Source: John Shepherd via LinkedIn:

Single Touch Payroll is a game changer for tax and super reporting and the broader economy. It is an exciting digital initiative as it ultimately unlocks real time salary and wage information for all employees in Australia.

For now, it means employers will report payments such as salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and super information to the ATO directly from their payroll solution at the same time they pay their employees.

For employers with 20 or more employees, Single Touch Payroll reporting starts from 1 July 2018. The first year will be a transition, we are keen to help people make this change and accept that there needs to be a bedding in period while everyone gets used to this new process.

The Australian Government has also announced it intends to expand Single Touch Payroll to include smaller employers with 19 or less employees from 1 July 2019, subject to legislation being passed in parliament.

What will I need to do differently under STP?

Single Touch Payroll is a new way of reporting payroll information to the ATO. As you pay your employees through your own payroll process, you will be sending us their tax and super information at the same time.

This will align your reporting obligations to your usual pay cycle. In other words, you’ll be interacting with the ATO at the point where you pay your employees. This will typically be through your accounting or payroll software and the majority of software developers are already building updates into their payroll products to deliver Single Touch Payroll reporting.

When the ATO receives the payroll information, they’ll match that to your records, as well as your employees’ records. You won’t need to provide your employees with a payment summary if you have reported their information through Single Touch Payroll. The ATO will provide that to your employees through myGov or through their pre-filled income tax returns.

What’s next?

We’re working closely with our industry partners – including software providers and tax practitioners – to make sure the move to Single Touch Payroll reporting is a smooth one for everyone.

In the next month we’re also writing to employers with 20 or more employees to let them know about their reporting obligations from 1 July 2018 so they can start planning for Single Touch Payroll.

If you’d like more information you can visit www.ato.gov.au/singletouchpayroll.