JOBKEEPER: I’m a Sole Trader, what about me?

Many taxi, hire car and limo drivers are sole traders and are therefore eligible to apply for JobKeeper payments.

Sole traders must have had an ABN on or before March 12, 2020, and have been “actively engaged” in their business.

You will need to provide your ABN and then nominate an ’employee’ (that’s you - the sole trader) to receive the payment, together with your Tax File Number (TFN).

Sole traders must also have included assessable income from their business in their 2018- 19 tax return and lodged taxable supplies between July 1, 2018 and March 12, 2020. This is to ensure an applicant has been operating their business.

Eligible sole traders must also:-
• be Australian citizens, the holder of a permanent visa or a 444 visa holder as of March 1, 2020;
• be residents for Australian tax purposes as of March 1, 2020;
• not already be receiving JobKeeper payments from another employer;

Sole trader structured firms with employees will be eligible to receive one JobKeeper payment for the director and other payments for eligible employees.

My business is a partnership, what about me?
Businesses operating through partnership structures can only nominate one partner to receive the JobKeeper payment.

My business is a company, and I am a shareholder.
Where shareholders provide labour to the company but receive dividends in lieu of wages, Treasury says one shareholder can be nominated for JobKeeper.

Payments
Payments will be made monthly to a nominated bank account. Other than the points listed above, the same eligibility criteria apply to sole traders, partnerships and companies as other businesses regarding turnover decline and ATO discretion.