The Australian Tax Office has announced they will begin considering deferrals for employers who will not be ready for Single Touch Payroll by the 1 July 2018 deadline. This should only be a consideration for businesses with 20 or more employees who are required to begin reporting through STP later this year.
The ATO outlines a number of scenarios that will be considered reasonable grounds for deferral. If an employer:
- has entered administration or liquidation
- has been impacted by a natural disaster
- is unable to get ready by their software provider's deferred start date
- is transitioning to a new STP-enabled solution
- is using a customised payroll solution and need time to configure and test the updated product
- has complex payroll arrangements and need additional time to transition to STP
- is affected by other circumstances which are out of their control
Deferrals can be lodged through the ATO’s Business Portal, Tax Agent Portal or BAS Agent Portal. The ATO further outlines a number of scenarios where certain employees may be exempt from STP reporting.
A recent announcement has also clarified the STP start date for businesses who employ seasonal workers or were not clear on their number of employees on 1 April 2018. The ATO has stated businesses will be exempt from STP reporting for the 18/19 financial year if:
- they had fewer than 20 employees for at least 10 months out of the preceding 12 months (1 June 2017 to 1 April 2018)
- they expect to have fewer than 20 employees for at least 10 out of the 12 months after 1 April 2018 (1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019)
Businesses do not need to report this to the ATO but are advised to keep a record stating this decision.
Sybiz will be holding a second
STP webinar session in the coming weeks to help all our customers manage this important change in payroll legislation. This webinar session will show customers how our Sybiz Visipay payroll solution will manage STP reporting from 1 July 2018.
Registrations are still open but be aware places are limited.
You can find more information about Single Touch Payroll on our
STP fact page, along with a downloadable checklist to remind you of key dates in the lead up to the STP deadline.