Confused about whether you need to pay superannuation for your contractors?
Businesses engage contractors for specialised skills or to streamline costs. But keep in mind, that superannuation isn’t always off the table.
You generally don’t pay super for independent contractors. But, if the contract is wholly or principally for their labour, you might be liable. This applies even if they have an ABN, regardless of their earnings amount.
So, a seemingly genuine “contractor” might be classified as an “employee” under the Super Guarantee Act.
Here are the key factors that could trigger super on contractor payments:
- The individual is paid for their labour and skills
- The individual can't subcontract the work to someone else
- The individual is not paid to achieve a result or outcome
Tip: If the individual (i.e. independent contractor) is performing work for you through an entity such as a company or trust, they would not be considered an employee under the Super Guarantee Act.
If you’re keen to explore changing accountants, we have a non-obligation process to do that. The first step is booking a strategy call with one of our accounting team. It’s a free 20-minute zoom or phone call where you get to meet us to manage your questions.
From that point, you can consider doing a “Look Under The Hood” with us. There is no obligation to change accountants, but we give you a second opinion if you’re paying too much tax.
Throughout that process, we can identify any problems we see with your current setup. Anything that your current accountant hasn’t claimed, or tax you may have overpaid, and strategies of how we might fix that going forward. We can run through with you once you book with us.
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