The Australian Taxation Office introduced Single Touch Payroll (STP) as a new way for employers to report salary and wages in 2018. Reports are now made every pay period, instead of once at the end of the financial year.
Payment Summaries (a.k.a. group certificates) have now been replaced with online Income Statements, available from myGov.
Employees should not see much impact throughout the year as a result of STP, or after the introduction of STP2 in 2022, but being aware of changes at tax time can help secure your tax refund faster.
How to view your income statement in myGov
Log in to myGov, select ATO Online Services
Click 'View my income statements'
'Tax ready' is equivalent to receiving a payment summary
Need to know more about getting your tax refund?
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Why you’ll no longer receive payment summaries
STP means no more end of year payment summaries (a.k.a. group certificates). Instead, income information is available throughout the year on your
myGov account.
This means
better tracking of your earnings throughout the year and
quicker notification of income statements at tax time.
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Do I have to sign up for myGov?
myGov is not compulsory, but creating a myGov account means easier tracking of activity with the ATO, Medicare, Centrelink, NDIS and other government services. You will need to create a myGov account and then link these services individually.
Don’t have a myGov account? You can create one here
https://my.gov.au/
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Does this change how I process my tax return?
Your income statement will show as ‘Tax ready’ when finalised by your employer.
Any income statements not finalised will show 'Not Tax Ready,’ however you can still lodge a tax return in this state. Much like lodging before receiving a Payment Summary, you may need to lodge an amendment if your Income Statement changes once flagged as 'Tax ready.'
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What if I still want a payment summary?
Employers who have transitioned to STP may still choose to provide payment summaries in the first year (2018/19 financial year). You may also be able to request one from your employer.
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Why am I seeing doubled income information from my employer in myGov?
Your employer may have changed your 'employee number' within their payroll software. It is best to speak to your payroll officer as soon as possible to let them know you are seeing doubled information.
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Can I get my Income Statement without using myGov?
If you don’t want a myGov account and don’t use a tax agent you are able to telephone the ATO to obtain your Income Statement.
Our Employee Information Poster explains what employees need to know about STP and straightforward instructions for
accessing their income statement.