On February 12, the government passed legislation that requires even the smallest of employers to electronically file each pay run with the ATO using Single Touch Payroll (STP), starting from 1 July this year.
What you need to know
If you’re reporting through STP you no longer need to:
- Provide payment summaries to your employees for amounts reported and finalised through STP — employees will get an ‘income statement’ through myGov instead.
- Lodge a payment summary annual report to the ATO for amounts reported through STP, as long as you complete the finalisation declaration by the due date.
- You have until 31 July to finalise your employees’ STP information by making a finalisation declaration through your STP-enabled solution.
What to tell your employees
When claiming business expenses, ensure it is at the GST exclusive rate if you are registered for GST, not the GST inclusive rate.
At the end of the tax year, they receive an income statement in their ATO online services account (through myGov) for the amounts you have reported through STP.
If they use a registered agent to lodge their income tax return, their agent will be able to access all their STP information.
When their income statement is tax ready they’ll get a notification in their myGov Inbox, although they should wait for this to occur before they lodge their tax return.
You can learn more about Single Touch Payroll on the ATO website.
