You may or may not be aware that even if you are not an employee of your business you may still be eligible to receive the Jobkeeper payment if you have an Eligible Business Participant.

The ATO has clarified that sole traders and other entities may be entitled to the Jobkeeper Payment scheme under a business participation entitlement.  This is in addition to any entitlement you have in regards to your Eligible Employees which we have covered previously in our FAQ.

For your business to be eligible to receive a Jobkeeper Payment under a business participation entitlement your business must:

• Have a non-employee individual (usually an owner or controller) who is actively engaged in the operation of your business
• Meet the relevant eligibility criteria

We provide an analysis of the above requirements to assist you in determining whether a business participation entitlement exists.

Is my Business an Eligible Entity?

The steps to determine whether your business is an eligible entity is similar to the tests we have outlined previously regarding Eligible Employers.

For the purposes of business participation entitlement your entity is eligible if:

• You carried on business in Australia on 1 March, 2020
• You satisfy the decline in turnover test
• You had an ABN on 12 March, 2020; and
• You have lodged your 2019 ITR or a BAS in FY20 showing assessable business income or taxable supplies

In our opinion it will not be difficult for most genuine businesses to satisfy the above tests and be classified as an eligible entity for business participation entitlement purposes.

Does my Business have an Eligible Business Participant (‘EBP’)?

Your business will be deemed to have an individual that is an EBP if they meet all of the following criteria:

• They are an individual not employed by your business (ie. they do not take wages through payroll)
• They are actively engaged in your business at 1 March, 2020 and for the fortnight Jobkeeper will be claimed for
• They are one of the following depending on the entity type conducting your business:

• As at 1 March, 2020 they are aged at least 16 and an Australian Resident or Tax resident holding a Subclass 444 Visa
• They are not currently receiving government parental leave pay, dad and partner pay
• They are not currently incapacitated for work and receiving Workers Compensation payments
• They are not an employee of any other entity
• They have given you a Jobkeeper Nomination Notice and not given such notice to any other entity (the ATO has not yet provided the format of Jobkeeper Nomination Notice for an EBP but we expect it to be available shortly).

IMPORTANT – In satisfying the above criteria any eligible entity can only nominate one Eligible Business Participant.

We have produced a simple checklist covering the above eligibility criteria to determine whether you have an EBP in your business.

I have an EBP… What do I do Now?

If your business is an eligible entity and you have an EBP then you have a business participation entitlement for a Jobkeeper Payment in regards to this individual.

If you need to register for Jobkeeper for your employees, an EBP or both then we encourage you read our Step-by-Step guide to registering, applying and reporting under the Jobkeeper Scheme. Should you require our assistance for any of these steps then we are here to help.