Bookkeeping Taxation & Tax Tips

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a mandatory reporting change for employers.

From the 1st July 2018, the ATO will require all businesses with 20 or more employees to start reporting using Single Touch Payroll.

STP will become mandatory for all businesses, including those with 19 or less employees, from 1st July 2019.

This means STP reporting will affect your business and doing nothing is NOT an option.

WHAT IS STP?

STP will streamline your employee payroll reporting processes and obligations.

Each time you pay your employees, you will be reporting to the ATO. The information you send to the ATO will include:

  • Your employees salary and wages
  • Allowances
  • Deductions and other payments
  • Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholdings and superannuation information.

WHAT WILL CHANGE WITH STP

All that will change with STP reporting is that each time you pay your employees, you will report the tax and super information to the ATO.  Your pay cycle does not change.

Employees will now be able to view their payment info through their My Gov account. You will no longer need to supply your employees with payment summaries for the payments you report through STP.

However your payroll software MUST be STP compliant.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

  1. Check your software
  • Most importantly, check with your payroll software provider if they will be STP compliant by 1st If not, they would have received a deferral number that they should provide you with.
  • If the software is ready but you’re not, perhaps for internal processing reasons, you need to apply for a deferral by 30th March 2018.
  1. Do a headcount
  • On the 1st April do a payroll headcount. Include all employees who were paid on the 1st April 2018. Make sure you include all full time, part time, casual, overseas or employees who are on leave etc. Keep a copy of this headcount.
  • If you are part of a company group, you must include the total number of employees employed by all member companies of the wholly-owned group.
  1. Review your business processes.
  • Make sure your payroll staff know about STP.
  • Check you are paying your employees correctly
  • Check you are calculating employee Super entitlements correctly.
  • Check if you are addressing overpayments correctly.
  • Is your employee information correct?
  1. You may need to choose a new payroll solution if:
  • You currently report to the ATO on paper
  • Your existing payroll solution will not offer STP
  • You want a product that better suits your business needs.

Contact us urgently if you need assistance in transitioning to STP reporting and compliance.

 

 

Watch this video to find out more

The ATO has simplified what you need to know about single touch payroll in this short video.

For any further information please call us on (02) 4353 2333

Business Plan Template

Tax tips

Prevent Fraud