Important information about Single Touch Payroll (STP) Posted on August 22, 2019
What it is:
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Single Touch Payroll requires all businesses (with non-family employees) to digitally lodge payroll figures to the ATO on or before the day employees are paid.
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The legislation is now applicable for Small Employers (1-20 employees) to start reporting between 1 July 2019 and 30 September 2019. Businesses with more than 20 employees have been doing this since 2018.
What employers need to do next if NOT already reporting STP but DO already have Accounting Software:
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Decide if you would like to report STP for your business yourself, or have Robson Partners do it for you.
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If you will report STP yourself, identify and arrange the STP extension of your existing software.
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If Robson Partners is submitting STP or any pay event on your behalf on a regular or irregular basis, we must secure annual authority from you, the client, in the form of an STP Annual Authorisation and an Income Statement Finalisation Authorisation.
What employers need to do next if NOT already reporting STP and DO NOT already have Accounting Software:
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Decide if you would like to submit your STP yourself or have Robson Partners do it for you.
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If you will report STP yourself, identify and arrange a software solution specific to STP. There are a number of no-or-low-cost options available to you which we can discuss.
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If Robson Partners is submitting STP or any pay event on your behalf on a regular or irregular basis, we must secure annual authority from you, the client, in the form of an STP Annual Authorisation and Income Statement Finalisation Authorisation. We will make these documents available to you via a separate email.
Important to note:
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It is more important than ever for Employers to pay superannuation on time. With this uniform digital system, it is much easier for the ATO to identify ‘late payers’.
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Ensure you are paying employee superannuation into a Clearing House or directly into a Superstream compliant fund with a unique URL. This became compulsory in 2016.
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If any of these items raise questions or concerns for you, please contact us to make an appointment with your Account Team. It is our intention to minimise disruption to your business and simplify the compliance process for you. The ATO has reassured small and micro businesses that there will be no penalties for mistakes, missed or late reports in the first year, however the sooner we can get the system working for you, the sooner you can get on with growing your business.
