COVID-19 Financial support for affected businesses
There are various COVID-19 financial support schemes available to businesses, depending on your situation. Learn more about each type of support and where you can find more information.
Resurgence Support Payment
- RSP is available to help support business if they have experienced, 30% or more drop in revenue due to a Covid-19 alert level increase to level 2 or higher. Individual and businesses can apply for RSP payment by log in to their myIR account To apply for RSP, Please click here for full details.
https://www.ird.govt.nz/covid-
Wage Subsidy Scheme
- Wages Subsidy is a payment to support eligible employers and the self- employed, if your business is affected by the continuation of Alert Level 3 or 4. The Wage Subsidy is paid in two-week periods.
The current Wages subsidy payment amount is:
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$600 per week per full-time employee
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$359 per week per part-time employee.
Please click here for full details.
- https://www.workandincome.
Short-Term Absence Payment
-Available to employers and self-employed worker while waiting for a Covid-19 test result, available at all alert levels, and to workers who are unable to work from home. Payments of Short-Term Absence is made to employer and gross amount should be paid to employee as wages. There is a one-off payment of $359 for each eligible employee, it can be applied once in any 30 day period.
Please click here for full details.
https://www.workandincome.
Leave Support Scheme
- Leave Support Scheme is available for employers, including self-employed people, to help pay their employees who have been told by a health official to self-isolate and can't work from home.
Please click here for full details. https://www.
The employer must pay their employees any amount required by the employment agreement and employment legislation. The Wages Subsidy, Leave Support Scheme and Short-Term absence requirements do not remove or reduce this obligation.
You must try your hardest to pay the employee named in your application their normal wages, or at least 80% of their usual pay. If that isn't possible, you need to pay at least the full amount of the subsidy to each named employee.
Small business cash flow loan scheme
- SBCS is a loan from government to support small businesses (employing 50 or fewer full-time employees), including sole traders and the self-employed, impacted by COVID-19. The minimum amount paid out under SBCS is $11,800 and the maximum amount is $100,000.
If you've previously applied for a SBCS and have fully repaid it, you can apply again. Applications are open until 31 December 2023. You can apply through myIR.
Please click here for more information https://www.ird.
Tax Support
- Inland Revenue can remit interest on late payment if the taxpayers ability to make payment was significantly adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, for tax payments due on or after 14 February 2020. And tax payer is physically and financially unable to make a tax payment on time because of the economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak
Please click here for more information
https://www.ird.govt.nz/covid-
https://www.ird.govt.nz/
ACC support
To meet your ACC payments obligation, you can set up a payment plan over three, six, or 10 months to meet your ACC obligations. If you are still unsure and require more support you can contact ACC directly on 0800222776.
Please click here for more information. https://www.acc.co.nz/covid-
Business debt hibernation
Business debt hibernation is a government effort to help businesses procrastinate part of their debt to be paid at a later date. Viable businesses and organisations (company, trusts, societies) established before 3 April 2020, can apply for Business debt hibernation by giving entry notice to companies office. Unfortunately business debt hibernation support is not available for sole-Traders. Applications are open until 31 October 2021
Please click here for more information
https://www.business.govt.nz/
COVID-19 Tax Relief measures
The Government has announced it will introduce legislation for four more tax changes to help businesses given the impact of COVID-19. They are:
- to increase the provisional tax threshold from $2,500 to $5,000
- to increase the small asset depreciation threshold from $500 to $1,000 – and to $5,000 for the 2020/21 tax year
- to allow depreciation on commercial and industrial buildings.
- removing the hours test from the In-Work Tax Credit from 1 July 2020