Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) - Explained
Applications for RSP rounds 1-4 are open till 1st December.
It's not too late to apply!
All business types can apply for the RSP, including an individual trading as a sole trader, partnerships and companies. You will need to apply in myIR and you’ll need to have an NZBN. If you are a registered company you will already have one. If you’re self-employed you may not. You can apply for one here. Apply for an NZBN.
Eligibility for the RSP:
A full list of what you will need before you apply can be found here
You can apply for more than one RSP round providing you meet the eligibility criteria. Each one needs to be a separate application.
Applications for all 5 RSPs are now open. You have until the 1st December to apply for RSP 1- 4 (any or all of them) as long as you can show a 30% drop in revenue across a continuous 7-day period during any of the Revenue Decline start and end dates as shown on our calendar below (or download it here).
The 30% drop in revenue needs to be compared against a typical regular 7-day revenue period that starts and ends in the 6 weeks prior to 17 August 2021 to determine whether there has been a 30% decline in revenue.
Seasonal Businesses:
Businesses with highly seasonal revenue must meet the drop in revenue test as set out above. However, they may select a 7 day comparison period outside the 6 weeks before 17 August 2021 and which may be from a past year, which reflects their typical revenue.
Entitlement:
The payment is $1,500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee (up to a maximum of 50 FTE’s), or 4x the actual revenue decline you experienced (whichever is the lesser).
After the fourth round, the RSP moves to fortnightly payments at double the current rate. For the payments starting on 12 November this will be $3,000 per business and $800 per FTE, up to 50 FTEs. This will make the maximum fortnightly payment $43,000. This means the RSP will be a weekly rather than three weekly payment (as it was up till the fourth round), but for smoother administration, it will be available in fortnightly installments.
The enhanced RSP will be available until Auckland moves into the new Covid Protection Framework.
The payment must be used to cover business expenses such as wages and fixed costs and it is not subject to income tax.
Calculating your drop in revenue:
The continuous 7-day affected revenue period needs to be in the following affected period:
1st RSP - 17 August 2021 to 1 November 2021.
2nd RSP - 8 September 2021 to 1 November 2021.
3rd RSP - 1 October 2021 to 1 November 2021.
4th RSP - 22 October 2021*
5th RSP - 5 November*
6th RSP - 26 November*
*For each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th RSPs, the affected revenue period ends on the close of the day before any area of New Zealand moves to the COVID-19 Protection Framework.
Make sure you are calculating retrospectively and basing on what has happened, not what might happen.
There are various examples from the IRD website here. If you need further clarification or support, please let us know and we can help you.
