Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a government initiative which changes the way SME’s report payroll including PAYG Withholding and Super information to the ATO.  Under STP, employers will need to report employee payments electronically to the ATO at every pay.

For those small business owners who are already reporting on time to the ATO there are substantial benefits including:

1. No PAYG Summaries issued at year end as employees will be able to see their year‑to‑date tax and super information through their myGov account.
2. The activity statements will be pre-filled with the payroll information that you have reported.

So how do you get STP ready?

1. Update your current payroll solution to a version that is Single Touch Payroll-enabled this financial year and integrate the software with the ATO.
2. Do an employee head count on the 1^st of April 2018. This includes full-time; part-time; casual and seasonal employees as well as those who are absent and on leave on this date.  If you have 20 or more employees you are required to report through STP from 1 July, 2018.  If you have 19 or less employees, you will be required to report through Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2019.

It is important to note that the date the PAYG withholding and super contributions are due does not change when you report using STP.   Register with us to help you get STP ready.  Call us on 03-9016-0017.