New Employee Record in Hosted - VSL (student loan setup unclear)

Mark_9766087

Hi, we have Reckon Accounts Hosted and a new employee has submitted their Employee tax and super details form produced by the ATO after her mygov action and I have two questions.

On the part of the form relating to Education loan withholding (tax) she has selected Vocational Education and Training Student Loan (VSL).

On the Federal Taxes tab in employee records, there are only two options Help Debt or SFSS.

It is unclear to me which option should be selected (in the absence of VSL as an option) ... would you please advise what action should be taken.

The second question is what is the relevance of CDEP adjustment and should that box be left unticked?

Thanks, mark

Mark_9766087

Thanks Zappy,

Hoping for solution to VSL thing and may need to contact ATO for their advice if cannot get a definitive answer from Reckon.

+ found CDEP easily ... should have thought of Google option myself! Thank you for that.

Acctd4

Only those 2 options are needed in Reckon now as the various loans (incl TSL & VSL) are all under the “HELP-Debt” umbrella ☺️

Mark_9766087

Thanks Shaz very much for your input, much appreciated!

It would be helpful for Reckon to note this type of query so that it can be incorporated into the help area on the Hosted portal ... if the help area is more comprehensive it would be time saving for users which should be the ultimate outcome (for reckon).

Thanks again!

Mark_9766087

Have just seen Zappy post, maybe I speak with ATO?

Acctd4

@Zappy I'm a tax consultant (about to start my 18th tax season this year) but the info confirming they all come under the one umbrella now (incl rates/thresholds) is on the ATO website:

Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

& here's Reckon's Help info on it:

Study and training support loans (STSL) - Reckon Help and Support Centre

😊

Mark_9766087

Thank you again Shaz.

This shouldn't have been a complicated question and Reckon help has fallen well short of making the clear for users.

Even some info from the ATO is ambiguous, with their site (for students) implying that VET and possibly VSL is somehow different not part of HELP -

Unless I am missing something here, if the Tax Office want to call it something different (VSL) and produce documentation referring to VSL which is on my employees record as well, I would have thought it prudent for VSL to be an option in Reckon.

Thanks to the help of you two, I am reasonable satisfied that the HELP option may do the job, but I would have felt a whole more comfortable if VSL was a tick box option in Reckon, given the tax office seemingly want to call it something different.

Acctd4

Can certainly see your point Mark.

I think the ATO has tried to simplify the whole HECS-HELP system but as a result, the absence of a lot of “detail” - like in the past - has made it all seem a bit vague 🤦🏻‍♀️

The different types are really only relevant to the student themselves as there are different conditions/amounts available depending on what study is being undertaken.

From an employer’s perspective though for payroll purposes, there are just the 2 now: HELP & SFSS. SFSS Loans were fazed out some years ago (I know because I used to have 1!) Therefore, unless it’s years old, the majority of people don’t have this one anymore so most just fall under HELP now.