New 10% Super Rate from 1 July 2021 - What you Need to Know

You’re probably already aware that the super guarantee rate is rising from 1 July this year. But you might not understand how that affects you. Don’t worry, it’s not super annoying… (Sub-editor: Terrible joke! I don’t rate it all (Editor: I guarantee you’ll all be fired if you keep this up…))

Jokes aside, it’s nothing to worry about - read on to find out what you need to do:

What’s changing?

From 1 July 2021, the new super guarantee rate will be 10%

This is an increase from the 9.5% rate that has been in place since 1 July 2014. The super rate will rise half a percent every year from now until it reaches 12% in 2026 - if you’re really interested, here is the super rate change table from the ATO.

What do I need to do to prepare for the new super rate?

You need to use the new super rate for any payments made to your employees for the new financial year. That means that any payments where the payment date is after 1 July 2021 must use the new 10% super rate. Note that the key date here is the payment date - not the period start/end dates! So if you’re running payroll on Friday 2 July for the previous week (Saturday 26/6 through Friday 2/7) with a payment date of Friday 2 July, that entire period will attract the 10% super rate. (You definitely do not need to split the period and create two payslips).

Remember, to start creating payslips in the new financial year, you’ll need to switch to the new year in Easy Payslip on or after 1 July.

How will this new super rate work in Easy Payslip?

For the vast majority (98.2% to be precise!) of Easy Payslip users you will not need to do anything. Here is what will happen:

1. We will automatically update your employees’ super rates in Easy Payslip from 9.5% to 10% on 1 July. Update 01/07: This automatic update has been completed in Easy Payslip
2. Any payslips you create for the new financial year will use that new 10% rate automatically

But what if I need to create/correct a payslip for FY2021 after 1 July?

Don’t worry - our system is smart enough to pick up the previous 9.5% rate for any corrections made for the previous year (i.e. any payslips with a payment date prior to 1 July). So if you need to make a correction, you don’t need to worry. If you don’t use Easy Payslip, you may need to take some manual action – not all software providers are updating their software in the same way.

What if I have some employees with higher (or lower) super rates?

We do have a very small number of users who have custom super rates for some of their employees. If that’s you, we will be writing to you separately to explain what you need to do - but in general terms, you can update your super rate manually for the affected employees from 1 July. If you need to make any corrections to the previous year, you can just revert the employee to the old super rate, make a correcting payslip, and then change the super to the new year’s rate again.

I have some casual part-time employees who earn under the $450 super threshold. Is something changing for them?

No - there is no change to the $450 monthly threshold value from 1 July 2021. So for those employees, their super rate can remain at 0% - you do not need to take any action in Easy Payslip - we will not be changing the super rate for any of these employees automatically.

However, from 1 July 2022, the $450 monthly threshold for super will be removed - so you may want to be prepared in 12 months’ time to begin making super contributions for these employees.

That actually doesn’t sound too bad…

We told you - it’s really Easy! We guarantee you will have a super, first-rate experience if you handle it all through Easy Payslip. (Editor: It’s a good job we’re better at making software than we are at making jokes…)

If you have any questions or concerns, please drop us a line - you know where to find us (hint: in Sydney - info@easypayslip.com / 02 8084 9222).