With STP you report employees’ payroll information — such as salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and super — to the ATO each time you pay them through STP-enabled software.
ATO systems will match the STP information to employer and employee records.
If your employees have a myGov account linked to ATO online services, they will be able to see their year-to-date tax and super information in their income statement.
At the end of the financial year you’ll need to finalise your STP data. This means you are making a declaration that you have completed your reporting for the financial year.
Once you finalise your data, your employees’ income statement in ATO online services will be marked as ‘tax ready’. They, or their registered agent, will use the income statement to lodge their tax return.
You won’t need to provide the ATO with a payment summary annual report for the payments you report through STP, but if you currently lodge an activity statement you will continue to do so.
Businesses with 20 or more employees have been using this system for a number of years, and those with 19 or less started on July 1 last year.
From July 1 this year, the system must also be used for payments to employees directly related to the business — eg a family member, director, shareholder or a beneficiary of a trust.
If you have between one and four employees and have non-computerised payroll you may be eligible to report quarterly until June 2021. You can report through your registered tax or BAS agent.
You may also be eligible for a quarterly reporting concession if your business has irregular employment patterns, such as large seasonal increases.
How you send STP information to the ATO depends on the software you use. There are three types of solutions.
After you run your payroll you can either send the STP information:
● Directly to the ATO from your payroll software
● Through a third party sending service provider (SSP) which is integrated into your software
● Through a third party sending service provider (SSP) service which is outside your software.
For more information, talk to the payroll specialists at GS&T Accounts in Deniliquin. Phone 5881 5544 or email lyn@gstaccounts.com.au.
16°C