by an employee, other than a person deemed to be an employee under the Payroll Tax Act 1971 (i.e. contractor or worker providing services under an employment-agent arrangement), who is either paid Queensland taxable wages or wages that are partially or fully exempt from payroll tax under the Act
• have responsibilities that require, on average, at least 35 hours of work per week for the employer.

Monthly employee counts

• Number of employees on the last day of each month in the 2019-20 financial year
• Number of employees on the last day of each month in the 2020-21 financial year

A monthly employee count is the total, as at the last day of each month, of all persons who are paid Queensland taxable wages in the month. It must:

• include all employees and persons deemed to be employees under the Act
• exclude all employees, and persons deemed to be employees, whose wages are wholly exempt from payroll tax in Queensland.

Total new Queensland full-time positions

• Number of new Queensland full-time positions as at 30 June 2020
• Number of new Queensland full-time positions as at 30 June 2021

A 'new Queensland full-time position':

• has responsibilities that require, on average, at least 35 hours of work per week for the employer
• is filled to capacity with one or more new Queensland employees as at 30 June
• has been filled to capacity with one or more new Queensland employees for a continuous period of at least 6 months ending on 30 June, or for at least 245 days during the relevant year (i.e. the ‘minimum employment requirement’)
• was created in the relevant year; or at the time it was first filled to capacity during that year with one or more new Queensland employees, had been completely vacant for at least 6 continuous months.

In addition, for the 2020-21 financial year, a position is a ‘new Queensland full-time position’ if all the following apply:

• In the 2019-20 financial year, it was first filled to capacity with one or more new Queensland employees after 1 January 2020.
• As at 30 June 2020, it was and has continued to be filled to capacity with one or more new Queensland employees.
• It would have been a new Queensland full-time position for the 2019-20 financial year, but the minimum employment requirement was not satisfied as at 30 June 2020.
• As at 30 June 2021, either:
  • one or more of the new Queensland employees that were in the position as at 30 June 2020 have continued to fill the position to capacity
  • since 30 June 2020, the position has been continuously filled to capacity with new Queensland employees.

Also consider...

• Read about apprentice and trainee wages for payroll tax.
• Understand payroll tax rates and thresholds.
• Find out about exemptions for contractors and employment agents.
• Understand which payments are included as taxable wages.
• Know when to report a change in business conditions.
• Read about record keeping for tax purposes.