The deadline is fast approaching for small businesses to be registered and lodging their payroll information to the ATO using the Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting system. Are you registered and lodging? If not, you have a small window to register and start lodging!

Lodging via STP each time you have a payroll run reports to the ATO all payroll information including:

  • salary and wages;
  • Pay as you go (PAYG) Withholding; and
  • superannuation.

As of 1 October 2019, small businesses with less than 20 employees need to be registered with the ATO and lodging their payroll information through the STP system. Businesses with more than 20 employees have been required to be registered and lodging since mid-2018. Single Touch Payroll

The majority of software products available have the capacity to lodge payroll information through the STP reporting system. If you don’t use software or it’s not STP-enabled then there are other options available.

There are free software apps that you can lodge payroll through, or else purchase payroll only software and subscriptions which will meet the requirements.

There is also the option for deferral if you aren’t quite ready yet, including:

  • if you are transitioning and your payroll is complex;
  • if your software provider isn’t STP-compliant; and
  • if you have an unreliable or intermittent internet connection.

There are also some concessional reporting options available in certain circumstances, subject to ATO eligibility requirements, including:

  • micro-employers (1-4 employees) can report quarterly through their tax or Business Activity Statements (BAS) agent;
  • closely-held (related) employees do not need to be reported in the 2019/20 financial year; and
  • if you have seasonal or intermittent employees on-and-off throughout the year you have additional time to lodge, however, this needs to be applied for.

As you can see, if you are nearly ready to report through STP then you should start ASAP. If you aren’t, then there are possibly options available to you.

For more information

If you need more information or assistance in the registration process or lodging process of Single Touch Payroll, please contact your local RSM office.